Fill the Hidden Pines Barn on June 5th with Support For the Heartlands!

Get your tickets to For the Heartlands, Friday, June 5th!

We’re so excited about For the Heartlands, a Friday, June 5th fundraiser dinner and concert in support of the future, public Keweenaw Heartlands Community Forest.  It’s going to be an entertaining and community-oriented evening in a beautiful setting—the Hidden Pines Barn in Calumet. 

We’ll serve up locally prepared foods from Fletchy’s Otter Belly Lodge, Mohawk Superette, and the Keweenaw Co-op Market and Deli; refreshments provided by CLK Rotary Club (1 token per ticket); Heartlands swag from Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear and Superior Graphics; “The Best of the Keweenaw” silent auction featuring everything from goats to mushroom foraging to kayaking, Zamboni-riding, and more; and a concert from the popular and super fun band The Go Rounds. 

Learn more about the event and buy your tickets before they sell out! All fundraised dollars (and just over half the ticket cost) go into the Keweenaw Heartlands Forest Fund held by the Keweenaw Community Foundation. This fund supports the start-up and management of what will become the first community forest of its kind in the state—the Keweenaw Heartlands Community Forest. Special thanks to the event’s generous sponsors!

Part III of “What makes the Keweenaw Heartlands Special?” 

Do you enjoy the forested view from the top of Brockway Mountain? Did you know that most of that view is the Keweenaw Heartlands forest!  

The forest’s footprint is the primary southerly viewshed of the nearly 9-mile Brockway Mountain Drive and Scenic Overlook—our popular local, regional, and state fall color route. The Heartlands also includes portions of the Copper Country Trail National Byway (#2 on USA Today’s Best Scenic Drive List for 2026) and its spur routes along Lake Superior. 

Beyond beautiful vistas, the Heartlands offer significant public access and outdoor recreation opportunities. The forest footprint provides something for everyone, and so much of what makes the Keweenaw Peninsula special:

• 31 miles of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MI DNR) designated snowmobile trails, maintained by volunteers of the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club. These trails connect to 235 miles of regional snowmobile trails.

• 29 miles of MI DNR-designated off-road vehicle (ORV) trails maintained by volunteers of the Keweenaw ATV Club. Altogether, these ORV trails connect to a larger system of 166 miles of trail in Keweenaw and Houghton Counties and approximately 477 miles across the Western UP.

• Mountain bike trails connecting to the 60+ mile International Mountain Biking Association Silver Level Ride Center trail system in and around Copper Harbor, maintained by the Copper Harbor Trails Club.

• Trails criss-crossed by the annual CopperDog 150 sled dog race.

• 3 miles of Great Lakes shoreline featuring beautiful Jacobsville Sandstone.

• Beyond these awesome features, the Keweenaw Heartlands provide wide public benefits, including hunting, fishing, foraging, and so much more. 

Protecting this forest and all it offers was never a question of whether, just how. And we’re excited that community members and partners on the Keweenaw Heartlands Project continue to work together to figure it out.

Read Part I and Part II of “What Makes the Heartlands Special?” to learn more about this special forest.

Keweenaw County Public Hearing and Special Meeting regarding Articles of Incorporation

The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and special meeting regarding the draft Articles of Incorporation for a Keweenaw Heartlands Recreational and Natural Resources Authority. Both the hearing and the meeting will take place on Monday, June 1st, starting at 6:00 pm at the Keweenaw County Courthouse.

Keweenaw Heartlands Public Meeting April 16, 2026 - Audio and slides posted

The Nature Conservancy has hosted regular public update meetings throughout the Keweenaw Heartlands project. The last public update meeting took place on April 16, 2026. Listen to the audio and/or view the slides. Please send questions to keweenaw@tnc.org.