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LES CHENEAUX ISLANDS
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Government Island. This island of birch and conifers, the only public island among Les Cheneaux, is a nice picnic or camping destination, with a swimming beach ...
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Woods and Water Eco-Tours
Tour Les Cheneaux, Drummond Island and the Eastern U.P.
under human power by kayak and mountain bike, often meeting with expert biologists and birders. Jessie Hadley and her WOODS and WATER ECO-TOURS follows eco-tourism principles. Year-round tours have a leisurely pace, with plenty of stops so participants can take in the natural world around them without feeling they're on a marathon. Package tours, mostly three nights, mostly $600-$750/person) combine comfortable or even upscale accommodations and good food with quiet, undeveloped settings, birding, geology, lots of natural history, and cultural components. Regular tours: "Pots, Paddles, and Caves," "Drummond Island Explorations," "Great Lakes Island Life" with a stay at an old Les Cheneaux summer home, "St. Mary's River Mariners Journey," "Isle Royale Kayak Ecotour," and "Great Lakes and Wild Lands." Custom tours and group tours also available.
See woodswaterecotours.com for complete offerings, or call (906) 484-4157 for mailed info. Or you can stop in at 20 Pickford Avenue at M-134 in Hessel — the red house.
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Government Island
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Picnicking and camping are available on this beautiful, uninhabited island, just off La Salle Island and an easy 4 1/2 miles straight out of Cedarville. Of all the 36 Les Cheneaux Islands, it's the only public land, because a Coast Guard Station was here from 1874 to 1939. Today it's part of the Hiawatha National Forest. The pilings from its dock are on the cleared site at the island's northwest end. Today, says the U.S. Forest Service, "the island is being managed to preserve the natural wilderness condition favorable to plant and animal life." Birch and conifers dominate the two-mile-long island. It's been a popular day-trip destination for the area's many boaters.
The shore in general is surprisingly rocky and steep, though small boats can be beached at two places. The first landing seen from a boat coming from Cedarville is readily apparent on the island's east shore. After beaching the boat, walk up the hill into a meadow where you'll see two small outhouses. The cleared campsites and some picnic tables are nearby. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring. A second landing at the island's south side is also readily apparent. It too is near a picnic area. The view here looks out into the expanse of Lake Huron. Camping is permitted only on designated campsites. None are reservable. Campers are asked to follow the principles of leave-no-trace camping and leave the area as clean as it was when they arrived, or even cleaner.
A sandy beach stretches along the west shore for a third of a mile. Local Girl Scout troops help maintain the island.
Return to Les Cheneaux Islands
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