Ironwood Webcam – Check the Snow in Michigan’s Western UP

The Ironwood Webcam looks out across Depot Park in downtown Ironwood, on the western edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, from beneath a timber roof hung with oversized colored bulbs. The main camera faces east over the park lawn, where a paved trail curves past a black lamp post toward a red brick building, a cream-colored building and a red-roofed shelter. A second camera faces west across a brick platform to a bench, an information kiosk and the street beyond. Depot Park is where the town’s snowmobile trail meets the Iron Belle Trail, so in winter sleds and skiers pass through the frame between snowfalls. Two more tabs show a downtown street corner with a row of flagpoles and US Highway 2 outside Copper Cup Coffee.

About Ironwood and Depot Park

Ironwood sits at 459 meters (1,506 feet) in Gogebic County, where the Montreal River marks the state line and the town of Hurley, Wisconsin, faces it from the other bank. Ironwood was settled in the spring of 1885 on the Gogebic Iron Range and became a city on April 8, 1889. The name reportedly honors a mining captain, James “Iron” Wood. Mines such as the Norrie, Aurora, Ashland, Newport and Pabst drove the boom, and the population peaked at 15,739 in 1920. The range is inactive today, and the 2020 census counted 5,045 residents.

The park takes its name from the Chicago and North Western Railway depot, a Richardson Romanesque building from 1892 that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It now holds the Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce office and the museum of the Ironwood Area Historical Society, founded in 1970, with exhibits on early railroading and on how the iron mines worked. Depot Park also has a public pavilion and serves as the town’s event ground, with a summer farmers market, Festival Ironwood in July, the Bridges and Bluffs race in September and the Jack Frost Tree Lighting in November.

The depot is the northern trailhead of the Iron Belle Trail, Michigan’s cross-state route to Belle Isle in Detroit. Its hiking route runs 1,938 kilometers (1,204 miles) and its biking route 1,333 kilometers (828 miles), and the trail starts right outside the depot door. The town’s motorized trail crosses the park too, which is why the chamber points snowmobilers out to anyone watching from Florida or Arizona.

Weather and Climate in Ironwood

Winter dominates the year here. January averages a high of -6.6°C (20°F) and a low of -15.6°C (4°F), and the NOAA normals for 1991 to 2020 put the average snowfall at about 471 centimeters (185 inches) a season. For months the park on the Ironwood Webcam is white, with snow piled along both sides of the trail. Ironwood keeps Central Time, and the burned-in clock on the Depot Park cameras shows local time.

Spring comes late. April highs average 9.1°C (48°F), with nights still near -2.4°C (28°F). Summer is mild, with July highs of 24.6°C (76°F) and lows of 13.3°C (56°F), which is when the lawn fills for the farmers market and festival stages. By October highs fall to 11.4°C (53°F) and lows to 1.6°C (35°F), the trees around the park drop their leaves, and the first snow is never far off.

Things to Do Near Ironwood

Start inside the depot, where the historical society keeps seasonal museum hours (the published times disagree, so check before going). On East Aurora Street, the Ironwood Theatre opened in 1928 to an Italian Renaissance design by the self-taught local architect Albert Nelson. It seats 732, hosts theatre, music and arts shows, and still plays its Barton pipe organ, known as “The Grand Old Lady”. About 0.9 kilometers (0.6 miles) southeast of the depot, the 15.8 meter (52 foot) fiberglass Hiawatha statue, put up in 1964 and billed as the World’s Tallest Indian, faces north toward Lake Superior. The Ironwood Carnegie Library is the oldest operating Carnegie library in Michigan.

Outside town, Copper Peak rises about 17 kilometers (10.7 miles) north-northeast in a straight line. It is the only ski flying hill in the Western Hemisphere, built in 1969 and opened in 1970, with a K-point of 145 meters (476 feet), and on a clear day the view from the top reaches three states and into Canada. Black River Harbor National Recreation Area sits on the Lake Superior shore about 25 kilometers (15.7 miles) north-northeast, and the overlook at Mount Zion looks across to Copper Peak. Cyclists can ride the Iron Belle straight out of Depot Park, and the chamber publishes summer and winter recreation maps of the trails around town.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More Northwoods towns and Lake Superior views close to the Michigan and Wisconsin line:

• Mercer WI Webcam
• Michigan Tech University Webcam
• Bayfield Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Ironwood Webcam located?

In Depot Park at 150 North Lowell Street, downtown Ironwood, in Gogebic County on the western edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Montreal River and the Wisconsin state line run along the side of town, with Hurley across the river.

What can you see on the Ironwood Webcam?

The main camera faces east across the Depot Park lawn and trail, and a second faces west across a brick platform to the street. Two extra tabs show a downtown street corner and US Highway 2 outside Copper Cup Coffee.

What is the weather like in Ironwood, Michigan?

Cold, snowy winters and mild summers. January averages -6.6°C (20°F) by day and -15.6°C (4°F) at night, while July highs reach about 24.6°C (76°F). April and October highs sit between 9.1°C and 11.4°C (48°F and 53°F).

How much snow does Ironwood, Michigan get?

About 471 centimeters (185 inches) in an average season, based on the NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals. Depot Park stays white for much of the winter, and the chamber suggests the cameras to anyone out of town, in Florida or Arizona say, who wants to watch it fall.

What time zone is Ironwood, Michigan in?

Central Time. The clock burned into the Depot Park cameras shows local Central Time, six hours behind UTC in winter.

Where does the Iron Belle Trail start?

Its northern end is at the historic depot in Ironwood, inside Depot Park. The trail runs across Michigan to Belle Isle in Detroit, 1,938 kilometers (1,204 miles) as a hiking route and 1,333 kilometers (828 miles) as a biking route.

How tall is the Hiawatha statue in Ironwood?

The fiberglass statue stands 15.8 meters (52 feet) tall. It went up in 1964 and sits about 0.9 kilometers (0.6 miles) southeast of Depot Park.

What is in the old depot in Ironwood?

The 1892 Chicago and North Western depot houses the Ironwood Area Historical Society museum, with railroad and iron mining exhibits and a large archive of photographs and maps, plus the office of the Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce.

Source: Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce