Bay Furnace Picnic Area

A picnic area and small beach look out at Grand Island across the west entrance to Munising Bay. Next to it the dramatic sandstone ruins of a charcoal-fueled blast furnace are interpreted for visitors. Between 1869 and 1877, iron ore from the Marquette Iron Range was converted to pig iron and shipped from a dock that once was here. (Later pig iron was remelted to become a component of higher-grade iron or steel.) It's hard to believe that some 500 people in the company town of Onota once lived on this site until fire destroyed it in 1877. Small northern furnaces like these were superseded by big steel-making centers around Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Down the drive is the 50-site Bay Furnace Campground. The area is part of the Hiawatha National Forest.

From M-28 at Christmas, look for sign to Bay Furnace campground. It's not far north of the highway. (906) 387-2512. No entrance fee. Handicap accessible.
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Bay Furnace Picnic Area. The remnants of an 1870s blast furnace that made pig iron are next to this pleasant picnic spot with a splendid view of Grand Island across the bay ... more

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