Iron Mountain and Kingsford are on the west side of the Upper Peninsula, bordered shimmering lakes and the Menominee River. The area offers lots to do outside, from golfing and skiing to kayaking and biking. There's also unique places to visit, like the Millie Mine Bat Viewing Site, the Cornish Pump & Mining Museum, and the Iron Mountain Iron Mine.
Area Attractions
Pine Mountain Golf and Ski Area attracts visitors from all over. During the winter, the ski area features over 25 downhill runs, numerous lifts and tows, and a ski school. The Pine Mountain Ski Jump is home to the Kiwanis Ski Club, which hosts an international ski jumping competition each year. The TimberStone Golf Course at Pine Mountain is a challenging course with rolling hills, undulating greens, and water obstacles.
Golf Digest rated it as a five-star course, and
Golf Week named it as one of the top resort courses in the United States.
Pine Grove Country Club is a challenging 18-hole golf course with several fairways bordered by old-growth trees. The semi-private golf club welcomes guests.
Mountain View Ice Arena is on East Hughitt Street, near the Eastside Recreation Complex. The arena is used for hockey, skating lessons, and open skating during the winter. For the remainder of the year, it hosts special events.
Several miles to the southeast of Iron Mountain, south of Norway, the rocky Piers Gorge section of the Menominee River is famous for its fast-moving current and class IV-V rapids. Adventurous water rafters like to ride the rapids, while others enjoy seeing the magnificent scenery from shore using the hiking trail next to Piers Gorge. See the
Norway section for more.
Iron Mountain Iron Mine, the Cornish Pump & Mining Museum, Menominee Range Historical Museum, and several historic locations are other places to visit. See the
Historic Locations & Attractions page for information.
Millie Hill Bat Viewing Site
The Millie Mine in Iron Mountain is a hibernating and breeding location for up to 50,000 bats, one of the largest known concentrations of bats in the Midwest. Big brown and little brown bats from all over the Great Lakes region come to the Millie Mine to hibernate during the cold winter months. Along Park Avenue, there is a parking area with a sign says that "Millie Hill Bat Viewing Site." The best time to view bats is in September and early October, right at dusk, as the bats begin to emerge from the mine. The bats feed throughout the night and return an hour to half hour before daylight.
Bike Routes
There are miles of bike routes around the Iron Mountain and Kingsford area. Most bike routes have a paved shoulder or bike lane. Through downtown Iron Mountain, an alley and parking lot are part of the bike route that is east of Merritt Avenue.
The bike route through Iron Mountain City Park uses the park's paved drive and a dirt trail at the back of the park. The dirt trail cuts through the west side of the park, where it meets the paved road shoulder bike route along Westwood Avenue. If you're visiting Iron Mountain, the City Park is a good starting spot to access the area bike routes since there are a few parking lots. Lodal Park in Kingsford is also a good access point for the bike routes.
Cyclists can ride to Lake Antoine Park using the paved shoulder along Quinnesec-Lake Antoine Road. The ride offers a nice view of Lake Antoine. You can use the paved trails near Lake Antoine Park to ride to Fumee Lake Recreation area.
Using the bike lanes along Woodward Avenue, cyclists can ride to and from Cowboy Lake Park. The park has a large parking area, restrooms, beach, and other facilities.
On the north side of Iron Mountain, a bike route along Milwaukee Avenue and Bass Lake road is a favorite with road cyclists. There is no shoulder for much of the route, which has some colorful scenery in the fall. The route typically has low to moderate vehicle traffic.
Remember to obey traffic laws and be alert when riding on the shoulder or on the edge of the road. See the
maps page for the specific bike route locations. Before you go, it's a good idea to check the
State of Michigan's construction database to make sure there will not be any construction on the road that can interfere with your ride.
Area Trails
The Iron Mountain City Park Trails are used for hiking and cross-country skiing. The trails snake through the woods and over a few hills. A parking lot at the back of the park provides easy access to the hiking and skiing trails.
Fumee Lake Natural Area has nearly 10 miles of trails. During the winter, the trails are used for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The rest of the year, the trails are used for hiking and mountain biking. Fumee Lake Natural Area is located about three miles east of downtown Iron Mountain.
The Lake Antoine Park-Fumee Lake Natural Area Trail is a paved trail that connects the two parks. The trail is along the outer fenceline of Lake Antoine Park, crosses Quinnesec Avenue, and continues to Fumee Lake Natural Area.
Pedestrians often use the
paved shoulders along Quinnesec-Lake Antoine Road, which go west from Lake Antoine Park and have nice views of Lake Antoine. The paved shoulder is a designated bike route, so you could encounter cyclists if you walk or jog on the road shoulder.
Cowboy Lake Ski Trail is approximately 1.5 miles long and is a one-way loop for easy cross-country skiing. The trail starts on the southeast side of Cowboy Lake Park.
Area Parks
There are several nice parks around Iron Mountain and Kingsford.
- Cowboy Lake Park is about two miles west of Iron Mountain and Kingsford. The nice park has a swimming beach and fishing pier on Cowboy Lake. Playground equipment, a canoe/kayak launch, a ski trail, and picnic areas are available at the park. The park has a boat launch near the entrance to the park.
- Crystal Lake Park is on the southeast corner of Crystal Lake, off Crystal Lake Boulevard. The park has a soccer field, basketball court, playground and playground.
- Eastside Recreation Complex has a ball diamond and four tennis courts. Mountain View Ice Arena is across the street from the complex.
- Fairlawn Park in Kingsford has tennis courts, a playscape, and picnic tables. The park has a large greenspace with large trees.
- Forest Street Playlot has a small playground at the corner of Houghteling Street and Forest Street.
- Herscheids Campo Sportivo (Northside Tennis Courts) is on the south side of Stanton Street. The park has two tennis courts and a playground.
- Iron Mountain City Park is on the west side of Iron Mountain, off Harding Avenue. The nice park has a playscape and other playground equipment for kids. A large fenced in area in the center of the park is home to several deer, which visitors enjoy watching. Athletic facilities include a football/soccer field, tennis courts, volleyball courts, and a hiking/skiing trail. A pavilion and picnic area are available for gatherings. The park's bocce courts are used by the Dickinson Area Bocce Association.
- Jess Tidmore Memorial Courts are located across the street from the Forest Street Playlot. The park has two public tennis courts.
- Lake Antoine County Park is a scenic recreation area on beautiful Lake Antoine. The park has two pavilions, picnic tables, a swimming beach, and campground. The park is great for family gatherings and reunions. The park's band shell is used for live performances, with the Dickinson County Band performing there during the summer. For camping or pavilion reservations, call (906)774-2573. For more details, see Dickinson County's Lake Antoine web page.
- Lodal Park in Kingsford has baseball diamonds, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, skate park, basketball court, and football field. Gary S. Spigarelli Memorial Field is the north baseball diamond at the park.
- Northside Ballfield is north of Chapin Lake on Third Street. The ball diamond has bleachers and lights. A playground is located north of the field.
- Pewabic Playfield is across from the Eastside Recreation Complex. The playground has several pieces of climbing equipment for kids.
- Westside Field has a ballfield with dugouts, lights, and bleachers. It's located near Crystal Lake, off Crystal Lake Boulevard.
Kayaking and Canoeing
On the Menominee River, kayaks and canoes can be launched from Cowboy Lake Park. You'll need to park your vehicle at the parking area and then take your kayak/canoe south to the stairs that lead to the waters edge, just east of the dam. Big Quinnesec Dam is about four miles downriver (near East Kingsford) from the launch site.
Kayaks can be launched on to Lake Antoine and Cowboy Lake using the public boat launch sites that are mentioned in the next paragraph.
Boating
There are two nice lakes, Lake Antoine and Cowboy Lake, near Iron Mountain that boaters can enjoy. Lake Antoine is the larger of the two lakes and has a boat launch on the west end, not far from US-2/US-141. The launch site has a small parking area for vehicles with trailers. At Cowboy Lake, there is a boat launch near the entrance to Cowboy Lake Park. The launch site has a circular drive to the launch site.
Fishing
Near the dam at Cowboy Lake Park, there is a fishing pier that is accessible from a path that starts at the parking lot. The steel pier extends over the river. If you prefer to fish closer to the water, you can walk down the stairs where canoes/kayaks are launched. The Menominee River is known for good smallmouth bass fishing.
At Cowboy Lake, there is a large fishing pier that is located southeast of the beach. The lake is known for trout, northern pike, and others.
At Lake Antoine, you can fish from shore or by boat. You may catch walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, or crappie at the lake.
If you don't have a Michigan fishing license, you can purchase one online at the
Michigan DNR E-License web site.
More About Iron Mountain & Kingsford
In mid-August, Iron Mountain hosts its annual
Italian festival. A grape stomp competition, pizza dough tossing competition, entertainment, food, local wines, beer, and more are part of the fun.
The Iron Mountain farmer's market brings fresh fruits and vegetables, handcrafted items, and more to downtown. The summer market is held on East A Street, behind City Hall; the winter market is held at the Izzo-Marriuchi Center, which is on the corner of Carpenter Avenue and West A Street. Visit the
farmers market web page for schedule information.
There are many restaurant choices in Iron Mountain and Kingsford. Many fast-food eateries and chain restaurants, like McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC and Domino's Pizza, can be found along Stephenson Avenue/US-2/US-141. There are also choices along M-95, like Main Street Pizza, Burger King and Dairy Queen. On the north side of Iron Mountain on US-2/US-141, Romagnoli's has some good Italian food. The bakery at Super One Foods on Stephenson Avenue makes very good donuts.
For lodging choices, there are several to choose from. Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn, Super 8 Motel, and Budget Host Motel are on the north side of town along US-2/US-141/M-95. On the south side of town, you'll find Days Inn, Motel 6, Mountain Host Motor Inn, and Country Inn & Suites along US-2/US-141.
For shopping, Birchwood Mall in Kingsford has JC Penney, Sears, and other stores. In Iron Mountain, there are many small stores and several large retailers along US-2/US-141, including Super One Foods, Econofoods, Walmart, and Kmart.
