
Our island tour begins in Hessel Bay, at the Hessel Marina. This is the
location of the famous Les Cheneaux (pronounced Lay-she-no) Antique Wooden Boat Show. Across
from the marina, you will see Mertaugh Boat Works, the very first Chris
Craft dealership in the United States. We cross Hessel Bay into Snows
Channel, and past Dollar Island. We cross Musky Bay into Cedarville
Channel.
On your left, you will see Viking Boat Harbor.
Directly ahead, is the town of Cedarville. Crossing Cedarville Bay, you
will see Government Island, which is part of the Hiawatha National
Forest. Looking southeast, you see Lake Huron and Boot Island. Touring
around #8 Island and Coryell Island, you can see Bear Island in the
distance. The tour continues around Strongs Island, which is owned by
one of the original founders of the 4 Winns boat company.
Looking across McKay Bay, you can see the Michigan Lime Stone loading
dock. From here, we head southeast past Crow Island, and out into Lake
Huron, exiting Les Cheneaux Islands from the East Entrance. In the
distance, about five miles off shore, you can see Martins' Reef
Lighthouse.
Turning back towards the northwest, we pass Government
Island and soon you can see the Middle Entrance and
Goose Island. Continuing northwest, we will approach the West Entrance
to Les Cheneaux Islands. We enter back into the islands where we will
pass Birch Island, and Long Island. At the end of this island,
you will see a block house that dates back to the late 1800's. Going
past Haven Island, we will return to the Hessel Marina. |