Attractions & Historical Sites

History Lives Here Like No Other in the U.P.

Where else in the U.P. can you travel back in time to see a WWII glider, shoot down the region’s most intense rapids or see some of the country’s best athletes prepare for the Olympics? Dickinson County takes you on a journey both historical and modern, from our museums to everyday fun rafting, golfing, skiing and more.

The Menominee Range Historical Museum takes you back to living history at the new WWII Glider & Military Museum. Recall a time when the Ford plant in Kingsford was converted to make wooden gliders to fly reconnaissance missions over the English Channel. The museum complex also features the Cornish Pump which was used at Iron Mountain’s Chapin Mine. The Cornish Pumping Engine is the largest standing steam-driven pumping engine ever built in the United States and one of the largest pumping engines in the world.

Combine some lessons in area history with adventure at the Iron Mountain Iron Mine tour in Vulcan. Rockhounds plunge 400 feet underground to see what mining was like generations ago, and learn how the Menominee Iron Range was the source of the iron mining that drove the economy.

In winter, visit in early February for the Annual Continental Cup Ski Jumping Tournament at the giant Pine Mountain Ski Jump, the largest ski jumping facility in North America. Billed as the U.P.’s largest tailgate party, the tournament draws a fun-loving crowd and world-class international ski jumpers who speed over the spectators at a heart-stopping 55 miles per hour and sail 400 feet before landing.

Upper Peninsula Veterans Memorial

Located at the top of Pine Mountain, at the base of the ski jump, this memorial represents all 15 counties of the U.P. as well as recognizing in granite the eras of Vietnam, Lebannon Granada, the Gulf Wars, Korea, and WWI and WWII. At the base of each granite marker are pavers containing names of those whose memory is honored and shared.