Abandoned 1960s Rocket Range: Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan

There have been a handful of adventurous Michiganders who make the trek all the way to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.....and you can't get there easily. A buddy and I gave it a shot some years ago but we didn't have a vehicle that was sturdy-enough to get up and down the steep rocky drives and trails. If you don't have the right kind of vehicle, then you will have to get out and walk a number of miles before you reach the Keweenaw's tip.

At the very tip is the Keweenaw Rocket Range, surrounded by trees and overlooking Lake Superior and Manitou Island. It has been abandoned for decades, not long after they launched their first successful rocket into space. That particular launch took place on January 29, 1971. However, NASA had been using that launch site since 1964, when they occasionally sent rockets into the atmosphere in order to collect data on electron precipitation, density, and solar X-rays, among other research.

If you wanna try and visit, get an old four-wheel-drive, mountain bike, or wait until winter when you can take a snowmobile. Otherwise, you may be in for a rough time. Summertime treks bring thick foliage and vegetation...and bugs.

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There's a place in Copper Harbor where you can get a trail map to help you navigate. Don't forget your camera, munchies, and fluids. US-41 ends just past Copper Harbor and it's all dirt from then on.

The gallery below shows the rocket range...many hikers and bikers have stopped to camp there...you probably will, too.