As summer light is changing and the seasons slip closer to fall, there is still plenty of time to adventure and frolic in the great outdoors. Whether you’re coming up for Homecoming Weekend 2026 or just planning a trip for fall colors, be sure to pack your hiking boots and a picnic basket. Perhaps this image from the Archives’ Harry Reeder Photograph Collection will inspire some dining al fresco along Lake Superior. This image shows folks enjoying a meal at Esrey Park in September 1935. Some things never change!
Where is your favorite place for fall adventures or fresh air dining? Let us know in the comments!
About the Archives
The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections houses a wide variety of print, graphic and manuscript resources related to the history and culture the Copper Country and Michigan Technological University. If you would like to research in the archives, appointments are available from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Appointments may be requested by calling (906) 487-2505 or by filling out the request form on the archives website. If you have any questions regarding archives services, collections, or remote research help, please reach out to (906) 487-2505 or e-mail us at copper@mtu.edu. The Michigan Tech Archives can also be found on Facebook (Michigan Tech Archives), Instagram (@michigantecharchives), and X (@mtuarchives).
I’d say my favorite place for a picnic back in the mid 1960s was Red Ridge.
I went to Copper Peak Ski Jump out toward Ironwood last year at peak fall colors. You can take the chairlift and elevator to the top for some great views!
Favorite place in the 1980s was Five Mile Point, on M-26 between Eagle River and Eagle Harbor. Beautiful rocky beach for bonfires and sunsets. In 1995, I asked my future wife to marry me at that spot. It used to be marked with one of the vintage brown signs with yellow lettering, so you couldn’t miss it. Now that strip has been purchased and built with homes and is off-limits as private property…as so many good places that have been discovered.