The beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the perfect place to host your wedding, family reunion, or special event. Big Powderhorn Lodging has accommodations to fit all sizes of groups and offers a 10% discount when you book 4 or more vacation homes for your event. 
Stay, Play and Dine With Big Powderhorn Resort
A Big Pow of a Deal!
With 18+" of Fresh Powder
in Big Snow Country
We're Going to Bury You in Savings
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Winter
Announced by all trumpets if the sky,
Arrives the snow.
---Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Snowstorm"
In advance of winter, nature almost seems uncertain. The days are often grey, damp, early darkening skies; the migrations are nearly over as if even the birds are just anxious to leave and get on with something different. The glow of autumn has diminished and the majesty of winter has not yet arrived. The deer hunters are in camp is droves; playing cards, drinking whiskey and beer, not shaving, eating wonderful camp food, testing the comfort of the outhouse, holding their breath at the same time, and hunting when there is time and building memories only a hunting camp can provide.
Thanksgiving becomes the bridge to winter. When the windows steam up from all the cooking we all know something important is going on. The warmth of the family and friends Thanksgiving dinner prepares our mind and spirit for the ensuing cascade of snow and falling temperatures.
When winter does arrive the ambivalence is gone. It smacks you on the bridge of the nose and says “I’m here and I am hanging around for awhile.” And strangely the birds are still here. But that is what we like about winter in the UP; it is definite, it’s winter, it’s there every single day and the snow is deep---- really deep. So whether your sport is snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, downhill skiing there is little doubt it is winter and you can get out and enjoy it. And there is little doubt how to dress. Warmly!!! It is the time of year you turn in your summer long johns for your winter ones. In the UP, Woolrich, Sorrell and North Face are designer labels.
If you are purely recreational, sledding and tubing are integral part of winter here and so is the time honored art of ice sculpturing, of making snowmen and snow angels. If you don’t know the difference you really do need to spend more time with us. Visiting and climbing on the ice field shoreline of Lake Superior is a magnificent experience. The irregular ice formations display a wide range of colors and shape. It appears both threatening and majestic. You may see coyote, wolf and fishers. For the most daring there is ice climbing on Black River.
The most popular endeavors remain downhill skiing and snowmobiling. But cross country skiing and snowshoeing are taking their rightful place. The inaugural Sisu cross country ski race drew 400 skiers beginning and ending in historic downtown Ironwood.
Winter villages’ crop up overnight like an MGM movie set. Like any village there is shanty town and up town. But each has something in common. ICE FISHERMEN!!! The sport memorialized by Jack Lemon, Walter Mathieu and Sophia Loren (Look it up). Augers, short poles, flasks and small heaters are staples in this sport. Oh, and a winch if the worst possible thing happens.
Seventeen feet of annual snow fall is the norm. Three to four hundred inches in the banner years. It is our white gold. Minted in the snow belt off of Lake Superior. This taste of winter will keep you coming back. It is where a Mountain of Memories begins and lives on.
