Destination Guide: Road Trip to Keweenaw

A quick detour from cities - Chef James lays out an epic road trip from Detroit to Keweenaw

A history

As a born and raised Michigander, my love of the great north is not a singular experience. It’s in our DNA. Whether your family worked for the big three and bought property post WW2 in Traverse or Alpena or Gaylord or West Branch or you took family trips to Mackinac Island, you may have spent some time in the woods of northern Michigan.

My grandfather, John Rigato (or “Nonno” as we called him) had 80 acres and a tiny cabin in Cummins on Gilcrest Creek. It was the most magical place in my childhood. We would dig the bed of the creek to find the natural spring and fill water pitchers for the cabin. He would smoke cigars and show us the flammability of white birch bark, even when wet. (Years later, I’d learn of its edibility too.) My Nonno died when I was 14 and the cabin was sold long before I would have the means to buy it. I did walk the property some years ago, as it was listed for sale. The cabin was in rough shape, the property littered with tchotchkes and the asking price too steep. I sadly let the dream die and made my peace with not having that land.

I would also spend time in Harrisville with my Uncle Jimmy Rigato at his cabin next to Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, right on Lake Huron. More cigar aromas, woodland walks, tall tales and John Wayne movies set against the lapping of Huron’s waves on the shore.

Summer camp at Nissokone.

In my teens, I would attend YMCA summer camps. Ohiyesa and Nissokone. Formative experiences of socializing with a diverse community of kids from all over the world. Campfires, Walkman’s packed with Jewel and Sarah McLachlan, holding hands in the dark. You see, I was an Arts & Crafts kid. While my bunk mates would all be at athletics or water sports, I was painting with the girls cabin making boondoggle, writing them poetry and falling in love (usually with all of them).

Copper Harbor, MI.

By the time I was able to drive, I dabbled in exploring the UP. First: Whitefish Point. Then: Tahquamenon. Then eventually all the way to Copper Harbor. This was Mapquest/Atlas driving and I had a blast going off grid, exploring so many new places. The first time I saw the Keweenaw at 21, I felt that too familiar rush of adventure. The same I felt on my Nonno’s 80-acres or my Uncle Jimmy’s or in the woods at summer camp. It was intoxicating and emotional. I’ve returned to the Keweenaw almost every year since.

In July of 2020, I was in a whirlwind of running a food business during COVID and I had some cash from all of the refunds of my canceled trips. One day, walking my dog Chandler in Eagle River, I came across a cork board post that said “1870s Farmhouse for sale. 2 acres. $70,000.” I called the number. Walked the house. And bought it with a mortgage under the condition that I immediately upgrade the roof, siding and furnace in order for it to be insured. Five years later, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.