Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette The RV Park in Backcountry Village is currently underway and is scheduled to be open and operational by the summertime.

SOUTH RANGE — The Village of South Range is becoming more of an outdoor destination with continued construction of Backcountry Village, a 300 acre power sports resort featuring lodging, day parking, an RV park, off road trails and more. Backcountry Village, located off of Old M–26 has recently completed its large parking lot and will have an RV park ready for service by summer.

The idea for Backcountry Village had its beginnings when its CEO and owner, Marc Franchi and co-owner Saralee Franchi began an interest in the U.P. after people told them about the Keweenaw area on a snowmobiling trip in Wisconsin in 2017. The couple then drove their snowmobiles from northern Wisconsin to Copper Harbor and back. On that trip, Marc said the two were taken back by the beauty and the uniqueness of the Houghton area and were surprised they never heard of it.

“So we came up here, had fun, enjoyed that trip and always kind of in the back of our mind, knew that we wanted to come up here more often and make it kind of a permanent part of our lives in some way,” Marc said.

In 2022, they bought a house in Trimountain and found land for sale in South Range. Marc and Saralee were both impressed with the views on the property and were interested in acquiring it. After completing work on their house, the couple went through a year-long process on purchasing the property but were not sure what they would do with it.

“We really had no idea, no final goal or intention with property we just just loved it so much. So fast forward a few months and we were talking about ‘Do we put a house up here? What do we do?’ And it was actually my wife’s idea. She said, ‘No, I think we should put cabins and maybe a little campground.’ And she thought we should build a little village up there. And that kind of just sparked the whole idea and the whole process,” Marc said.

The process began with hiring a logging company to remove some trees for camping spaces. They cleared about 30 acres and then completed a storage building for maintenance and grooming equipment. The recently completed three acre parking lot was a combined effort by Keweenaw Trucking Company, Great Lakes Mineral Works, Superior Sand and Gravel and Wildlife Refuge Cabins. The parking lot will be open to the public this winter, and has direct highway access. Marc said moving forward as much work as possible needs to get done each day, especially to have the RV Park operational by summer.

The next project is to install an infrastructure of water, sewer and electrical utilities before the snow arrives. The framing of cabins can then begin next spring or summer, and the resort can bring in some revenue if the RV Park is taking in guests. The 21 cabins will be limited in size at 2,000 square feet or less. Marc said he and his wife do not want “McMansions” or suburban-like houses with unorthodox layouts. They want one story buildings with at least three quarters of an acre lots at the very least.

Marc explained the project has seen support from not only the Village of South Range, but also Adams Township and Houghton County.

“South Range at one point was, from what I understand, was a booming little town. The main street was just lined with little shops and stores. It was a great little town and and after the the mines closed, it took some of that momentum away from South Range. So when we came up here one of the things that we recognized right away, and I think it’s obvious to everybody, is that South Range has incredible tourism potential,” Marc said.

He made the observation that while many visitors come to South Range to ride dirt bikes, ATVs or snowmobiles, they do not often stay overnight and instead go to a hotel in Houghton. Marc said those tourists then spend their money in Houghton instead of South Range in regards to lodging and dining.

“They’re getting the benefits of South Range without South Range really benefiting from that tourism,” he said. “So we’re going to help give them a reason to stop and stay in South Range and not need to continue onto Houghton.”

The property has trails running through in which off roading vehicles can be utilized, but there will also be an area dedicated to children who are learning how to operate these types of vehicles for the first time. An age limit will be determined along with a CC engine size limit which will allow parents to have an appropriate area to teach their children the off roading experience.

Along with the recreation which will be provided at the area, Marc said there is also going to be services granted to the community, such as a Wood Share they have planned with Wildlife Refuge Cabins for Oct. 25 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Residents of Trimountain and South Range will be able to collect firewood the resort has gathered in its clearing of property for free. If the event is successful, Backcountry Village will make it an annual event.

From the outdoor experience the property will offer and the benefits Backcountry Village will bring to South Range, Marc believes the overall idea is something special.

“There’s nothing like what we’re building in the Midwest — this outdoor enthusiast, power sports community with so many different types of lodging, cabins, RV park and a kids area,” he said.