“What makes the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge very unique. The Dark Sky Park there is actually operated by a private entity. […] So it’s the first of its kind in which a private entity has worked directly with Dark Sky International to become certified.” — Brad Barnett

Located as far north as you can go in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula proves that rural destinations don’t always need massive budgets to drive meaningful change. With just 37,000 year-round residents spread across multiple counties in northern Michigan, this remote region has become a model for sustainable tourism through genuine community partnership.

Brad Barnett shares how Visit Keweenaw has moved beyond traditional destination marketing organization metrics to become a community connector, facilitating conversations between residents, businesses, and experts on everything from workforce housing to waste management. Their Tourism Sustainability Series brings together stakeholders to tackle real challenges. Brad says participants are consistently grateful that the organization is addressing issues that matter to locals, not just visitor numbers.

The peninsula’s crown jewel is the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Dark Sky Park—the world’s first privately-operated park with an international dark sky designation. This groundbreaking public-private partnership emerged through extensive community engagement and has inspired local governments to adopt better light management practices, demonstrating how private sector leadership can drive broader community stewardship.

The Keweenaw balances preservation with progress. The region is tackling climate change impacts on winter recreation while embracing renewable energy solutions, proving that sustainability and economic growth aren’t mutually exclusive.

On Travel Beyond, you’ll also learn:

• How Keweenaw’s Tourism Sustainability Series is building stronger community relationships while tackling real challenges from workforce housing to recycling programs.
• How the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge became the world’s first privately-operated international Dark Sky Park and inspired community-wide light management improvements.
• How a major community forest acquisition programme preserves public access while generating revenue through carbon capture and visitor economy contributions.
• How Keweenaw’s data dashboard helps local businesses and community members understand the true economic impact of tourism across multiple accommodation types.

 

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Show notes

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Dark Sky Park — The world’s first privately-operated international Dark Sky Park, demonstrating innovative public-private partnership in sustainable tourism.

Keweenaw National Historical Park — A unique public-private partnership featuring 22 heritage sites that tell the story of the region’s copper mining heritage.

Michigan Technological University — A tier-one research university in Houghton providing expertise and community partnership for sustainability initiatives.

The Nature Conservancy – Keweenaw Community Forest — Learn about the large-scale forest acquisition programme preserving public access while generating sustainable revenue.

Visit Keweenaw — The destination marketing organisation for Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, leading community collaboration and sustainable tourism initiatives.

Images provided by Visit Keweenaw.

Episode transcript

This transcript was generated using AI and has been lightly reviewed for accuracy.

Brad Barnett: What makes the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge very unique, the Dark Sky Park there is, it is, it’s actually operated by a private entity, so it’s the first of its kind in which a private entity has worked directly with Dark Sky International to become certified.

Peter McCully: Welcome to Travel Beyond. I’m Peter McCully for Destination Think. On this episode, we look at travel’s role in making a better world, and we highlight leading destinations and change makers. Our guests are taking local action that the world can learn from. They’re helping to regenerate ecosystems, communities, and economies, and they’re making positive change happen from the bottom up.

Many of the voices we’ve highlighted are part of the destination think collective. A peer group of more than 20 ambitious forward-thinking destinations, working toward a better future for travel and the planet. On today’s show, we’re exploring how small rural destinations can achieve remarkable impact through authentic community collaboration.

Proving that meaningful change doesn’t require massive budgets, just genuine partnership. The Keweenaw Peninsula is located as far north as you can go in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and it’s home to just 37,000 year-round residents spread across multiple counties. Visit Keweenaw’s tourism sustainability series brings together stakeholders to tackle real challenges from workforce housing, to waste management with participants consistently thanking the organization for addressing issues that matter to locals, not just visitor numbers.

The Peninsula is also home to groundbreaking public-private partnerships, including the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, dark Sky Park, the world’s first privately operated international dark sky designation. This project is the result of extensive community engagement and has inspired local governments to adopt better light management practices.

We spoke with Brad Barnett from Visit Kanon about how rural destinations can punch above their weight through collaborations like these and why it’s important to think beyond traditional tourism KPIs.

Brad Barnett: My name is Brad Barnett. I am the Executive Director of Visit Kanon. We are a destination marketing organization located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, as far north as you can go in the state of Michigan. That’s, uh, mainly in the Houghton market, and then Calumet’s where our office is located.

Peter McCully: Let’s talk about Keweenaw itself. Brad, what’s the one thing you always take friends to do when they visit you? 

Brad Barnett: Yeah. So I mean, we always take people to get out and be outdoors. Uh, you know, the Keweenaw peninsula is a four-season, uh, recreation playground. Uh, certainly we love getting people outside and out on the trails.

I think for most people, whether it’s family members or friends, we make sure they get a chance to see Lake Superior. Its vastness, you know, get a sense of that impact of seeing such a large freshwater body. Out in the up. Uh, and then of course hitting those trails, uh, whenever we get a chance to expose ’em to waterfalls or mountain biking or anything along those lines.

Peter McCully: What draws people to visit Keweenaw, especially if sustainability is important to them. 

Brad Barnett: Yeah, I, it is connecting with nature. Uh, you know, Michigan has a long history of attracting outdoor recreationalists, and the Keweenaw is certainly no, no different to that. I think people’s ability to really connect in with nature, we don’t get as many visitors in the Kibana as many parts of, uh, the up.

Uh, and so because of that, you get the opportunity to be one-on-one with Mother Nature when you’re out on the trail or out in Lake Superior. And so I think just that sort of, we’re a remote destination. Uh, and so having less people here when people visit. Uh, I think is really impactful and what draws people to the region.

Peter McCully: Brad, if you could have anyone in the world to visit you in Keweenaw, who would it be and what would you do? 

Brad Barnett: My answer here is, you know, I’m sure we come up with a lot of famous names, like, you know, Taylor Swift. That would bring in a lot of people, uh, which is good for business, but really for me personally, um, it’s bringing people in who have never experienced snow.

Uh, so we have an amazing winter destination. We receive around 270 inches of lake effect snow each year, making an amazing winter playground and having people come in who have never had the chance to see what a real winner is like. I’m originally from Kentucky. We get very little snow there. I remember growing up as a child and thinking, oh, a couple inches of snow was great.

You come up to the kanon when you’ve got about 10 feet of snow on the ground after a good blizzard, and it’s just a whole different world. So seeing that joy, uh, that, you know, especially, you know, the kiddos and folks have, when they get up here, it’s a, it’s meaningful. It’s a great thing to see. 

Peter McCully: Are there annual seasonal events that visitors can look forward to planning around?

Brad Barnett: No, absolutely. And we have events throughout the year and it’s part of, the, part of having those events during the winter is just helping the residents make it through winter. So, uh, depending on the month you’re looking at, uh, definitely come check us out If you love snow. Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival is amazing.

It’s a, it’s a festival. It’s been going on for over a hundred years where the students of Michigan Technological University in Hopeton build snow statues that are about two to three stories tall. It’s amazing tradition. Definitely check that out in August. We have Pasty Fest. The Keweenaw has a long history of copper mining and that copper mining industry attracted Cornish miners in the 18 hundreds and early 19 hundreds.

They brought the love of the Cornish pasty with them. And so in August, we celebrate our love of the pasty, uh, which is the up sort of food staple. Uh, and we have events throughout the year, including dark sky festivals and, and celebrations of a finished American culture and heritage. So you pick a month, you pick a week, there’s probably a festival going on in the Keweenaw to, to check out.

Peter McCully: Could you tell us about the Keweenaw mountain lodge? The first internationally recognized dark sky zone, and for those who are not aware, what exactly, Brad, is a dark sky zone? 

Brad Barnett: So a dark sky zone or a dark sky park is a, uh, a place that has committed to preserving the quality of dark skies within their given jurisdiction.

This could be a park. This could be, uh, you know, a, a large, you know, landmass. Most of these are public, uh, properties. Uh, what makes the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge very unique. The Dark Sky Park there is, it is, it’s actually operated by a private entity, uh, which is the qan, a mountain lodge. So it’s the first of its kind in which, uh, a private entity has worked directly with Dark Sky International to become certified, uh, and to really commit to light management and on, and education.

Uh, and so these preserves. Wonderful. Both for accessing the dark skies and, and seeing the Milky Way and seeing the Northern Lights if the conditions permit. Uh, but also educating attendees, people who come up there on, on lights, uh, light management practices and why it’s so important for us to turn out the lights, uh, and how much it improves the quality of life for both visitors and residents if we do that.

Peter McCully: Brad, I heard you mention that it’s a partnership at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. 

Brad Barnett: That’s true. It’s a, it’s a partnership, uh, really spearheaded by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge owners themselves, which is a, which is a private business. It makes it very unique. They work with community partners, um, and organizations like, uh, Visit Keweenaw in order to attract, uh, and, and promote.

This experience, but a lot of the credit goes to, to the owners and the staff who went through a really intensive planning process in order to achieve this designation and they continue to commit to those principles. Um, you know, it’s something that, you know, as a private property owner, you know, they took the earnest and the onus, uh, to, to make this commitment themselves, uh, and to continue on this to preserve.

You know, the dark skies of the Copper Harbor area and the Keweenaw Peninsula. It’s an amazing dedication, uh, that they’ve, they’ve taken upon themselves. Uh, and you rarely see that in the private sector. So it’s a great example and a great model for other, uh, potential stewards across, uh, the country and across the globe.

Peter McCully: Well, it sounds like a unique visitor experience. How has the lodge impacted residents? 

Brad Barnett: I think more than anything, um, you know, a lot of us who live in the kanon in rural parts of the country, we often take for granted, um, access to dark skies. You know, it’s something we’ve grown up with, become accustomed to it, and the mountain lodge is.

Commitment to this and recognition that this is a valuable commodity, this is something that we need to be proud of, and then we need to be good stewards of, have, you know, helped our community members recognize the commodity that they have. So one, I think is a sense of pride. They really recognize this and said, you know what?

This is something that’s worth preserving. Um, and you know, what it’s done is it’s inspired local governments to pursue, um, best practices when it comes to light management. So I think we’ve really benefited as community members from this leadership that they’ve demonstrated. 

Peter McCully: Brad, community stewardship and connectivity is an issue that many travel destinations around the world are facing.

Tell us about the story of Keweenaw and the story of community. 

Brad Barnett: You know, when you live in a rural community, uh, and which is sparsely populated and very remote, and that really describes the Keweenaw, we, we have around 37,000 total year-round residents, uh, across multiple counties, right. It’s really important that there’s a sense of community and connectivity amongst residents.

And you really need each other. You need each other to make it through long winters. You need each other, uh, when things get tough. So that’s really instilled this idea. The community and connectivity is vital, uh, to the way life is here in the Keweenaw. And that spills over, of course, into, you know, initiatives related to destination marketing, promotion, preservation efforts.

When you don’t have a lot of people to get things done, that means we all need to kind of dig in and, and work together. And, uh, and really, you know, at the end of the day. You know, that’s kind of what helps get these initiatives across the finish line and no one’s gonna get it done on their own. Um, and so again, it’s that collaborated, uh, or collaboration that we focus on and building connectivity between organizations because none of us have enough resources to do it on our own.

Peter McCully: If you look at Keweenaw on a map, it’s about as far away from an interstate highway as you can get in the United States. What’s the best way for me to get there and do I need a vehicle once I arrive? 

Brad Barnett: So we do have direct flights, um, from Chicago O’Hare. Uh, so a lot of folks, you know, if you’re in the Midwest, you can make it to Chicago O’Hare and fly right in or make a connection.

But once you get here, uh, we do have some limited car rental services, but really, you know, it’s a bring your own vehicle. The vast majority of visitors who come here, uh, even though we’re very remote, we are, they get here by automobile, the personal automobile. Uh, so, you know, they take their, they bring their car up out of their truck, and then that’s how they get around.

And once they get to the Keweenaw. 

Peter McCully: You’ve mentioned a few of the well-known attractions. What are some of those hidden gems, Brad, or perhaps they’re a local favorite that a tourist might miss if they didn’t? Yeah, 

Brad Barnett: I mean, we’re known for our trails. We’re known for our Royal National Park. Those are some of the ones that really bring people to the area.

Uh, but some gyms that, you know, people discover once they’re here, I would hate for them to miss, is the Keweenaw National Historical Park, uh, which is located in the, uh, village of Calumet. This is a unique public-private partnership amongst, uh, our national park system where the headquarters, uh, is located in Calumet.

But then there are 22 heritage sites that are privately operated by local NGOs, non-profit organizations, and non-government organizations that tell the story of, uh, the Keweenaw’s copper mining heritage. So. Don’t miss that. Most people come up here for the natural beauty and then they discover the history, uh, that the Keweenaw holds.

Uh, and so it’s certainly something that gets people excited once they discover it. The other one I’d recommend, uh, we have a really unique historical attraction called Open Skies. This is a former radar station located just outside of Copper Harbor. It’s a, a Cold War era, uh, military base. That is now available to tour, you know, so, uh, the copper mining history is certainly something that we’re known for, but this unique experience to where you can go and tour a radar station and, and see what the, the situation room looked like.

And, uh, you know, it, it’s really fascinating for people who are interested in that era of history. 

Peter McCully: Mount Bohemia has been recognized as one of the nation’s top downhill ski destinations. How does it compete against other ski destinations that have much larger marketing budgets? 

Brad Barnett: First and foremost, it, it knows what it is.

Uh, the owners really understand the unique appeal of Mount Bohemia. This is a, uh, an advanced ski area. This is tree skiing in the Midwest that has some serious, you know, uh, elevation, right? It’s a 900 foot vertical, uh, from top to bottom, which you don’t find a lot in places like Michigan or Minnesota or Wisconsin.

You know, they’ve really carved out a niche for. You know, advanced skiers who want to really tackle challenging terrain. And so, you know, there are plenty of other ski resorts in Michigan and the Midwest, they get a lot more, uh, you know, ski traffic. But you know, for people who really want to cut their teeth on some really advanced terrain.

This is where it’s at. And so that draws visitors from, you know, across the Midwest and increasingly across the country and even across the globe because Bohemian has created such a unique ski culture experience, um, that it’s really hard to find this sort of like really dedicated ski culture almost anywhere else.

So I, that’s, that’s what’s drawn people and that’s helps them a punch well above their weight. 

Peter McCully: Brad, where do your visitors come from? If I bumped into some people on a bike trail or at a ski hill, as you mentioned, or even in a restaurant. 

Brad Barnett: We certainly draw from downstate Michigan pretty heavily and we, we would consider the, the Midwest breadbasket.

So Chicago is a good market for us. Detroit’s a good market for us. Green Bay, Milwaukee, um, and you know, Duluth and Minnesota, those are popular spots. But you know what, I looked outside our visitor center just yesterday and, you know, you play the license plate game and, uh, which a lot of DMO directors do you know, where are visitors coming from?

Uh, we go old school. And I saw a license plate from Wyoming, from Texas, from Indiana. Uh, you know, so the Keweenaw the up we’re, we were becoming a destination but renowned for outdoor adventure. And so we’re drawing from really across the country these days. 

Peter McCully: What is Keweenaw doing to extend those shoulder seasons for visitors?

Brad Barnett: You know, one thing we really focus on are, are events. You know, we, we work and collaborate with community partners. We ask them what’s unique? You know, what do you wanna celebrate? Um, and so, you know, when we hear from community partners that they wanna celebrate, whether it’s a piece of their heritage or culture or a specific industry, we really lean into that.

Dark sky promotion has been something we’ve been really excited about for a number of years. So creating festivals that celebrate and educate people, uh, regarding our dark skies is something we’ve leaned heavily into the areas finished culture and, uh, DNA, this is one of the most heavily concentrated.

Communities of Finnish Americans in the country. Um, and so really leaning into Finn culture in the middle of winter, we have a celebration called Hike in Pavo, which celebrates the, the Finnish, uh, version of rolling over, uh, midwinter. Uh, so they say the bear rolls over, uh, in Finn. So hike in PA is a celebration of that and the snow and summer we celebrate Juhannus.

Right. So we have, we have those sorts of experiences that we try to use to round out the summer travel season. But you know, at the end of the day, you know, we’d love to see additional shoulder season traffic, but sometimes destinations, you know, they need a little time to breathe. You know, a lot of our businesses are owner-operated.

They need time and space to kind of relax a little bit and take their foot off the gas. Same thing with our volunteer base, which many of our attractions depend on. So it’s really listening to our community, kind of seeing where and what they need, um, and then taking direction from there. 

Peter McCully: It certainly sounds like you have a lot of cultural and heritage tourism opportunities in Keweenaw.

Brad Barnett: A lot of where we’re at today is because of where we started, you know, hundreds of years ago and when, when visitors and, uh, immigrants came to, uh, the Keweenaw, uh, during the copper boom, they brought their culture with them. And so probably the strongest contingent that remained after the copper industry, uh, went under.

Uh, what were, uh, Finnish Americans? Uh, they loved this place. It was very similar to their home country, uh, Suami and, uh, and they decided to stick around. Uh, and so we were just recently designated the city of Hancock, in fact, designated as the 2026, uh, Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, which is the first time that designation has been, uh, awarded to a community outside of Europe.

So we’re really proud about that. But then we have several other celebrations, uh, coming up, including Cro-Fest, which is a celebration of Croatian and, and Slovenia, uh, culture and heritage and Calumet that’s taken place in, in August. So again, it’s, it’s recognizing what the community’s really proud about.

You know, what resonates with their souls, you know? And then if that’s something that stirs them, then it’s gonna stir visitors as well. So you focus on the authenticity and what makes these places unique. That’s how you get buy-in from community members. That’s how you get volunteers and community partners, uh, and that’s how you give visitors a really unique experience that they can’t find anywhere else.

Peter McCully: How is the Keweenaw doing in terms of being accessible to visitors with disabilities and diverse backgrounds? 

Brad Barnett: Yeah. Uh, we’re making progress, but just like any community, especially in rural places, we can and should be doing more. You know, we’re an outdoor recreation forward destination. Uh, and part of what brings people up here is the natural connection to wilderness.

And the wilderness doesn’t have a lot of concrete, uh, or paved paths and things like that. So, uh, so it’s a balance. Um, but one thing that we’ve really focused on is kind of understanding where. At the end of the day, we can help improve the quality of life for our residents as well as visitors by focusing on enhancing the accessibility of many of our attractions that we all love.

Um, and this includes working with community partners on developing the Western Upper Peninsula’s first accessible outdoor recreation trail. Uh, in Calumet, it’s called Two Hoots. It’s, uh, it’s about two miles that, uh, after we get done with this project, um, this summer, it’s gonna be a. Uh, you know, appropriate for individuals who are wheelchair users or individuals that need strollers to actually go out there and use, uh, which is really, really great.

You know, we work with, um, local partners to make sure that everything was graded out well, uh, that we used appropriate trail bonding, so way the surfacing is appropriate, you know, really starting from what’s the experience like from the time you get, you know, from you get to the parking lot, to the trail, to the experience you’re looking for.

So we’re really excited about partnering with again. Good community partners on helping address these issues because it’s such a win-win, right? It not only does it help the visitor and attract a, a visitor that, you know, we certainly don’t want to turn away, but then it also, it, you know, it helps our, you know, our parents, our loved ones, and those of us who maybe have some mobility challenges who live right here in this community.

Peter McCully: Brad, what’s the one thing that you hope travelers take away from listening to your story about Keweenaw. 

Brad Barnett: Communities like the Keweenaw. You know, we can do some really amazing things if we work together and we collaborate and destination marketing organizations like ours really listen to our community and think beyond the traditional KPIs.

We can do some amazing, amazing things. And most of the time that means it’s leveraging the assets that we have, our marketing prowess, our connectivity, and helping, you know, helping support those community members and community organizations that are doing amazing work. So, to me. Uh, it’s not about, you know, if you’re a big organization or a small organization, uh, it’s, Hey, let’s check this stuff out.

Let’s learn a little bit about the Keweenaw’s history and community, and we can do some amazing stuff as demos. 

Peter McCully: If you were to look ahead, say five or 10 years, what would you want travel to look like in Keweenaw? 

Brad Barnett: You know, we, we do some market, internal market research and resident sentiment work and visitor related research a lot.

And the, the one answer we get consistently, no matter how we ask the question, you know, what do we want to do differently? People tell us, don’t let the Keweenaw change. You know, we like it the way it is. We, you know, we like its uniqueness. We really enjoy the pace of life. We enjoy the fact that you don’t see a lot of chains up there, so don’t change too much.

Now with that said, we have room to grow. Uh, when it comes to things like accessibility, which you’ve already had the chance to bring up, but also connectivity. Um, when it comes to things like cellular communication, which is challenging in remote parts of the world. Helping improve those things because of course visitors, they expect it when they come up here.

You know, they have constant access to their mobile devices. One of the beautiful things about coming to Keweenaw, you might not have a choice about having access to your cell phone because you might have coverage. Um, so you are able to disconnect, uh, whether you want to or not. Uh, but still those, those services are important, especially for emergency services and things like that.

So we’d love to see that enhanced moving forward. And then really at the end of the day, it’s just about, again, continuing to celebrate what makes this place so unique and special. Because we’re drawing not just visitors, but new residents from across the Midwest who really resonate with our community values and uh, characteristics.

So just seeing more of that is what we’re shooting for moving forward.

Peter McCully: This has been Travel Beyond presented by Destination Think. Our thanks to Brad Barnett from Visit Keweenaw. To learn more about the Keweenaw Peninsula’s community-driven tourism initiatives, you can visit keweenaw.info. For more resources and show notes, visit our website at destinationthink.com. This episode was hosted and co-produced by myself, Peter McCully.

David Archer composed the theme music. Sara Raymond de Booy is co-producer. Lindsay Payne, Amy Bjarnason, and Cory Price provided production support. If you like what you hear, please take a moment to give us a five-star rating. It helps more people find our show. Thanks for listening, and we’ll be back with more next week.