Sugar Island

Sugar maples dominate the forest of this 15-mile-long island in the St. Mary's River. They made it a favorite Indian sugaring spot for many hundreds of years. Many Ojibwa lived here in recent times. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians bases its tribal membership on being able to trace ancestry to that Sugar Island band. Cottages and small fishing resorts dominate the island today.
When the sugar maples turn red and yellow in fall color season, a drive around the island is a spectacular experience. There's a café and ice cream shop at the ferry and a bar with food two miles up the hill on 1 1/2 Mile Rd. A small township park is on the North Shore Road. Get a map at the Sault Chamber of Commerce on Bus. I-75 or call 800-MI-SAULT). There's no perimeter road except along the north shore and part of the west shore, so you have to seek out the waterfront places. Both downbound and upbound shipping lanes are along the west shore, by the Michigan mainland. (Years ago low water levels caused the upbound lane to be moved from the Canadian side.)

Sugar Island and the St. Mary's River are important migration flyways for many migrating birds. The island is considered a birding hot spot for seeing migratory snowy and great gray owls. The Little Traverse Conservancy has acquired four preserves on Sugar Island, mostly shoreline wetlands of significance to many kinds of wildlife - mammals and fish as well as birds. Visit www.landtrust.org and see "nature preserves" for a map and description of these areas. The conservancy states that the habitat of its new preserve on the island's south end is ideal for species including the spruce grouse and black terns (listed as of special concern in Michigan), sedge wren, and long-eared owl. For preserving expanses of natural habitat, it's a plus that the preserve is near large parcels of land owned by the University of Michigan Biological Station, land that was once Governor Chase Osborn's summer home.

For a vacation experience by the woods and water that's close to town, consider investigating Sugar Island resorts, especially if you like to fish or boat. They're open from sometime in May through sometime in October. Resorts are on the east shore, on Lake George, some 6 to 10 miles across. Boats are often included with accommodations. We have arranged the resorts from north to south: Hay Point Hideaway (906-632-6928), Mountain View Resort (906-635-0573), ; also boat rentals, tackle shop), and at the island's southeast tip with a good view of upbound shipping, and Island View Resort 906-632-7976).

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