One of our favorite things to hear from our visitors are their fond memories of Lodge weddings and events. So many people pass through the building each year and share stories of parties, receptions, and banquets, and we love sharing in their joy. Events up at the Lodge are wonderful occasions and all of that fun is made possible by a team of professionals, passionate about making sure our guests have the time of their lives. At the helm, there is the all important Events Coordinator.

This year, that job falls to Mariah Summers, who is taking over the position after Grace Schmitz agreed to manage the Marketing and Events Department. She is a 2002 graduate from Calumet High School, who has recently returned to the area after 10 years traveling, due to her husband’s military career. In that time, Mariah and her family lived in Washington, Alaska, and Tennessee. Their goal throughout the last 10 years was always for her family to return to this area, and this year it was finally possible.

Mariah, a huge outdoors person, loves a new adventure, which is why she loves the Keweenaw. Some outdoors activities she enjoys include camping, hiking, kayaking, and her absolute favorite, trail running.

Mariah’s background includes over 20 years in the service industry. She has experience in many different positions, from dishwasher to manager. Although this is her first time working directly with events, she has a lot of experience in the field through management and other roles. One thing that makes the job enjoyable for her is that everyday involves a different aspect of  the job and she isn’t doing the same thing everyday. As an Event Coordinator, Mariah oversees every event, from start to finish. She is the primary point of contact for the potential client and manages private tours, consultations, and contracts. Mariah also works with clients on fine details, like the timeline of the event, set-up and layout of the room, food and beverage service, and much more. During the event, Mariah is there to help with anything that the client could possibly need to make the event successful and memorable.

Mariah works with many different clients on a daily basis ranging from wedding couples to corporate clients.  At the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, we have a 6,000 square foot conference center that can be rented for many different occasions. For weddings in particular, whether your day is going to be a huge extravaganza, or just something small for those closest to you, we can make it happen. With an outstanding staff committed to making your wedding day memorable and fun, the Lodge takes the stress out of planning for the first day of the rest of your life. For more details about holding an event at the lodge, email Mariah@keweenawresort.com or call (906) 289-4403.

Our wonderful, hard-working kitchen staff has been extra hard-working and wonderful this week as they planned, prepared, and tested our new full length staples menu, with the rest of the staff acting as guinea pigs. Honestly, that’s how hard our lives are, we have to eat experimental cheesecakes and tacos at work.

Chef Patrick is showcasing his skills as a vegan chef with a selection of delicious, plant-based items, but fear not, carnivores, we have plenty of awesome choices for you guys, too. This menu will be offered every day, alongside the specials we have been offering this season.

Whether you have your heart set on a fresh Burrito Bowl, a tender Veal Shank dinner, or want to treat yourself to the Cheesecake of the Week, we have something for everyone.

Don’t forget, this Father’s Day (June 16th), we are hosting a golf tournament and featuring four specialty burgers to celebrate dad. We will also be welcoming Widad Mueller, our first guest chef, at the end of June, when she will bring flavors of her native Lebanon to the top of the Keweenaw.

We can’t wait for you to visit, and while you’re here, be sure to tag all of your Instagram photos with the hashtag #atthekml for a chance to be featured on our account!

On Father’s Day, June 16th, make it a special day at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge! We will have a special Father’s Day burger menu and a casual golf tournament for dad to get outside and enjoy the golf course. The Father’s Day menu will include 4 special burgers:

• Parrot-head Burger: a cheeseburger in paradise covered with grilled pineapple, jalapeño, and cheddar
• The Bear Bait Burger: Topped with thimbleberry jam, melty Gorgonzola, and caramelized onion 
• The Bear Repellent Burger: vegetarian burger with fresh veggies
• “Everything but the kitchen sink” Burger: two patties with just about everything. 

In addition, we will have out staples menu and specials menu available [ View the current menu ] Information about the golf tournament:

• 2-person best-ball, 9 holes
• Members: $20 per persons, Non-members: $40 per person
• Includes cart, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages

All gender, ages, and abilities welcomed. [ Learn more about the Father’s Day golf tournament event ] To register, call the Lodge at 906-289-4403 or send us an email at golf@keweenawresort.com.

Note: The golf course will be open for regular play on Sunday, June 12th, so golfers that are not playing in the tournament will be able to play throughout the day as well.

Can’t wait to see you up here!

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is tucked into the wilderness at the top of the Keweenaw peninsula in the U.P. of Michigan. While our scenic location is just the relaxing getaway many are looking for, there has been some concern about some of the connectivity issues at our location. Due to the remote location of our lodge and the Copper Harbor area in general, many are unable to receive cell service in the area. While we are working with cell phone providers to negotiate the possibility of having a cell tower put up in this northernmost part of the Upper Peninsula, right now, many people will likely not receive cell service at our location. 

We have also heard that some customers are experiencing internet connectivity troubles at our location as well. We are working to improve upon our lodging experience based on the feedback we have received. We have reached out to our internet provider and tech support to help decrease this issue of connectivity. As of right now, the Wi-Fi should be working at all of our cabins; however, the speed of the internet may be slower than what many people expect in urban areas. There is a stronger connectivity at our main lodge, and we are working with our provider to find different technology configurations to decrease any low connectivity issues that may occur at the cabins.

If you are traveling in the Upper Peninsula, we suggest that for immediate needs for cell service; we have found that the top of Brockway Mountain is one of the closest locations near Copper Harbor that is able to receive cell tower service.  And if you have Verizon you can receive cell phone services around the main Lodge building.

We appreciate your patience, and enjoyment of the wilderness, as we continue to improve our services both at the lodge and in the community. In the meantime, take a moment to disconnect and enjoy our cozy, social atmosphere.

Head Chef, Patrick Mixis, joined the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge while looking for a change of pace from his Kalamazoo ventures. He’s a 2013 graduate from Western Michigan University with a degree in Food Service Administration and a focus in Dietetics and Nutrition. His career success includes opening a restaurant at the age of 24 – Feed The World Cafe & Restaurant in Kalamazoo, MI. He has also won various culinary awards and has been nominated for Innovator of the Year through Feeding America in 2017. His Feed The World Cafe & Restaurant was designed as a socially-responsible business to help provide food and funds to the local food bank, while still operating as a typical restaurant. He decided to branch out past Kalamazoo and found himself looking into the Copper Country after talking with one of his mentors who spends time in the area. His mentor suggested reaching out to his former professor from Western Michigan University – John Mueller, who recently took on the ownership and operation for the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. Patrick was ecstatic to take on the new challenge at the Lodge and experience a different culinary scene outside of Kalamazoo.

The menu that is offered at the Lodge could be characterized as high end blended with a local aesthetic. Our vision for dining at the Lodge is inspired by his drive to create an experience through a newly designed menu featuring both eclectic and ethnic foods. While he does not plan to abandon classic menu options like burgers or prime rib; he is striving to create a menu that is unique for the area and catered toward those looking for a new taste. Patrick’s key influence in the alteration of the menu is modern technology cooking, which features scientific culinary techniques such as spherification – a technique he is hoping to be able to eventually apply at the Lodge. While some of these culinary techniques are still being worked into the menu items, Patrick has brought his own influences into the dynamic specials menu.  

His focus for the Lodge is currently showcased through the plating etiquette of the dishes. Patrick is also a vegan certified chef; a certification he plans to put to use at the Lodge by creating vegetarian and vegan-friendly options.

In the upcoming summer months, the Lodge plans to bring in special guest chefs that will be serving special menu items. These guest chefs are mentors and colleagues of our Head Chef; many of whom specialize in specific culinary areas that will excite the palate of our dining guests. These chefs will be catering toward certain ethnic flavors, like Italian and Carribean.

While dining in the Lodge this upcoming summer, expect dynamic flavors with a global perspective. The mellow blend of unique ingredients we are planning to use in the kitchen will work to create a fusion of classic dishes with modern textures and flavors.

If you are interested in dining with us; you can find our restaurant hours online or call us at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge at (906)-289-4403 to make a dining reservation. Remember to frequently check our website to see our current specials and menu.  

At the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (KML), we take every moment to learn from our past and influence the future through this Copper County landmark. Today was a learning experience for our lodge team and management. The KML values transparency with our customers, and with new ownership, we want to take a moment to let all of our guests understand the uncommon incident that occurred tonight at the lodge.

In the excitement over Experience The Keweenaw -Taste of the Harbor event, we proudly sent staff down to serve our prime rib taco cross-over – the Prime on the Run. Our three members in attendance at the event were able to help raise over $200 for the Copper Harbor Trails Club. The success of this event was a cheerful experience for the staff that attended and were able to meet with various community members who were excited to taste the food being made at the Lodge.

Up the hill at the Lodge, our team faced a different situation. This weekend was the first busy weekend that we as a team faced at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, with both a gorgeous day for golfing and a perfect day to spend outside in the Keweenaw. Shortly after our few staff members left to work the Taste of the Harbor event, we at the lodge were blessed to see a high increase in our dining patrons; this was unexpected as we felt most people would be attending the Copper Harbor event. As the rush of new guests filled our dining hall, our team at the lodge quickly became overwhelmed and we were understaffed. Our one server on shift was responsible for tending to the dining tables – which had filled our porch dining area. Our wait staff and kitchen staff worked diligently, but we still faced a dilemma tonight. We were unable to meet our high standards of service which resulted in customers having waited up to two hours for food.

We are becoming more aware that our new staff is still adjusting to our new season menus and that our wait staff can easily become overwhelmed if a rush like this occurs. We had believed that with the event in Copper Harbor would draw the dinner crowd, but unfortunately, we made this wrong assumption. Going forward, we now understand that the crowd in Copper Harbor is likely to flow into our atmosphere.

Leading up to this day, we at the KML faced a few challenges- with power outages yesterday from the winds to tonight with our staffing miscalculation, kitchen changes, our lead chef being under the weather and unable to be in the kitchen to communicate to with the team, underestimating our food inventory, and bar spills – but we promise all that we plan to learn from these challenges.

Our Learning Points:

• Ensure we have a backup chef and become better prepared with our menus
• Decrease our service bottleneck/backup in the kitchen
• Test our generators and be more aware of what those generators are able to power including our water plant and pressure
• Double down and ensure we are well staffed early in our season

To all those who were dining in the lodge tonight for dinner, the team at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge would like to send a sincere appreciation for your patience and understanding with the struggles we faced tonight. We hope you understand that we plan to take this experience, not in stride, but to be proactive to ensure that we will learn from tonight’s incident to keep improving our service in the restaurant and overall operations.

As we look forward to tomorrow Memorial Day breakfast, we have already begun preparing for the breakfast tomorrow and increased our staff to provide a more joyous experience our customers. We hope to see many familiar and new faces for breakfast on this upcoming  Memorial Day. We would also like to extend a thank you to the men and women who served in our armed forces and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom here at home.

From the staff at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge – Thank you and we wish the best to everyone on this Memorial Day.  

Come experience the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge golf course on Memorial Day, May 27th. Play golf, be with the local community, enjoy the start of summer in the Keweenaw while remembering and honoring the lives of those that have died serving in the United States Armed Forces over the years.

• 2-person best-ball, 9 holes
• Members: $20 per persons, Non-members: $40 per person
• Includes cart, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages

Teams can tee-off at one’s leisure between 10am and 3pm on Monday, May 27th. Tee times are not required, however, if one wants to ensure they are able to tee off when they want, call to reserve tee times.

All gender, ages, and abilities welcomed.

To register, call the Lodge at 906-289-4403 or send us an email at golf@keweenawresort.com.

Prizes:

• 1st place: 1 night stay in 1-bedroom cabin*, with $50 food voucher (for each person on the team)
• 2nd place: $50 food voucher (for each person on the team)
• 3rd place: $25 food voucher (for each person on the team)

* The 1-night stay is based upon availability and must be used within the 2019 summer season.

All prizes are in the name of the person that entered the tournament, and can not be sold, exchanged, or given to another person.

Handicaps

USGA handicaps will be used. Individuals that do not have a USGA handicap will play off of scratch (Handicap: 0).

Male golfers get 80-percent of their course handicap, female golfers get 95-percent of their course handicap.

If one of the players on a team has a handicap of 9 or less, then the handicap differential between players on the same team must be 5 or greater.

Note: The golf course will be open for regular play, so golfers that are not playing in the tournament will be able to play throughout the day as well.

Spring usually makes a late appearance in our neck of the woods and this year was no exception, but now that things are turning green, things are the Lodge are picking up! We were thrilled with the turnout and the feedback we received after our Mother’s Day Brunch event on May 12th; we are incredibly grateful to all of our guests, Protea Floral Design, and Keweenaw Coffee Works for making the event a vibrant, successful occasion. If you weren’t able to join us for the brunch, fear not, we have heaps of fun, joy, and adventure planned for this year. Here’s what you have to look forward to for the rest of May and the month of June.

Fun.

Now that the snow seems to be behind us (knock on wood), our greens crew is working to prepare our golf course for the season. Though carts will not be allowed right away, the golf course is slated to open on May 22nd, with a Memorial Day golf event scheduled for this weekend. In June, we will be hosting The Zik Memorial Tournament on the last weekend of the month; stay tuned for more details on that. The KML Golf League is planning to start up in June, with May 30th being the last day to sign up.  please contact the Lodge for more information on our 2019 golf season! 

Memorial Day weekend will see Copper Harbor play host to Experience the Keweenaw, a yearly weekend event that celebrates the end of the long (like, REALLY long) winter and encourages folks to get outside. The Lodge will be open all weekend, but the lion’s share of Copper Harbor based events are happening on Sunday, May 26th. After you’ve had your fill of hiking, biking, and yoga in the park, come on up for a hard-earned drink and a meal!

Joy.

We have some exciting specials for lodging in May and June. Our May specials include an Eat, Stay, Play package, as well as a Memorial Day Getaway geared toward families and groups of adventure-seekers looking to maximize their long weekend. On June 1st, we will announce an 85th Anniversary Package, which will feature incredible rates and a taste of everything the Lodge has to offer. Make sure you follow us on Facebook and are signed up for our mailing list so you get the latest on all our packages!

If you are planning a trip for this summer, be sure to book BEFORE our early bird room rates expire on June 1st; after this date, all rooms from July through Labor Day will be booked at our higher summer rates. Visit our booking page or call us at 906-289-4403 to lock in the lowest rates.

For those of you interested in joining us for a meal, we haven’t forgotten you. We advertise our daily and weekly specials on our social media, but you can always learn about what we are serving by popping in to say hi! We have slowly been adding more and more to our limited menu, which will be updated on our website and shared to social media.

Due to very popular demand, we are now serving breakfast! To start, we will offer breakfast service on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 7 am to 11 am. Keep an eye on our menu page to see what’s being served and to keep track of what’s been added.

Adventure.

In an earlier blog post, we talked about the new mountain biking trails on our property. We are pleased to announce that we anticipate those trails opening for the season on Memorial Day weekend! These trails are a little friendlier for those of us just starting out with mountain biking. Check in with us, or our friends down at Keweenaw Adventure Company and Copper Harbor Trails Club, for all the latest updates on the state of trails in the area.

A little bird told us that Brockway Mountain Drive is now open on BOTH sides, allowing traffic to pass through starting at either the west or east ends. With iconic views and some seriously excellent opportunities for spotting local flora and fauna, Brockway Mountain Drive is a favorite stop for visitors and locals alike. That said, be sure to dress in layers and pack a jacket, things tend to get a bit breezy this time of year.

May and June are excellent months to visit our local waterfalls. The meltwater and rain of our Yooper spring results in impressive flows throughout the Peninsula, so while you are driving up to see what’s new at the Lodge, make sure to follow the waterfall map for some unforgettable photo opps!

Thanks for stopping by! And when you share your photos to Instagram, be sure to include the hashtag #atthekml for a chance for your photographic prowess to be featured on our account. We can’t wait to see you!

After a number of years of being a the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge golf course, the Black Fly Open will move to Calumet Golf Club.

We are sad to see the tournament move from the Lodge golf course, but are very happy to see the tournament continue, and that it will continue at a local golf course.

To find out more about the Black Fly Open, please contact Kevin at the Calumet Golf Club! 

The snow has finally begun to recede and we are prepping for what will be a fun, hopefully long, golf season. Bill and his crew are busy on the golf course, aerating and beautifying after a long, snowy winter. 

Our membership window closes on Wednesday, May 15th, so be sure to contact us right away if you are interested in membership. For more information on membership, green fees, and KML Golf League, check our main golf page at https://keweenawmountainlodge.com/golf/ and follow us on social media!