Manitou Island Transit resumes ferry service May 28
Mishe-Mokwa photo by Raquel Jackson
From staff reports
Manitou Island Transit’s passenger ferry “Mishe-Mokwa” will resume service to the Manitou Islands on Friday, May 28, after record-high Lake Michigan water levels, flooded docks and the COVID-19 pandemic forced the family-owned business to take a year-long hiatus in 2020.
“It’s a relief. We weren’t going to make it another year,” co-owner Megan Grosvenor Muñoz told the Sun. “But when you drop something for a year, getting everything up and running is difficult.”
Click here to visit the company’s website, call 231-256-9061, or email ManitouTransit@Gmail.com.
Manitou Island Transit’s online reservation system is currently down, so Muñoz and other employees are taking reservations by phone and email.
And they’re busy! Customer demand to visit the islands for day trips and overnight camping is sky high.
“It seems like what everyone wants to do right now is camp. So we’re busy right now,” said Muñoz, who has continued to enter reservations from home after she leaves the office in Leland’s Fishtown at 5 p.m.
“We’re booked over Memorial Day weekend. And looking ahead, there will be lots of booked days. People absolutely need to make reservations far in advance.”
Reservations at campgrounds throughout Michigan are filling up this summer, as tourists choose camping as a safe recreation during the pandemic. Reservations are not required to camp on the islands. But group campsites on South Manitou require a reservation.
The Mishe-Mokwa will run at 75 percent capacity for the foreseeable future, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Masks are required onboard.
“Our crew is double-vaccinated, but we’re still masking because we’re seeing people come here from all over the map,” said Muñoz.
“A lot of people we’ve talked to, this is the first time visiting the area. It feel like July right now. On top of reservations, our gift shop is doing days like we do in July. … I’m not sure what July will look like.”
Like many businesses in Leelanau County, Manitou Island Transit is struggling to find enough employees for the season. Muñoz would like to hire two more full-time workers for the store, and two more to work on the boat. She just increased wages to $20/hour, and an employee sometimes makes $100 in tips each day on the boat.
