Iron County still keeps Memorial Day the old way, with the flags, the color guards and the names read out in the cemeteries on Monday morning. Here's where the services usually are, town by town, and what opens for the long weekend that starts summer in the U.P.
The services are held at the cemeteries and memorials on Monday morning, and most of them start between 8 and 11. The towns stagger their times, so you can stand at more than one.
The times on this page are the usual ones, from last year and the years before. The new times are set each May and printed the weekend before, and we update this page then. Check the Iron County events calendar before you go.
Flags go on the veterans' graves the weekend before. On Monday the flag flies at half-staff until noon, then goes to the top of the staff for the rest of the day.
If you only make one, be at the Veterans Memorial on Genesee Street in Iron River by 9:30. The program there is usually followed by a parade up Genesee Street.
These are the usual times and places. Each town confirms its own schedule in May, so treat them as a guide and check the week before.
A parade to Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, then the program.
MoreThe parade forms at Washington Avenue and Logan Street and marches to Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, where the program is held. It has kept that time and route for more than ten years. If it rains, the program moves inside to the Forest Park High School gym at 9:30.
A veterans program at Hematite Township Cemetery.
MoreAmasa's program follows the Crystal Falls service, at Hematite Township Cemetery. It starts once the Crystal Falls program is done, so there's no fixed clock time.
A morning of services, with a parade up Genesee Street.
MoreA rifle volley at the old Iron River Cemetery at 8:30. The main program is at 9:30 at the Veterans Memorial on Genesee Street, and a parade up Genesee Street usually follows. The morning closes with a program at Resthaven Cemetery at 11.
A program at Stambaugh Cemetery.
MoreThe program is at Stambaugh Cemetery, and the Caspian-Gaastra fire department raises the flags. If it rains, it moves to the Caspian-Gaastra Fire Hall.
An early service at Bates Township Cemetery.
MoreOne of the first services of the day, at Bates Township Cemetery. Refreshments follow at the township hall, which is also where it moves if it rains.
A service at Rosehill Cemetery, then a social.
MoreThe service is at Rosehill Cemetery, and a social at Beechwood Hall follows.
You don't have to come for the ceremonies to pay your respects. The memorials are open all weekend, and a quiet visit on Saturday or Sunday means just as much.
Wherever you are at 3 in the afternoon on Monday, stop for the National Moment of Remembrance. It's one minute of silence for those who died in service.
Memorial Day is when summer opens up here. The beaches, the paddle rentals and the lake access all come on over the weekend. The water is still cold in late May, so bring a towel and keep the swim short.
Memorial weekend is bass weekend. By then the walleye, pike and trout have been open for a while, and the bass opener lands on the Saturday. Our fishing guide has the full picture.
You can keep bass from the Saturday before Memorial Day.
MoreCatch-and-release is legal all year, and keeping bass starts that Saturday. Lake Ottawa stays catch-and-release for bass. On Fire and Indian lakes it's one bass, 18 inches or longer.
Walleye and pike opened in mid-May, trout in April.
MoreWalleye and pike open May 15 on inland U.P. waters. The trout streams opened on the last Saturday in April. See our trout fishing guide for the creeks and lakes.
Release them until the first Saturday in June.
MoreMusky stay catch-and-release until the first Saturday in June, June 5 in 2027. Our musky fishing guide has the lakes.
The service and parade times go on the calendar once they're set in May.
Iron County EventsLate May can be warm one day and raw the next. Check it before you pack.
Iron River ForecastOpeners, size limits and the lake-by-lake rules, updated each spring.
Michigan DNR FishingOur spring weekend getaway has a Friday-to-Sunday plan, and the spring list has the rest.
Things to Do This SpringComing back at the end of summer? See Labor Day weekend in Iron County.
Usually 9 a.m. on Monday. It goes from Washington Avenue and Logan Street to Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, and the times are confirmed each May.
Yes, most years. It follows the 9:30 a.m. program at the Veterans Memorial on Genesee Street and goes up Genesee Street.
Monday, May 31, 2027. The long weekend runs Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31.
Yes, from the Saturday. You can keep bass from the Saturday before Memorial Day, May 29 in 2027. Lake Ottawa stays catch-and-release for bass.
The beaches, lakes and trails. Paddle rentals start at Bewabic State Park, Pentoga Park opens on Chicaugon Lake, and Lake Ottawa's beach and ramp are open. The Iron County Historical Museum doesn't open its exhibits until June.
Layers and a rain jacket. Mornings can be cool at the cemetery services, and the lakes are still cold.
Come for the service on Monday morning, and stay for the first weekend of summer on the lakes.
Photos: Kevin Zini
Events, Spring and tagged amasa michigan, Caspian Michigan, crystal falls michigan, fishing, iron county michigan, iron river michigan, lakes, memorial day, Memorial Weekend, things to do, upper peninsula michigan, Veterans.
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Iron County is one of the Upper Peninsula’s best kept secrets. From camping to fishing, hunting to canoeing, mountain biking to forest bathing – no matter your interests, the great outdoors and clear crisp air await you here.
