Look at a globe, and most of it’s blue. About 70 percent of it, in fact.

Water is not only important to the planet, it’s what make our bodies work too. Our lungs are 90 percent water, brains 70 percent, and blood is more than 80 percent. Most people can survive about a month without food, but we’re dead in a matter of days without water.

It’s no wonder we’re drawn to this life force, and another reason to love where we live because water ranks Michigan’s greatest treasure. We’re not only surrounded by it—salt and shark-free as the bumper stickers promote—but water threads through our landscape as creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. The bottom line is that all that blue on the map colors who we are, and how we connect. Drive anywhere (without serious traffic) and in 15 minutes it’s a pretty sure bet you’ll arrive at a place where you can swim, fish, paddle, or boat.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Michigan’s northernmost (and smallest) county, Keweenaw. Known for having more water than land, the entire county at the tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula encompasses just shy of 6,000 square miles. Less than 10 percent—540 square miles—covers land, with the remaining 5,426 square miles covered by water. Even to the Native Americans this was a place where water dominated the landscape. The word “Keweenaw” in the Ojibwa language means “portage” or “place where portage is made.”

Rising up on the south shore of the county, Mount Bohemia takes up some of that land. Known for over a decade as the “Jackson Hole of the Midwest,” the area attracts skiers and snowboarders hunting deep snow and steep tree covered slopes to power through it. This year, the 1,100-acre resort remained open through the summer, offering guests a remarkable playground centered around five wilderness systems.

Mount Bohemia caters to the athletic couple and families looking for a chance to explore the area and try new sports.

“But without the hassle of hauling all the gear,” says Lonie Glieberman, president of the resort.

With cabins and yurts in place to lodge and feed as many as 120 people, but only being used 100 days a year, Glieberman could see the sense in a year round resort, particularly when it’s all-inclusive.

“We want to be user-friendly,” says Glieberman.

He hired guides and invested in bikes, helmets, kayaks, wetsuits, lifejackets, paddles, paddleboards, fishing gear, and even headlamps to help make your way to the nightly bonfire. Now, for a cost of $95 per person per day, guests get three meals, a clean and comfortable cabin with bunks, shower, sink and toilet and access to all the toys.

Steve Rowe of Calumet was skiing Mount Bohemia long before the first chairlift arrived. He has been pedaling and paddling the Keweenaw for decades too. Now the retired physician also works as a kayak guide.

“In just minutes from Bohemia you can launch from Bete Grise and head out to the mouth of the Montreal river, or go inland and explore the sloughs of Lac La Belle,” says Rowe.

Whether you are a veteran or a newbie to kayaking, the choice matters because weather rules in this neck of the woods.

“If the waves kick up on Lake Superior, we can always spend the day on Lac La Belle,” adds Rowe, who keeps a keen eye on wind and waves as well as approaching weather. “There’s always an out.”

The location is also along the 123-mile Keweenaw Water Trail, established in 1995 as a designated canoe and kayak route that circles the peninsula. For paddlers, the rugged and remote coastline is similar to Isle Royale (also included within Keweenaw County’s boundaries but the national park sits 55 miles northwest of Copper Harbor out in Lake Superior), a three-hour ferry ride away. Official waterproof and tearproof maps of the Keweenaw Water Trail are available by mail for $ from the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau, 56638 Calumet Avenue, Calumet, MI 49913.

The trip to the mouth of the Montreal River, leaving from the public sandy beach at Bete Grise, is about five miles, pushing the loop to 10 miles. For a beginning paddler, that’s probably over the top for a first-time destination paddle on Lake Superior. Even accomplished kayakers, who gauge leisurely travel at three knots or 3.45 miles per hour, would allow most of a day to complete the trip. It’s important when paddling to stop every 90 minutes for a water and bathroom break, and when traveling the remote and rugged shorelines of Superior, that may mean tricky landings on rocky beaches.

“But that’s the beauty of staying at Mount Bohemia,” says Ron Thorley of Marquette. Last fall he and some friends set out to circumnavigate the Keweenaw camping out of their kayaks. “We started in Lac La Belle and traveled clockwise,” explains Thorley, a veteran paddler. They almost completed the circle but weather stopped them in Copper Harbor. Now he appreciates the chance to paddle this remote shoreline without having to make miles to the next camp site.

“With a hearty pancake breakfast to fuel the morning, and a packed lunch with snacks and water stowed in a dry bag in your boat hatch, you can take all day, explore the coastline, take pictures, and not have to worry about saving energy to make camp and cook dinner,” adds Thorley.

Watching the season change from the waterline will fill pages of your scrapbook. As the leaves start to turn and the colors come alive mirrored in the glassy waters, you’ll want to be ready to save the moment with a waterproof camera tethered to your deck. When packing for a trip to Mount Bohemia, don’t leave home without a camera, notebook and appetite for adventure. You’ll want to bring home the stories.

To make reservations at Mount Bohemia visit www.mountbohemia.com or call 231-420-5405.

Images by Frida Waara