Houghton Waterfront Path and Park

Outsiders might easily overlook this paved 4 1/2 mile bike/hiking/rollerblading trail that connects many interesting sights and features. It extends west from the Nara Nature Park at Houghton's east entrance on U.S. 41 all the way to the Houghton Waterfront Park west of M-26.
Picnic tables and occasional fishing platforms are along the waterfront from Dee Stadium west to the Lift Bridge and Houghton beach. The path and park are almost entirely sunny, so hats and sunscreen are in order.
• See separate point of interest for the NARA NATURE PARKS with boardwalks along the Pilgrim River to the Keweenaw Waterway. Good birding and fishing.
• Next, just west of the Michigan Tech campus, behind the Super 8 motel (prominently signed from College Avenue), is a public dock with benches offering a Keweenaw Waterway view across to the ski hill. (Walk or bike east from the motel on the pathway to reach a small sand beach below the Michigan Tech campus.) Just west of the Super 8 is a parking lot and access point for kayaks and canoes.
• The main waterfront park is behind downtown Houghton, with a lot of parking. The first street down to the water is just past the Chamber of Commerce, by the Citgo station.
• DEE STADIUM, (906) 482-1770, owned by the city of Houghton, is used as an events center, Keweenaw Star waterway cruise ticket office (see separate point of interest) and summer history center. The ever-growing collection of KEWEENAW HISTORICAL PHOTO, spearheaded by Ralph Raffaelli, Houghton's recently retired police chief, have been on display each summer. Usually from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wheelchair accessible.
"The Dee" has a hallowed place in hockey history — at least its predecessor did. Hockey was evolving from a sport for Canada's wealthy urbanites into a more broad-based game when "Doc" Gibson, a Detroit-educated Canadian dentist and outstanding hockey player, came to town in 1900. He dreamed of establishing professional hockey in the U.S.
Gibson gathered hockey players from Canada and convinced James Dee to build "The Amphidrome" on this site as a hockey arena, county fair venue, and warehouse. In Houghton, Dee had become rich in the telegraph and electricity businesses and made more money in real estate. What's considered the first U.S. all-pro professional hockey game took place at The Amphidrome on Dec. 20, 1902. A vivid mural on The Dee's entrance depicts an early Amphidrome crowd.
By 1904 Gibson had successfully promoted the International Hockey League, the world's first inter-city professional league. In it, the best Canadian players played three seasons for member teams at Portage Lake (Houghton-Hancock), Calumet, each of the two Soos, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When the league folded, Gibson moved on to Calgary. The Hockey Hall of Fame honors Gibson as a builder of the sport. Get the whole story at www.cityofhoughton.com and look under "history."
The Amphidrome burned in 1927. This, the second Amphidrome, later known as Dee Stadium, hosted Michigan Tech's hockey games through 1972. Today artifacts and photos of Houghton's hockey history can be seen in the Dee Stadium Hockey Room. A video, part of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting) 10-part Hockey: A People's History, focuses on the Houghton segment of that popular series.
• PORTAGE LAKE DISTRICT LIBRARY, (906) 482-4570, has in its new building many surprising features not suggested by its bland exterior, thanks to creative design inputs for and from many users, including children. Big windows offer outstanding views from the Ripley Smelter to the Lift Bridge. Reading nooks abound. (Readers in a cozy seating area at the library's far, west end can look up at the dramatic bridge in all seasons. The history area behind the main desk looks out on the smelter.) There are computers for visitors to use, and genealogical reference materials. The helpful bulletin board shows part of what's happening locally.
Alas, library funding has been only from millages of the city of Houghton and Chassell/Portage Township. Parents in Hancock, South Range, and Dollar Bay would have to buy yearly library memberships to encourage their kids to read, but few do. (The Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw district, however, has an outstanding public/school library.) On Lakeshore at the foot of Huron, near the Suomi Kitchen. Open Mon, Tues, Thurs 10-9, Wed & Fri 10-5, Sat 12-5. Wheelchair-accessible.
• BRIDGEVIEW PARK. Farther west on the waterfront path, past the parking deck, this beautiful new park has benches, a large year-round grill, an interpretive display about the historic waterfront, and fine view of the lift bridge from water level. The park and parking area are at the foot of the street which leads down from Shelden Ave. between The Ambassador restaurant and Surplus Outlet. Wheelchair-accessible park.
• BOATERS can tie up for free at many docks along the entire downtown waterfront from the Super 8 Motel west past the Lift Bridge to the RV park, swimming beach, and chutes-and-ladders playground. Call (906) 482-8745 for marina info. A handy kayak/canoe access point is just west of the Super 8. A boat ramp is just west of the Lift Bridge.
• HOUGHTON WATERFRONT PARK and BEACH. West of the Lift Bridge, this sunny, open pathway and waterfront benches and fishing platforms are partly the front yard for a row of upscale homes. It ends in a large beach, playground, and picnic areas with grills. Its centerpiece is a spectacular, immensely popular high chutes-and-ladders structure. The Houghton RV Park adjoins the park and play area. Entered by vehicles either off of M-26 as it turns uphill, or from Lakeshore Drive on the waterfront going under the bridge. The shoreline bike/walking path to Chassell starts here, goes under the bridge, and goes east. Wheelchair-accessible. (—8/2010)

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