Become a Keweenaw Explorer and Earn Rewards for Visiting Waterfalls, Watching Birds, and Eating Pasties
The Keweenaw Peninsula has long been a favorite vacation destination for our family. We love the combination of outdoor adventure opportunities, great food, and plentiful historic attractions. This year we visited in June and had the chance to check out a new digital passport program offered through Visit Keweenaw, where you can earn rewards for visiting waterfalls, trying delicious pasties, and exploring birdwatching sites. There is no app to download and signing up is easy. You will get an email and a text to your phone and then are free to check in at each location as you make your way through the Keweenaw. Here’s a look at the “Friends of a Feather” Birdwatching Trail, the Keweenaw Waterfall Trail, and the Keweenaw Pasty Trail.
The Friends of a Feather Keweenaw Birdwatching Trail has six sites to visit. In the passport you will find the location of each one and a description of some of the birds you might see. It includes Nara Nature Park, which is one of our favorite stops in Houghton. Also included are Brockway Mountain, Redwyn Dunes Nature Sanctuary, Boston Pond Nature Area, Paavola Wetlands Nature Area, and Sturgeon River Slough Wildlife Area. You earn points for checking in at each stop, and can then earn a “Superior Birder” patch and certificate.
The Keweenaw Waterfall Trail showcases seven of the region’s easier-to-visit waterfalls. Eagle River Falls and Jacobs Falls can be viewed from the roadside, while Wyandotte Falls and Redridge Dam are a bit more off the beaten path but short walks. Canyon Falls, Hungarian Falls, and Houghton-Douglass Falls require a little bit of a hike on rustic trails but these three are also what we consider to be the “must see” waterfalls of the Keweenaw. Completion of the waterfall trail earns a “Waterfall Wanderer” patch and certificate.
The Keweenaw Pasty Trail encourages visitors to come hungry and eat local at 13 stops. Check in while enjoying the unique takes on the handheld classic at Krupp’s Mini Mart, Roy’s Pasties and Bakery, Suomi Home Bakery and Restaurant, Griffin Family Cafe and Catering, Uncle’s Local Diner, Amy J’s Pasty, Jen’s Kitchen, East Fork Pasty Company, Pasty Central/The Hut, Toni’s Country Kitchen, Mohawk Superette, Slim’s Cafe, and Lac Labelle Lodge Bear Belly Pit Stop. This quest does not have to be completed in one visit so there’s no need to overdo it! Completing this trail earns a “Pasty Champ” patch, a certificate, and your name in the Pasty Hall of Fame!
If you’ve been to the Keweenaw you may know that the peninsula doesn’t always have the best cell phone coverage so you may be wondering how to check in at some of the locations mentioned here. We had enough signal for all but two of them, and there is an option to contact customer support and send in a photo you took at the location so they can verify it and give you credit for your visit. We discovered that most of the locations on these lists were already in our plans to visit or overlapped with nearby sites we would already be visiting so getting the Friends of a Feather trail completed this year was pretty easy. We made some progress on the Keweenaw Waterfall Trail and will be back to finish that up and keep eating our way through the Pasty Trail when we make it back to the Keweenaw! If you’re heading there anytime soon be sure to check out these digital passports to enhance your visit!