“Wait. Did you see that entrance sign on the left side of the road? It looks like a bear and a deer cutting a log.
Stop, we have to check this out.”
That’s how we discovered Lakenenland, an outdoor sculpture park east of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
If you’re traveling on M-28 between Munising and Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it’s one place you don’t want to miss!
Lakenenland Sculpture Park
The entrance sign is just one indicator of the interesting characters and themes you’ll see in the metal outdoor sculpture park, all built with scrap metal.
Created by Tom Lakenen, the park has dozens of outdoor sculptures strewn across 35+ acres of forested land, created from scrap metal Lakenen brought home from his job as a welder.
He started creating the sculptures over 15 years ago. And he kept on building them.
A road winds through the park; you can either drive through or walk to view the sculptures of bugs, animals, people, political themes, and history of the Upper Peninsula.
My recommendation: get out and stretch your legs as you explore the fun and whimsical sculptures along the road and on the backtrails. This is an art park for everyone!
If you only drive through, you’re going to miss out on a lot of the sculptures.
Several sculptures are interactive; adults will enjoy Lakenen’s humor and seriousness (don’t miss the September 11 sculpture).
Each sculpture has been signed by Lakenen, look carefully about for his signature. The oldest one I found was from 2002.
Lakenenland is open year round; a snowmobile trail skirts the outside of the park. From what I understand, it’s a very popular stop for snowmobilers in the winter.
A few more photos from the park:
