The Black River Scenic Byway follows Highway 513 north along the Black River in the Ottawa National Forest, north of Ironwood and Bessemer. The mouth of the river empties into Lake Superior at Black River Harbor—the only public access point reachable by vehicle for Lake Superior west of Porcupine Mountains State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The Ottawa National Forest was created in the 1930s. The Black River Scenic Byway was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1992 for its exceptional scenery and recreational activities. Today, the byway offers opportunities for hiking the North Country, waterfalling, camping, rockhounding, and boating. The approximately 35-mile-long Black River originates from Black River Lake, flows south over numerous waterfalls, and cascades through a forest of hemlock, pine, and hardwoods. The byway, river, and harbor have a rich history.
Nineteenth Century History
Before Europeans or Americans arrived in the region, Anishinaabe (or Ojibwe) and other Indigenous peoples lived along Lake Superior’s south shore. By the early seventeenth century, Anishinaabe people were the main group in the region. They fished at many river mouths along the shore, including the Black River.
The land that eventually became the Ottawa National Forest was ceded to the United States by the Anishinaabe peoples in the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842. Often referred to as “The Copper Treaty,” one of the driving motivations for the United States to gain access to the land to the western half of the south shore of Lake Superior (including the Keweenaw Peninsula) was the rich copper and iron deposits.
In 1845, agents of the War Department completed a survey of copper prospecting along the Black River. The same year, the Chippewa Mining Company began exploration in the area. The Chippewa Mining Company at Chippewa Hill focused on mining copper (the hill was also known as Copper Hill).
The Chippewa Mining Company is representative of the growth occurring throughout the western UP in the mid-nineteenth century. Many mining and logging companies opened. However, most were only profitable briefly, and some were never profitable. Despite the precarious success of mining companies, old-growth forests, particularly white pine (whose wood floated on rivers and waterways), were logged to support the ventures, providing materials for the new communities and mining infrastructure. After the Soo Locks opened in 1855, materials from the UP, like lumber, iron, and copper, could also shipped to growing population hubs in the lower Great Lakes like Milwaukee and Chicago.
Chippewa Hill was attractive to the company owners because the nearby harbor and wharf could allow them to ship the copper throughout Lake Superior. However, like many companies, the Chippewa Hill Mining Company only found small traces of copper and never made a profit.
In 1884, land surveyor William A. Burt surveyed the region. He found a wagon road going from the mouth of the Black River to the Chippewa Mining Company. Two decades later, in 1904, Michigan constructed a wagon road from Bessemer to the mouth of the Black River Harbor. A portion of that road is the current Black River Scenic Byway.
By the late 1800s, a small commercial fishing village formed at the harbor. On the mornings the weather allowed, fishermen headed out onto Superior to set and check nets. When they weren’t out on the lake, fishermen used the roads to travel to the growing communities that supported the mining industry, like Bessemer and Ironwood. Both towns were platted and incorporated by the 1880s as the Milwaukee and Western Railroad was built in the region.
The creation of a commercial harbor required dredging to ensure there were adequate water levels for fishing boats. Evidence of dredging the harbor is located on the east side of the river. The Ottawa National Forest has a meadow restoration project on the dredge pile, growing native pollinators that tolerate the rocky, coarse ground through which water drains rapidly.
In the past and present, access to water and geology affect how humans use the land. The river, waterfalls, and the beach continue to draw visitors to the area.
The Civilian Conservation Corps
The Black River Scenic Byway region grew significantly in the early twentieth century.
By 1930, the mining and lumber booms in the western UP were on the decline. Economic struggles in the Northwoods were reflected nationally as the United States entered the Great Depression. After Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election, the federal government took on several projects to stimulate the economy, including creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933.
Workers from Camp Norrie—the CCC camp in Ironwood—built significant parts of the infrastructure at Black River Harbor that you see in the present, including the 210-foot suspension bridge that spans the river, the pavilion, and a small stone outbuilding. A sawmill was set up on-site to provide the timber needed for the projects.
Construction started on the bridge in 1938 and was completed by 1939. The bridge was rebuilt in 1968 and upgraded in 2009. It features stone supports at each end that illustrate classic CCC masonry. It was also built with steel suspension cables and steel plates. In the present, the bridge plays a key role in the recreation area—connecting the parking lot, boat launch, docks, and picnic area on the west side of the river to the beach area on the east side of the river. The bridge is also part of the North Country National Scenic Trail.
Fishing in the Twentieth Century
By the 1950s, the commercial fishing industry at Black River Harbor had ended, and by the 1960s, the largest iron mines in the region had closed. The steel industry switched to focusing on high-grade iron from deep-shaft mines to taconite ore that could be economically mined from open pits. The region’s economy was undergoing major changes.
Along with evidence of the CCC, visitors who take the Black River Scenic Byway to the harbor can also see evidence of the history of commercial fishing. The wooden fishing boat, the Nancy Jean, is on display in the picnic area on the west side of the river. Built in 1913 by the Dan Kidney Boat Factory in De Pere, Wisconsin, the Nancy Jean is a gasoline wooden boat displaying her builder’s fine craftsmanship. She was used as a commercial fishing boat in the 1930s. In 1940, her career shifted to work as a chartered fishing boat until she was abandoned about a decade later.
In 1991, the Ottawa National Forest Service purchased the Nancy Jean for one dollar with the plan to bring her to the harbor and create an accompanying interpretative exhibit. Today, she welcomes visitors—who pass by her on their way to the suspension bridge—reminding them of the harbor’s fishing history.
Black River Scenic Byway Today
Today, tourism is one of the main economic drivers in the region. When driving the Black River Scenic Byway, visitors can stop at Copper Peak for sweeping views or ride mountain bike trails. Most railroad tracks in the region have been converted to ORV and snowmobile trails.
Visitors can explore the five waterfalls (Greater Conglomerate, Potawatomi, Gorge, Sandstone, and Rainbow Falls). At the harbor, they can rock hunt for agates or Yooperlites, swim, launch their own boat, or charter a boat for a half or full-day excursion. They can camp at the nearby national forest campground or book rooms at nearby private lodging. As a sign by the United States Forest Service mentions, the real riches in the area are not copper—they are the harbor, the lakeshore, and the waterfalls.
Black River Harbor Location
GPS coordinates to parking lot entrance:
46.664076, -90.047018
The Black River Scenic Byway is a great area for a day trip or as a base camp to explore the western UP!
