Photo: The Nature Conservancy Mt. Baldy is the largest and least disturbed of only a handful of balds remaining in the Keweenaw Peninsula. TNC is accepting registration for a guided hike of the preserve.

KEWEENAW COUNTY — The Nature Conservancy is hosting two, unique guided hikes in the Keweenaw Peninsula in August, part of a “Heart the Heartlands” series of events to highlight the Keweenaw.

“We have held dozens and dozens of meetings with community members and leaders about the Keweenaw Heartlands since we first explored purchasing the land in 2021, but those meetings have been indoors, said Julia Petersen, Keweenaw Peninsula project manager for TNC in Michigan in a Monday press release. “This fall, we’re taking a break from the folding chairs and PowerPoint presentations and taking people into the Heartlands to show why this place is so important to protect.”

The first hike, the release states is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 22, from 3-6 p.m., and will take attendees up to the Helmut & Candis Stern Preserve at Mt. Baldy. The hike up Mt. Baldy, co-hosted by the Keweenaw Hiking Trails Association, will be a 6.5-mile mile out-and-back trail hike with approximately 869 feet of elevation gain. Although strenuous for some hikers, the hard work is worthwhile because at the top, beautiful, sweeping views of the Keweenaw Heartlands await.

According to Pure Michigan, this hike is one of the most strenuous hikes on any of The Nature Conservancy’s preserves in Michigan. It will take hikers to the very top of Mt. Baldy and back.

Visit Keweenaw refers to the area as “northern bald,” reporting that these are rare, only occurring around the Keweenaw from Isle Royale to Gogebic County.

Michigan State University defines northern bald as a low shrub and herbaceous community with scattered flagged trees and trees distorted into a krummholz growth form by branch breakage due to heavy snow, thick ice, and extreme winds off Lake Superior. Northern balds are restricted to large escarpments of volcanic bedrock ridges and are characterized by sparse vegetation, areas of exposed bedrock, and thin, slightly acidic soils.

The second hike, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. will take hikers from forest to the rocky shoreline of TNC’s Mary MacDonald Preserve at Horseshoe Harbor. Although the furthest point north in mainland Michigan, this preserve is TNC’s most visited in the state. The five miles of shoreline reveal more than a billion years old of volcanic rock shaped by the waves and winds of Lake Superior. There are nearly a dozen threatened or rare species and geological formations only found at the tip of the Keweenaw.

Registration is required for both events. There is no fee for registration. Register for the hike at:

• Mt. Baldy: https://preserve.nature.org/page/154385/event/1

• Mary MacDonald here. https://preserve.nature.org/page/154050/event/1