The view from atop the Cliffs in the Phoenix, MI area is outstanding, as you can see from today’s photos. Chad Johnson and John Kurkowski were off on another Keweenaw adventure this past weekend. Chad said it was too windy for kayaking, so they went off-roading instead, driving his Jeep to the Cliff Drive Overlook for that spectacular view. Doesn’t it seem like you can see forever?

Then they explored the Cliff Mine ruins and poor rock piles there. Chad mentioned that this copper mine operated in the 1800’s and from 1845 to 1854, produced more copper than any other copper mine in the U.S. Pretty impressive, no wonder this area was long known as the Copper Country.

Chad’s bottom photo is looking up to where they were, by the highest tree on the rocky ledge. It’s a popular spot in both the summer and the winter for 4 wheeling and snowmobiling.

The video today, is a drone flight around the Cliff’s and up over the top for a look at the poor rock piles up there. The one with the smoke stack in Chad’s photo, is at the base of the Cliffs, not on the top like in the video. Enjoy the “off-road” flight.

Very nice! When I saw the Jeep, my first thought was Dr. Nat and Capt. Paul after a paint job by: "Better Get Maaco."

There's a kayak run coming down from the Cliffs!?! That would be one heck of a white water ride.

I've always (only) seen the Cliffs from below and even from below there are some fantastic views that I've personally seen and in other's photos. Getting to the top is now on my todo list. In my much younger days we used to try to get to the top by climbing. Glad we never tried too hard and no one was injured.

I know there is a Catholic Cliff Cemetery close by just off US-41 but is there another one closer to the lower mine. I circled in red where I think it might be. You can just barely see a dead end road inserted by Google maps leading up to the area.

Lol, no Alex. I wouldn't think of repainting mine since they only made that colour for about 10 weeks in 2016, so a rare colour on a Jeep.

Mary: you have the locations of the Cliff slightly incorrect on your post. The one with the smokestack in Chad's photo is on top of the hill and is the Cliff No. 4 shaft. The video features both the upper (No. 4) and lower (Nos. 1-3 and Avery Shaft) piles of the Cliff. The mine operated between 1845 and 1883, then again in 1906 when exploration was conducted on the upper levels adjacent to the main fissure. The mine produced a total of 38.2 million pounds of copper and a fair amount of silver.

Nat and I haven't been up top yet, but we plan to before we leave.

D. A. (Midwested),
I believe there is only one cemetery in the area but it's known as Cliff Catholic Cemetery, Cliff Mine Cemetery, or Hillside Cemetery. My understanding is while it's located in the area you have circled, there are different sections of the cemetery for burials for different groups. Check the map on this site:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/722/cliff-catholic-cemetery

So Capt. Paul (Eclogite), what happened with the Copper Harbor caper? Were you able to get the video you needed?

D. A. (Midwested),
When you open that site, go to the photos tab, then to photo #5 and read the caption which gives you a full explanation about the different sections of the cemetery and where they are located.

We got the video, several photos, chatted with Sharon (very nice lady, btw), and enjoyed a sunny day on the Keweenaw!

Oh, and be on the lookout for photos and a video.

It sounds like Capt. Paul and Dr. Nat are having a real Keweenaw "field day" (or maybe "field week"?)! Yeay!

It's so nice to see people having some fun for a change, especially after watching the local news. Nothing but violence, hatred and death.

I'm right there with ya Alex.

Thanks jbuck. The photo of the information sign mentions an "Old German" cemetery on the other side of Cliff Drive after the town was relocated. In addition to this, Google has the Catholic Cemetery located closer to US-41. Makes me think this is really the Old German Cemetery.



Looking forward to Capt. Paul's photos of the Copper Harbor copper vein and how he got permissions.

I think the Old German, or Protestant, Cemetery, is the one off of the Cliff Drive. I walked there years ago before the trail became constantly flooded. The Catholic Cemetery is the one between US 41 and the Cliff Drive. If you walk around that cemetery, which is easy to get to from US 41, you can see the old foundations of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, which was later moved down the road and became the Phoenix Church.