Lake Superior claims Saxon Harbor beach

HURLEY - With beach-going weather arriving across the Gogebic Range, the Iron County Forestry and Parks Department is warning residents Lake Superior has removed a considerable amount of sand from the beach at Saxon Harbor.

In addition to washing away roughly six of the stairs leading down to the beach, creating an approximate two-foot drop to the beach, the lake's removal of the sand has left the beach covered in newly exposed large rocks. The higher lake levels also mean sand that wasn't removed is underwater.

"I guess I just want to get it out there to people - this is the condition of the beach at Saxon Harbor and there really isn't anything the county can do to fix that," Forest Administrator Eric Peterson said. "That's Mother Nature and the lake taking her natural course."

Peterson said he didn't want people to drive from Ironwood and Hurley out to Saxon Harbor to enjoy the beach without knowing about the new conditions.

Along with higher water levels, the warm winter contributed to the problem.

"The lake is up," Peterson said. "And the other thing that has gone on here ... is the lake didn't freeze last winter, so waves basically just pounded the beach all winter."

Peterson said many people discovered the change when they went to the lake during the warm weather last weekend. Last fall, the department built a ramp down to the beach at the request of the county's emergency management personnel.

"They wanted to be able to access the beach with their off-road emergency management vehicle (in case of an emergency)," he said.

While there were some issues with all-terrain vehicles using the ramp to ride on the beach, the department posted signs saying state law prohibited ATVs on the beach.

He wanted to make clear rumored complaints the department put the rocks on the beach to stop ATVs were false.

"The forestry and parks department is not closing the beach. Lake Superior took back the beach," Peterson said.

There isn't really a viable solution to the problem, Peterson said. He said putting in a new access spot to the beach can't be done because of private property concerns surrounding the current beach and the current beach is historically been the most accessible site.

More intensive solutions would require coordinating with the Army Corps of Engineers and obtaining permits before any work could be done.

"It's not just a simple solution, it's a major project. And the lake will take it back anyway." Peterson said.

"We kind of at the mercy of the lake here, which we found with our ramp. We put it in, it went right down to the sand last year, it looked great," he continued, referring to the bottom of the ramp now being underwater.

Even with the changes, Peterson said the beach is still useable.

"It's a rugged trail," he said. "It's very doable, but you're not going to find many places to stretch out."