Family Weekend
Day 1
We headed over to Mikes Family Restaurant on US2 to grab breakfast. Many all-American breakfast options available and everything was wonderful, and you definitely won’t leave hungry. The portions are big; good for teenage boys! After breakfast we needed coffee. A quarter mile down US2 was Copper Cup, a hip new drive through cafe. Every one got something different and loved it, such a cool name too!
We decided to plan our lunch and we went a mile or so down the highway to Super One Foods. We bought all the fixings for sandwiches and wraps, fruit, drinks, chips for a picnic lunch. With bikes loaded up, we were off to our first destination; Copper Peak!
Mountain Biking
Along the Black River Scenic Byway, we easily found the sign and drove to the base of the jump. Our family debated if we should do the adventure ride first or bike the trails. We decided to do the adventure ride up to the very top of the jump! It was an amazing experience with spectacular views as far as the eye can see.
Once we all made it back down, we quickly changed and started off on our bikes doing the beginners loop trail, and then the more challenging Cooper Peak loop which takes you all the way to the base of the jump! These trails are nice and flowy, a few spots my youngest walked.
Black River Scenic By-Way
After loading up, we ventured north on the by-way to hike the famous Black River Waterfalls. We hiked the 3/4 mile to Great Conglomerate, the first of the 5. The trail is gorgeous and the waterfall is absolutely spectacular! We hiked back, jumped into the car and drove to view Potawatomi and Gorge. These can be accessed from the same parking lot and it’s a very short walk to both. Well worth the stop! The kids were getting hungry, but we decided to view Rainbow falls and it was well worth it! A short hike, but quite a few stairs.
Beach time!
We kept our northern path. Not even a mile more and we were at Black River Harbor. We got our much-awaited food and drinks and found a nice picnic table under a tree in the shade. We relaxed and ate. Grabbing our beach stuff, we changed and headed over the suspension bridge to the beach. A beautiful walk that opens up to a gorgeous beach. We all couldn’t wait to jump in the cold, refreshing lake! The rest of the day we swam, played frisbee, and the kids built a fire to roast marsh mallows.
At the end of it all, we decided to head back to town for a meal at Manny’s for their famous pizza.