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RABER AND LIME ISLAND
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Hiking and boat-watching on Lime Island. Sandy beaches and mature forests create an enchanting atmosphere for those who want to get off the grid and enjoy a quiet natural environment ...
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Hiking and boat-watching on Lime Island
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Three and a half miles offshore from the Raber dock, closer to St. Joseph Island in Canada, is mile-long Lime Island, long a fueling station for ships. The island's onetime company town sits in a clearing in what's a rather wild island, much less disturbed by man than nearby Neebish Island.
Here the state DNR has designed a getaway experience without cars, shops, phones, and only enough solar electricity for a water pump, a caretaker house, and rental cabins. You need a boat to get here or rent a charter. Capt. Jack Behrens out of DeTour conducts custom cruises for up to six people along the St. Marys River, including Lime Island. Call (800) 206-8079 or visit www.michcharterboats.com/island queen. For other charter possibilities, call the chambers of commerce at DeTour and Drummond Island.
Visitors can camp or stay refurbished workers' cottages, hike its trails, swim, boat-watch, and fish. You can walk the entire perimeter of the island, a 5-6-hour outing. The South Beach Campground has a good sandy beach for swimmers, but you can discover various other good beaches all around Lime.
Exploring the island can be an exhilarating experience for those who savor getting away into the natural world. The forests are mature, with large pines at the sandy southern end, hardwoods in the middle, and cedar and tamarack in between. Moose occasionally swim across from St. Joseph Island and can be seen placidly munching foliage. Toward the southern end the pine forest floor is covered in moss, which feels like walking on a carpet.
There are actually two campgrounds on Lime Island, one at either end, with a few small, simple campsites in between. The South Beach Campsite has no running water and four platform campsites and a pit toilet. The northern “village” or “harbor” campground has a water faucet, ten platform campsites, and 6 rental cabins ($45/night), with woodstoves (firewood provided).
The northern end, with its imposing 900-foot dock, is a harbor of refuge. There are times during bad weather when boats completely line the dock, waiting out the storm. When the weather's especially nice, as many as 100 pleasure boats a day may pull up, but few stay long. Many are fishermen wanting to stretch their legs a few minutes and use the toilet.
Lime Island was once owned by Consolidated Coal, which supplied fuel to coal-burning steamers and, later, to diesels. The island village, which had its own school, became a deteriorating ghost town by 1982, when Consolidated Coal offered to donate the island to the state.
Visitors can explore many interesting relics of island history, starting with the huge, 900-foot coal dock at the island's northwest side. It forms the breakwall for the boaters' harbor. No amenities are here, but there's no docking fee, either. Boaters are advised to be careful entering and leaving the harbor. A shipping channel is just 200 feet to the west, and freighters' bow waves can powerfully affect the course of small craft.
Near the dock area is a picnic area. Near the dock is a large Victorian house once used by superintendents of the coal refueling facility. Visitors can look in the restored one-room schoolhouse, then see the ruins of lime kilns, most of which operated here between the 1880s and the early 1900s. Earlier lime kilns here had provided mortar used in building the Soo Locks, and lime for nearby Fort St. Joseph, too. A few interpretive signs tell about the island's lime history. The kilns are 1/4 mile north of the docks.
A walkway lets viewers look into the archaeological site excavating historic and prehistoric activities here. In the early 1700s the island was home to French involved in the fur trade. Four-thousand-year-old copper points have been discovered on the island.
Several miles of hiking trails are on Lime Island. One starts behind the schoolhouse and leads to the flat sand bars on Lime's south and east sides, where Indians rendezvoused and played lacrosse. The trails show visitors wildflowers, wetlands, wild berries, and birds. Blue herons nest on Lime's northeast tip, and eagles and osprey are seen - also bears. Volunteer campground hosts live on the island from spring through fall. They're happy to advise and help visitors.
For general questions, call (906) 635-5281. Handicap accessible: There's a steep bluff from the boat slips up to the cabins and trails. Most of the island is flat. If campground hosts are near the slips, they can provide transportation in their van. Family friendly. Pets.
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