Beyond the Peninsula: Discover Michigan’s Copper Island

Michigan's beautiful and remote Keweenaw Peninsula is hiding a bit of a secret that only a few non-natives realize. It's Michigan's unrecognized Copper Island. The Keweenaw is located at the tip of the Upper Peninsula and home to cities and villages like Hancock, Houghton and Calumet as well as Michigan Tech.

The true nature of the Keweenaw is not a peninsula, but an island.

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The copper in the Copper Island name comes from the metal once mined in abundance from the land.

The Keweenaw Waterway: Dividing the Peninsula

As for the island, that's thanks to the Keweenaw Waterway, a series of lakes, a river and a canal that serve to cut the Keweenaw in half, the upper, northern portion being Copper Island.

The Portage Canal, which created the island by fully competing the waterway in the 1860s.

It's interesting that the residents of the time used the name Copper Island to refer to the Keweenaw north of Hancock, but neither the state nor federal government refer to this area as an island.

READ MORE: Is The Truest Yooper Someone Who Has Never, Ever Left the Keweenaw? + How the Ultra Rich Blocked a Proposed New National Park in the Upper Peninsula

If they did, Copper Island would surpass Isle Royale as the largest island in Lake Superior.

The Portage Lift Bridge: Connecting Copper Island

There is only one connection onto and off of Copper Island, the Portage Lift Bridge which carries US 41 and M-26 across the Keweenaw Waterway.

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Perhaps the most forward facing use of the name Copper Island is the annual hockey game between high schools on the island, Calumet and Hancock. The Copper Island Classic is scheduled to be held for the 50th time in 2025.