The National Park Service owns approximately 1,700 acres (690 ha) in the Calumet and Quincy Units.

The Congressional legislation establishing the Park stated, among other things, that: (1) The oldest and largest lava flow known on Earth is located on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan.

This volcanic activity produced the only place on Earth where large scale economically recoverable 97 percent pure native copper is found.

Artifacts made from this copper by these ancient Indians were traded as far south as present day Alabama.

Occurring here in relatively pure form, the red metal could be broken out of the rock and worked to make a wide variety of products, from jewelry and tools by its earliest miners to coins and electric wire by its final generations.

During the peak production years of World War I, 1916–1917, the annual copper yield reached a maximum of 270 million pounds (125,000 t).

By 1910 the Copper Country had been settled by French Canadian, German, Chinese, Irish, Cornish, Croatian, Finnish, Italian, Greek and Syrian people.

A large percentage of these Finns settled in the Western Upper Peninsula because of perceived similarities between their old and new homes, and found work in the Keweenaw.

Nicknamed "Old Reliable" for its record of paying annual dividends for decades, the Quincy mine enjoyed a position on the rich copper rock of the Pewabic Lode.

In October 2013, two new sites were added: Houghton's Carnegie Museum and the Michigan Technological University Archives.

[11] The theatre originally housed live theatre, attracting notable performers such as Frank Morgan (later famous for his roles in The Wizard of Oz), Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Lon Chaney, Sr., John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, and Madame Helena Modjeska among others.

[13] Today, the Calumet Theatre is home to as many as 80 theatre-related events a year, with an estimated 20,000 people attending.

[4] The heritage center, located in a 1917 elementary school building,[14] features exhibits that trace Chassell's history from a fishing and lumber town up to the present.

[18] The Finnish American Heritage Center & Historical Archive is located at 601 Quincy Street on the campus of Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan.

[20] This collection, established in 1932, currently houses 20,000 items, including genealogical resources, information about Finnish culture, artifacts, and Finnish-American artwork.

[4] The fort was built in 1844, and provided order and protected the Keweenaw's copper resources during the Civil War.

[4] The park also contains one of the first lighthouses on Lake Superior, and offers camping, fishing, hiking, swimming, and biking, and day-use facilities.

[21] The Hanka Homestead is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) west of U.S. Highway 41, off Tower Road in Pelkie, Michigan.

[4] The museum houses over 100 years of photographs and artifacts[4] with three floors of exhibits of local Copper Country mining, logging and cultural history.

[23] In addition, the Houghton County Historical Museum runs the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[24] Lake Linden & Torch Lake Railroad, the Traprock Valley School House (a one-room school), the First Congregational Church in Lake Linden, Michigan (used as the HCHS Heritage Center), the Leo Chaput Log Cabin, and the Perl Merrill Research Center (used as the archives and a genealogical facility).

[4] These locations include the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, Central Mine Historic District, Phoenix Church, the Rathbone School and the Bammert Blacksmith Shop.

[4] Visitor Centers for the Historical Society are located at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Central Mine.

"[31] Exhibits at the historical society's museum include artifacts related to the early days of mining and other topics.

[4] The park totals 59,000 acres (24,000 ha) and offers day-hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing, biking and winter sports.