I’m kicking around the idea of watching the sunrise over Lake Superior on the longest day of the year (June 20th ish). I don’t want to do it near Duluth, so am thinking of the upper peninsula of Michigan, very possibly the Keweenaw peninsula that houghton sits on.
I want an unobstructed view, and need to consider where the sun will rise (how far to the north of west) and if there is a park or good access to the water so I could drive there and watch it.
I’m looking for factual answers on how far north the sun would be rising as well as where I could watch it unobstructed. I want to limit this to areas without much light pollution and on the US side. I think wisconsin or Michigan might be best, but Minnesota is a possibility.
I have a friend who bikes/drives along the road next to the lake in Marquette, MI every day on her way to work, and posts pics to Facebook of the sunrise every few days. So that would work.
If you’re worried about light pollution, you can go a little way out of town to any number of beaches and find a secluded, dark spot. June, however, will also bring mosquitoes and biting flies. Potentially lots & lots of those little buggers.
Seriously, almost any town on the lake in the UP will give you a good, unobstructed view. You might want to show up a couple days early to scout out your spot, though.
The issue you’re going to have on June 20th (or really, any day of the year) is that Lake Superior has variable weather and lots of precipitation. There’s no guarantee that June 20th will not be cloudy, rainy, or thunderstormy. It might not be possible to see the sunrise on that particular day at all.
At that latitude (N 47.5 degrees), at the summer solstice the sun will rise at a heading of around 52 degrees (that’s 142 degrees north of west :p).
It’s simpler for me: I happen to live at a latitude where the sun rises almost exactly north-east at the summer solstice, and almost exactly south-east at the winter solstice.
The angle at which the sun rises is going to vary slightly depending on your latitude. Specifically, the angle North of East that the sunrise occurs on the solstice is given by
sin(theta) = sin(23.4°)/cos(latitude).
For Houghton, MI, the latitude is about 47°N, so it works out that the sun rises about 35.6 degrees north of east. Anywhere on the US side of the lake (except maybe Isle Royale) will be between 46.5°N and 48°N, so as long as you have a clear view to 36° North of East plus a couple of degrees on either side, you should be fine. (Presumably, you would want a more sweeping view of the lake than just a couple of degrees, though.)
For the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, take US-41 north from Houghton-Hancock to Fort Wilkins Historical State Park. From there, take Mandan Rd, (the gravel continuation of US-41), east to High Rock Bay Rd, about 5 miles. Left on High Rock Bay Rd. Follow High Rock Bay Rd to the shore, about 3 miles. In the case of High Rock Bay Rd, (and, perhaps, portions of Mandan Rd), “gravel” means graded dirt with the natural large stones of the area poking through it. It does not need an off-road vehicle, but one does not want to drive it very fast. To see the sunrise, I would suggest going up the day before and camping at the end of the road rather than driving it at night. I have never traveled the UP back roads after a heavy rain, so I cannot comment on how well they can be traveled in that situation.
High Rock Bay Rd peters out near the easternmost tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. (The actual easternmost point is a couple hundred of yards to the north.) From there, there is nothing but lake to the Northeast. (Manitou Island is to the East and there is a lighthouse near the island, but they are at least a couple of miles away and well south of the point where the sun will rise.)
The Minnesota shoreline is problematic from the perspective that it curves around to get in the way of the sunrise at that time of year. Paradise Head just off SR-61 in Tettegouche State Park, about three miles north of Silver Bay, provides both latitude and altitude, but I don’t know whether the shoreline already interferes with the sunrise at that point.
If you have money and time, you might consider something like a stay at Big Bay Lighthouse B & B about 30 miles northwest of Marquette, MI. It is about at the same latitude as Duluth on a small peninsula projecting into the lake. Beyond its location, I know nothing about it.
Where are you coming from?
Anywhere on the Lake Michigan coast in Wisconsin will give you exactly what you want. If you get down to the beach, the water goes all the way to the horizon (I’ve heard people say it’s like being on the ocean). There’s typically people down on the lakefront in the morning to watch the sunrise and it’s pretty common to see photographers out there as well (I know I’ve gone there to take pictures, but you have to be out at like 4am to do that).
In Milwaukee, you’re down a bluff from downtown but there’s a road behind you though it’s not too busy when the sun is coming up. Other than some street lights there’s really no other lighting down there.
We’ve got some other Milwaukee dopers that might be able to chime in and IIRC Musicat lives in Door Country which is a touristy area that’s also got a lot of coast (I think, I could be wrong) and might work for you, but I’d talk to him because that place might be pretty busy right as everyone is starting their vacations.
High Rock Bay is spectacularly beautiful. We biked there from Copper Harbor last summer, on a semi-rainy day, and it was really an amazing experience. I’d love to camp out there (and that’s saying something, because I mostly despise camping).
That said, I would not drive out there unless I had a reliable vehicle that I didn’t care much about. The road was pretty bad after a few days of rain, and even without the rain, there were spots where you would definitely need a jeep or similar, and know how to drive in bad conditions. Lots of mud, lots of deep gashes.
On a bike or an ATV? It’s super worth it. The round-trip bike ride is 25 miles or so, so if you’re not into that, get an ATV, or the aforementioned jeep.
I’ve not been in the Big Bay Lighthouse, but I’ve been on the grounds and in the area a ton, and I’d definitely recommend this. It’s a lot easier to get to than High Rock Bay (you just drive in), and it’s similarly pretty. You’ll definitely get good views of the sunrise there. Plus, a lighthouse! How cool!
Why not Duluth? Are you trying to avoid any view of Wisconsin to the east? Going 20 or 30 miles north (Two Harbors or Split Rock Lighthouse) should give you a clear view of the lake.
I wonder how often there is a clear view of the sunrise on Lake Superior. I used to live in Chicago and ran along the Lake Michigan lakefront on many, many mornings. Usually the eastern horizon had low clouds over the lake, so the sun would not be clearly visible until it got up above those clouds. I only remember one time that I got a clear view of the sunrise. It was pretty impressive. The other 100 or so times that I was out, there was a cloudy horizon.
I see on the map High Rock Bay Road splits and continues to the right. If I take a left I will wind up at Keweenaw Rocket Range. Both are possibilities. Were you suggesting I take a left to the rocket range or stay right on High Rock Bay Rd.?
I have no idea how passable the longer trail to the rocket range is compared to the High Rock Bay Rd, so I was thinking you would stay on the road all the way to High Rock Bay.
The Rocket Range is only about a half mile north of the end of the High Rock Bay Rd, so it is not as though you are going to get a significantly different view. (The view is going to be a tiny yellow disk over a flat expanse of water unless there is an ore boat on the horizon.) In addition, while I can follow the High Rock Bay Rd along its entire length on Google earth, I can only get glimpses of the trail (or whatever) leading to the Range, so I have no idea how passable it is. Wikipedia calls it an ATV trail.)
There are several photos of the Rocket Range on Google Earth, so folks do go there.
The overlook on the east side of the escarpment at Split Rock Lighthouse might work very well. (Two Harbors is still going to have a lot of light pollution.) I don’t know what sort of lighting (or after dark access) is along the overlook at the lighthouse.