We cruised Lake Michigan and various
Great Lakes for several years. We are no living on our
boat in the
Caribbean. We have the Air
Head we installed for extensive Lakes cruising and compliance with the zero discharge rules and especially Canadian requirements. This give you the freedom to avoid
pump outs for weeks or months. Most Lakes locations will let you
anchor indefinitely at zero cost. I don’t know if you are already there or if you might be entering from the
east coast.
Great Lakes cruising notes
We last lived in Michigan and sailed Lake Michigan for about 8 years. We have also sailed on Lake Huron and Lake Erie for many years. We traveled once on
Lake Superior and through
Lake Ontario on our way to the St. Lawrence Seaway & out.
If You arrive at the Great Lakes by way of the Erie
Canal at the upper reaches of the
Hudson River, Be sure to confirm your
draft will pass the waterway. You can obtain passes on line for all locks. Referring to the cruising guide, there are several options from the upper
Canal to enter the Lake system.
Lake Ontario
The east most Erie Canal (Mohawk River) entry to Lake
Ontario is well west of the Thousand Islands. To visit, you would need to go east, out of your way, but if I had to choose between the Thousand Islands and the North Channel, the Channel wins, hands down. We traveled on the south (US) side of Lake
Ontario and enjoyed the eastern end, but found most of the rest of it, while lovely, unexciting. I understand that the north-east portion, around the Bay of Quinte, is quite lovely and, of course, Toronto is a great city.
Another option is to sail north across Lake Ontario to the Trent Severin Canal system which beings at the western end of the Bay of Quinte. If you take the Trent Severn make sure you get your lock passes online before you get to the canal system. Confirm your
draft can pass too. This is the system of lakes and locks as (well as a
marine railway at Big Chute) that goes through beautiful country and takes you right into Lake Huron. You bypass Lake Erie, Detroit and the south end of Lake Huron, but this
route avoids having to
work really hard at going up the Detroit River with
current going against you.
You might exit the Erie Canal in Rochester, NY (unless you take the Oswego Canal branch). We spent a night anchored Rochester and it was so violent things were thrown off the counter. If you stay there, stay well behind the sea wall or inside the channel, even if it means that you have to take a
dock. Winds throughout the Lakes is west and southwest.
Weather systems may offer other winds. Lakes Erie and Ontario are east-west oriented. Strong winds can channel these lakes and create tall, short waves given the long fetch.
From Rochester you either go north to the Bay of Quinte and the Trent Severn waterway or west toward the Welland Canal. If you choose to stay on Lake Ontario you must pass into Lake Erie by way of the Welland Canal. We had a really nice time in Youngstown at the out flow of the Niagara River, staying the whole weekend instead of the quick hour stop-over that we had planned. There is a free shuttle that will take you from town out to Fort Niagara all the way to Niagara Falls, which is amazing. In between there is a hands-on museum that explains the energy works of the falls which may be aimed at
children older than yours, but is fun for them none-the-less and educational for adults too. We would highly recommend a couple of days here before you go up the Welland.
On the south shore between Rochester and Youngstown there are lots of little
anchorages, especially if you aren't 58 feet long and 7 feet deep, but you have to be aware of the
wind as the prevailing winds make that the windward shore. We don't know much about the northern shore.
Welland Canal
There is a waiting
dock at the upper and lower ends of the Welland. You can tie up here overnight despite the official "NO" you might see posted. This is especially true if you have your canal pass (tickets). Depending on Canal traffic, you may have to wait many hours to be fitted into the flow of vessels. They will fit cruising
boats together. You may be required to have an extra person aboard. Check on line when you buy tickets. They can furnish a helper/pilot or you might get an extra person from another yacht.
Lake Erie
We have
sold (misplaced?) our Lake Erie
charts, so I'm doing this from our log and my memory. Our trip on Lake Erie was, again, on the south shore. I think I recommend the north shore unless you want to go to Cleveland, which is another fun city, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some very good restaurants.
Mark disagrees and suggests that you wait till you are there and look at the predicted winds and
weather before you decide. There isn't a lot of shelter on the north shore. Just as in Lake Ontario, the prevailing westerlies channel the lake. On our trip we stopped in Erie PA, Cleveland OH and Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. Erie Pennsylvania has a great natural harbor entered only from the east. Cleveland is fun. Put-in-Bay on south Bass Island is a tourist
destination but has an interesting geode/cave to explore, a great beach, and Frosty's Pizza, a near historic landmark. Also check out Perry's Monument (find out a little about the US/British War of 1812 before you go). Sandusky,
Ohio offers Cedar Point which is an amusement park right on the Lake. You can get a slip in their marina or (I think) you can
anchor but be careful - it's pretty shallow around there. Cedar Point has great rides for "big kids" (like us) but they have a wonderful children's area. They also have a great
water park and beautiful beach. The place is pricy, but if your
budget allows, I suggest that it's a great diversion and a lot of fun.
Detroit
From here you turn north and enter the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River. For us, traveling south, it was an easy one-day trip. Going north you will be fighting the
current which gets up to about 2 knots, depending where you are. I suspect that you might need an anchorage over-night unless you want to travel at night, which you can do since the channel is very well marked and there will be less traffic at night. It's kind of cool going past Detroit and the buildings on Belle Isle, which used to be a magnificent park until about the 1960's.
There are large homes on both sides of the channel as well as bogs and inlets. To avoid the highest current, stay to the edges and take some of the alternate passages and channels around islands.
On the other hand, you could stop in Detroit for a day or so, there are places to tie up along the River wall or you might stop in a marina. The Henry Ford Museum/ Greenfield Village is a great place for
kids and adults alike. There is also Tigers Baseball and the Detroit Institute of Art.
Lake Huron
Enter at Port Huron at the north end of the Saint Clair River and go directly to Georgian Bay. The Canadian side of the Lake may be more interesting than the US side. I would spend as much time as possible in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Six weeks would not be too long if you could swing it. We have only explored the Georgian Bay from land, but it's beautiful with lots of inlets for
safe anchorages. If you take the Trent Severn this is where you enter Lake Huron. The
water is clear and fresh and beautiful. The geology is ancient. In the North Channel, we stopped in Killarney which is where the Georgian Bay ends and the Channel begins. It's a nice place, It is very narrow and there is a
wind driven current. I think you have to take a dock. (Keep in mind,
docking here is much less expensive than in the
Caribbean or on the
East Coast.) Be sure you get into Baie Fine (pronounced bay fin). It is a fjord. I don't know if you've traveled fjords before, but we hadn't. It is breathtaking how tall the walls are and how deep the water is. One side of the fjord is white quartz that sparkles in the sunshine and the other side is granite and limestone. Anchor as far east as you can go. Dingy to the east end of the fjord until the water runs out. Then take a short hike up to Topaz Lake. This lake is heavily copper, giving it a beautiful blue color. The copper also prevents any
marine growth so if a log falls into the lake, it doesn't decay, it looks like it did 10 years ago when it fell. Yes, you can swim in it - we did - I just don't recommend drinking it.
Little Current is a fun town and a good place to provision. You can tie up to the dock, use
power and water and wander around for the day. As long as you leave by 5g00 (Mark says 9g00. I think he's wrong) the
docking is free and if you want to stay the night, I think it was reasonable.
The rest of our North Channel trip: Kegawong is a nice anchorage. Hike to the falls, where you can swim in the very cool water. Hotham Island; beautiful place, easy anchorage. Whale Back Channel, Bear Drop Harbor - great place to kayak/ paddle. Meldrum Bay; grocery store here, as well as a place where guests can meet up with you.
Lake Superior
If you choose to go to Lake Superior, now is when you do it. Do not exit the North Channel at Drummond Island but go north of Drummond into the St. Mary's River. Follow the channel in the river until you arrive at the locks at Sault Ste. Marie (Soo Locks). The locks are free and easy to transit. On the south end of the locks is an antique ship museum that is interesting. If you buy
fuel at Kemp Marina you can tie up to their dock for a few hours and tour the town. We left
Government Bay in Lake Huron at 7:00 a.m. and made it to the locks by 16:30 and anchored in a cove just beyond the locks by 17:30. We stayed on the south shore of Superior. The north shore is all wilderness. We considered spending the night in Little Lake Harbor but decided the entrance was too shallow for our
keel so we sailed on to Grand Marais. Easy
anchoring, nice rural town with a good brew pub (very important to Mark) a nice bakery, and a few other restaurants and nice shops. Munising is a larger city, but still very rural. We stayed on the dock because the rate was so good, but there is
anchoring available, including on Grand Isle. This is another place with good kayaking and hiking. Just west of Munising is the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. This huge sandstone cliff is spectacular to see from the water. There are also hiking trails and other things to do in the national park on land. I don't know where you would anchor to get to the park though. Marquette is "the big city" in a land of tiny villages. There is a large harbor where you might be able to anchor, but we didn't consider anchoring so we don't know. We tied up to the wall at Cinder Park Marina (eastern-most of the two marinas). There are also slips available at the other marina, but we are too big for them. Marquette is a nice city to explore (it also has brew pubs). Houghton and Hancock - twin cities on opposite sides of the Keweenaw Canal. At the entry end of the Canal just past the break wall there is a long concrete wall suitable for large ships. You may tie here free. Huge bollards may be found in the tall weeds. We had a great time in Houghton. Tie up to the town wall by the parking garage for no fee. There is no electricity and the public toilets are quite a way away, but the shop owners are nice and if you buy a coffee or a roll, hey, no problem. The Coffee shop through the parking garage and up the stairs has a nice breakfast and
WIFI. Yes there is a brew pub. The people of the town are great.
Many people rave about the Apostle Islands a few more miles west. We did not have time to visit.
That is what we know about Lake Superior.
Meanwhile, Back in Lake Huron: Finish up in Mackinaw Island. Worth a day. Well preserved fort (unlike the Caribbean ruins) with loads of
history and artillery demonstrations, cute tourist town, horse drawn carriage rides. Unfortunately can be a rather noisy harbor with a lot of ferries and even more so if there is a
cruise ship in town. Anchoring is tricky.
Lake Michigan
Mark wants it to be very clear that every port in Michigan has a brew pub or two and they all make some darn good
beer.
Sail under the Mackinaw Bridge into Lake Michigan. You can choose to turn southwest and go through Gray's Reef (you can easily shortcut the north gate of these shoals if you have good charts) or you can go way west to Wisconsin.
Personally, we recommend the Michigan side, but we are somewhat biased. In the north of Wisconsin is the Dorr Peninsula which is beautiful and in the south is Milwaukee and we're sure there is stuff in between, but we don't know what to tell you. Michigan has a harbor of refuge every 45 - 60 miles, most of which are nice
anchorages and sweet. We have enjoyed Beaver Island - it's a nice place to visit with lots of hikes and trails, as well as wrecks to explore. S. Manitou Island has a great lighthouse to climb and a nice harbor to anchor. Charlevoix on Round Lake is a fun town to tour. Pass into Lake Charlevoix from Round Lake and past the big
boats (We used to think they were mega-yachts. Ha!) and find a nice place to anchor, maybe in
Oyster Bay. Dingy back to town. Traverse City is a great place to visit (we'll be there) but I'm not sure that I'd go far into Grand Traverse Bay. It's a long way. If you think you want to go, check the wind. If there is a north wind the southern shore is a disaster. Northport is a nice town if you are looking for an overnight. Leland looks like a nice harbor but if you are a larger
boat it's very difficult. Between Leland and Frankfort is Sleeping Bear Dunes. They are amazing from the water but maybe even more so from land. If you can get into Leland or Frankfort, ask around about excursions to the Dunes. Frankfort is a good anchorage with a cute town. The channel to Portage Lake is shallow so we've never been there but we are told it's very nice. Manistee Harbor is up the Manistee River. You can tie up on the river or go past the town and anchor in the lakes behind. Ludington has a big harbor. You can anchor out in the outer harbor or beyond the state docks. You can also take a slip at the state park or in the fancy marina there. (Both are expensive by Great Lakes standards but cheep by East Coast standards.) Pentwater is small but nice. White Lake is a nice safe harbor that has a small yacht club or you can anchor out and dingy ashore to a nice restaurant. Fee to stay at the historic old White Lake Yacht Club was fifty cents/ foot. Muskegon is a great harbor. You can anchor in the outer harbor or sail into Muskegon Lake which is big and has a lot to offer. We recommend tying up at Dockers Restaurant by Harbour Towne Marina for a meal or a drink. You can tie up
on the restaurant's wall and look across to where we used to keep Roxy. We also love Hab's for great sandwiches or pizzas. They will deliver to you if you're in a marina or somewhere they can get a car. Grand Haven is a nice little city. You can tie up to the sea wall for the night or stay in the state park docks for a reasonable fee. If the wind and/or waves are high DON'T GO IN. The sea walls are parallel and waves crash over them making the
passage very dangerous. Now we get less useful since we haven't really sailed around south too much.
Holland and Saugatuck have big sailing communities and I know they have great
marinas but I don't know what the facilities are like for transient boaters, although because Saugatuck is really a little inland and getting there means going through a meandering waterway, it must have anchoring places. And Saugatuck is a great town. It used to be considered an "artist colony" so there are lovely shops to explore. South Haven is supposed to be a great boaters' place but again, I'm not sure about anchoring.
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is a fun city to walk around, with a European feeling to it. It has
many bridges large and small, all of which are lit at night. There are also river boat tours. There is anchoring available at the north end of the boat basin as well as docking space all along the waterfront. Right on the waterfront are two museums, The Discovery Museum, a hands-on science museum for
kids, and the art museum which is an architectural masterpiece, resembling a whale with tail flukes that rise during the day and close at night.
Beer is big here, so there must be a good brew pub somewhere. We found a lot of Pabst and Miller. That said, there are really good restaurants all over the place.
Chicago
Chicago is an expensive place to bring your boat, however, it's a great city
and if this is your only chance to see it, it's probably worth it. If you want to go to Chicago, let me know and I'll contact the guy who crewed with us coming from Virginia. He lives there and might have a line on less expensive accommodations. Chicago has
Navy Pier - a fun plaza to wander - great parks, a lovely zoo, the Field Museum of Science & Technology, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Chicago Art Institute, all within walking distance of each other, and fantastic high-end
shopping if you just want to window shop on how the other half lives. Another great thing to do in Chicago is take an architectural boat tour. The tour goes up the river with talks on all the buildings that make Chicago's skyline fantastic. You can go up in the Willis Tower which was the tallest building on earth until the Empire State Building was built.
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