Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Surveys and assessments regarding Copper Harbor and Fort Wilkins agree: The area is a gem for its natural beauty, rustic charm, historic context, and outdoor activities for all age ranges.

EAGLE RIVER – Last summer, Copper Harbor participated in a First Impressions Tourism assessment program conducted by the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension.

Will Cronin, community development educator with MSU Extension, said that First Impression Tourism is a statewide program that provides opportunities for communities to sign up to be “mystery shopped.”

The assessment was conducted by six unannounced visitors to the community ranging in age from Generation Y to Baby Boomers. The team included non-parents, parents and grandparents.

“We send a team of experts in a lot of disciplines related to tourism and community development,” Cronin said. “They go into a community unannounced, they visit, and they evaluate it on all sorts of topics related to tourism, and we provide recommendations.”

Assessors were presented with a list of 14 visitor motives and were asked to select the top three motives someone might have for visiting the community and the surrounding area.

The top three were outdoor recreation, such as mountain biking and hiking; being in nature; a distant third was “get away from people.”

Copper Harbor scored highest for nature-based activities, dedicated tourism attractions, historical/heritage attractions, but scored low for pedestrian infrastructure and communication infrastructure.

Topping the list of the key recommendations from the assessment was to “consider installing a robust public Wi-Fi network in the downtown area,”

Also included in the recommendations was focusing on full spectrum pedestrian safety improvements in the area, such as widening road shoulders for walkers and bikers where appropriate; adding signage; paint and possibly removable barriers or planters; adding sidewalks downtown, and creating buffered walkways, potentially integrating greenery.

“In a nutshell,” said Cronin, “Copper Harbor and the surrounding area have a fairly developed tourist economy based on outdoor recreation, and there’s a lot of opportunities to there to branch out, even.”

Copper Harbor has a strong demographic for activities like mountain bikers and other outdoor recreation activities, Cronin said.

“They’re interested in experiences,” he said. “They want to bring their bike, or rent one, and be outside all day, then maybe get a beer, then go crash or hang out at their vacation rentals.”

Cronin said that stakeholders might want to focus on the visitors who are not so much looking for sports and strenuous activities.

“Things like maybe we could look at adding assets and activities for other folks in the family who are less into mountain biking, so like grandma can come – things like that,” he suggested.

Cronin’s suggestion fits with a 2024 Fort Wilkins Historic General Management Plan public input survey. For Wilkins Historical State Park is the second most visited state park in Michigan.

The summary of that survey says that the two age groups with the highest response rates were

between 55 and 60 and 65 and older.

“Respondents for Fort Wilkins Historic State Park,” the survey summary reported, “fit this pattern with the greatest number of respondents in the 65 and older age group (35%), and the second most responses coming from the 50‐64 age group (32%).”

When asked to note all the activities participated in at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, most survey respondents reported visiting the historic fort (93%) and the lakeshore (82%). Other popular activities were nature viewing/study, hiking/dog‐walking, camping, and photography. The lighthouse was another popular site to visit in the park, with rockhounding, swimming/wading, and picnicking rounding out the top activities the 50‐64 age group (32%).

The Fort Wilkins survey found that many respondents expressed wanting to have more accessible trails and paths for walking and hiking, while the Copper Harbor survey emphasized wanting easier, family-friendly biking trails that appeal to beginners and tourists who aren’t seeking advanced outdoor recreation.

While FIT assessors and Fort Wilkins survey respondents found much to complain out, such as some expressing concern about recycling bins being absent, and not enough restrooms, Copper Harbor scored high in the areas it always has: The area’s natural beauty, the town’s charm, and the friendliness of the residents and business owners.

The Fort Wilkins survey summary stated:

“The top ten most common words were beautiful, historic, interesting, historical, remote, educational, peaceful, scenic, quiet, and fun.”

The Copper Harbor assessment found similar, with one assessor described the area as:

“Beautiful. Quaint. The views are stunning for a long time before reaching Copper Harbor. The drive is gorgeous. Took a deep breath and relaxed into the moment. Looked clean, if well-used, with a good focus on the outdoors.”