It was created by dredging Portage Lake and digging a canal. Recreational and commercial boat traffic make this a busy shortcut from Lake Superior to Keweenaw Bay. Sport fishermen drive, sail, and fly to the Copper country each year, to fish Lake Superior and the inland lakes. Bete Grise Bay is a favorite deep lake area. Nearby Lac La Belle is also a productive fishery.
Charter boats are available at lakeshore towns all around the county.
The recreational, scenic, and historical attractions of the Keweenaw have been appreciated by locals and visitors for decades. But preservation of these treasures have been left to chance, private ownership decisions, and in some cases local policy. The park is in the center of the Keweenaw, a small peninsula that extends about 100 miles into Lake Superior from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The two park units, Quincy and Calumet, encompass historic industrial, commercial, and residential landscapes and structures situated along the extensive Copper Range, the belt of copper-bearing rock that forms the spine of the peninsula. Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a general management plan in consultation with the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission.