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Community
Ironwood is the Western Gateway to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the major city in the area with a population of over 5,000 - the shopping, cultural and recreational center serving 50,000 people within a fifty mile radius.
Ironwood is a major four season recreation area. In summer, the area offers camping, hunting and fishing, boating, hiking, mountain biking and sightseeing. In winter, "Big Snow Country" offers miles of snowmobile trails and cross country ski trails, four major ski resorts within a 15 minute drive of Ironwood, and a world class ski flying competition. The region is blessed with plenty of snow, over 200” annually, for excellent and consistent winter recreation fun.
The area boasts the Black River National Forest Scenic Byway; including numerous waterfalls and the Copper Peak Ski Flying Complex. Copper Peak is the only ski flying hill in North America, and is the tallest ski flying structure in the world. In the summer and fall, Copper Peak offers chairlift and elevator rides to the top of the Ski Jump. Visit Copper Peak’s website for information on Sky Flying, including event dates, at Copper Peak USA.
The 954,000 acre Ottawa National Forest offers 27 campgrounds, access to 35 scenic waterfalls and miles of hiking trails in the North Country National Scenic Recreation Trail.
Ironwood is situated less than 20 miles away from Black River Harbor and Little Girls’ Point, which are located on Lake Superior, the world’s largest fresh water lake. Other area attractions include Sylvania Wilderness Area, Lake Gogebic, the U.P.'s largest lake, and Porcupine Mountain State Park, which was named the #1 place in the world to run by Nike in 2011.
Attractions in the city of Ironwood include Miner's Memorial Park, the Depot Museum, the Historic Ironwood Theatre, Theatre North, and the Memorial Municipal Building.
Downtown Ironwood boasts a growing retail/cultural center, with furniture stores, gift shops, restaurants, lodging and more. The Ironwood Commons and the US 2 corridor offer additional shopping, lodging and dining opportunities.
Summer events in the area include Festival Ironwood in July, the Gogebic County Fair and Paavo Nurmi Marathon in August, and 4th of July celebrations in Bessemer, Ramsay and Wakefield. In the winter Ironwood holds the annual Jack Frost Parade and Festival in December and hosts vintage snowmobile racing (the Snowmobile Olympus) and the Sisu Ski Fest 42K and 21K cross country ski marathon in January.
For more information and area events, see the Gogebic-Iron Range Live LiFe and the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce websites.
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