About this city
Ontonagon is a remote, historic maritime hamlet positioned flatly at the mouth of the Ontonagon River along the wild, rocky western shores of Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. Famous as the discovery site of the legendary 3,700-pound Ontonagon Boulder, a solid block of native copper now held by the Smithsonian Institution, the town exploded during the 1840s copper boom. Today, the village serves as the rugged, eco-conscious northern gateway to majestic mountain wilderness areas, balancing its papermaking legacy with raw Great Lakes shoreline preservation.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1–3 days
View unforgettable crimson sunsets over Lake Superior from the historic Ontonagon West Pierhead Light, hike past remote gorge waterfalls at nearby Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, and search for copper agates.
