Lac La Belle (French: “Lake The Beautiful”) is a small unincorporated community in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The town was originally the site of a stamping plant for the copper mines of the Keweenaw, specifically the Mendota Mine and the Delaware Mine. Copper-bearing rock was transported from the mines to the stamping plant, where it was processed and loaded onto freighters.
The nearby lake of the same name averages approximately 30 feet in depth and empties into Lake Superior at Bete Gris. The Little Gratiot River and several creeks empty into Lac La Belle. A small roadside park within the town contains Haven Falls on Haven Creek, which also empties into the lake. ~wikidpedia
The weather wasn’t great for our trip, but it wasn’t all that bad either. We endured intermittent rain and the occasional snow flurry with party cloudy skies the majority of the time. The wind was actually calm enough to fly a few times. These shot were taking right from our cabin. The first shot is oriented East shortly after sunrise. The second is oriented West, you can see Lake Superior beyond Mount Bohemia and Lac La Belle. Such a pretty area in the Autumn.
LAC LA BELLEMOUNT BOHEMIA
Our cabin was right on the Lake. We were 4 short miles from Bete Grise/Lake Superior and 15 short miles from Copper Harbor – Hwy 41 was absolutely on fire with color; the canopy over the road was spectacular – more on that in another post. Here are some images of the cabin and surrounding area. A wonderful place to call home for a few days.
The Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies, are a group of small mountains spanning the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, near the shore of Lake Superior. The Porcupine Mountains were named by the native Ojibwa people, supposedly because their silhouette had the shape of a crouching porcupine.They are home to the most extensive stand of old growth northern hardwood forest in North America west of the Adirondack Mountains, spanning at least 31,000 acres. In these virgin forests, sugar maple, American basswood, eastern hemlock, and yellow birch are the most abundant tree species. The area is part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. ~wikipedia
The drive through the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness are was popping with color. We entered on the West side – Presque Isle River area. I was a lovely six hour drive from Red Wing, MN.
WEST SIDE
The Presque Isle River water falls are short hikes from the main road with ample parking places. There are quite a few stairs on one of the hikes. Another occasion to get the puppy-kids out of car for a walk. This Michigan state park was a bit more pet-friendly compared to WI and MN, where you are limited to an area or certain trails.
Geography
The most striking geological feature of the Porcupine Mountains is the long basalt and conglomerate escarpment parallel to the Lake Superior shore and overlooking Lake of the Clouds, a continuation of the same copper-bearing bedrock found farther northeast on the Keweenaw Peninsula. A second ridge farther inland, on the other side of Lake of the Clouds, includes Summit Peak, the highest point in the mountains at 1,958 feet. Rivers, waterfalls, swamps, and lakes lie between the rocky outcroppings. There are a number of waterfalls on the Presque Isle River in the extreme western side of the park. ~wikipedia
EAST SIDE
Lake of the Clouds Overlook is accessible from the East t side of the park. It is hard to beat the view from here. This area is wheelchair accessible via a long ramp.
It was mid 39 degrees with a 30+ MPH wind when we visited – Brrrrrr, it was cold. I must say that an iPhone does a tremendous job with a panorama. My phone was all over the place in that wind. You can see by the weather map below; although Lake Superior is a cold lake, this time of year it’s relatively warm and turn that snow right into rain.
