Brockway Mountain Drive
Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan · 1,335 ft
Nine miles of ridge road running 700 feet above Lake Superior, with pullouts facing open water one direction and a bowl of maple forest and inland lakes the other. The summit lot gives you both compositions without moving the car.
Typical peak
Sep 23 – Oct 1
Long range. Treat as a planning estimate only.
Best light
Works at both ends of the day
Crowds
moderate
Fills up mid-morning. Arriving for first light is usually enough.
Getting there
Drive Brockway Mountain Drive between M-26 west of Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor; the summit parking area sits at the high point roughly halfway along.
What turns here
- sugar maple
- paper birch
- quaking aspen
- mountain ash
Color progression
Typical peak Sep 27Typical color progression for Brockway Mountain Drive. No change from Aug 20 to Sep 6. First color from Sep 6 to Sep 15. Approaching peak from Sep 15 to Sep 23. Peak from Sep 23 to Oct 1. Past peak from Oct 1 to Oct 11. Bare from Oct 11 to Oct 25.
Color starts around Sep 6.
Light at peak
Brockway Mountain Drive on September 27, the day it typically peaks. Knowing when color arrives is one thing. Knowing where the sun will be is another.
| Event | Time |
|---|---|
| First light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 7:14 AM |
| Sunrise Rises E · 91° | 7:45 AM |
| Morning golden hour ends 41 min of low, warm light | 8:25 AM |
| Solar noon Highest sun, flattest light | 1:42 PM |
| Evening golden hour starts 41 min before sunset | 6:59 PM |
| Sunset Sets W · 268° | 7:40 PM |
| Last light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 8:10 PM |
Times in America/Detroit · day length 11h 55m · computed from NOAA solar equations
Which way to point the camera
Sun rises E, sets W.
Aim within 45° of those and the canopy glows translucent. Turn your back to them for flat, accurate color.
Location pages name the light directly.
Shooting conditions
Glassy water, wind blur, and what the cloud will do to your light.
Recent reports
What people actually saw here. Been recently? Add yours.