Manitou Island Transit

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Missing the Manitous

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A visit to the Manitou Islands requires focus and strategy to navigate abundant poison ivy, black flies, mosquitos, and ticks. Although many fall in love at first sight with this pair of remote islands in northern Lake Michigan, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, some may wonder what the draw is, as they disembark onto either of these windswept, buggy, and vegetation-dense islands, writes Abby Chatfield. With the Manitou Islands all but closed to visitors this year (unless you have a private boat)—as the National Lakeshore rebuilds the docks, we are reflecting on the Manitous with an ongoing series about experiences we’ve had on the islands.

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Meet the Fishtown Family

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When most people think of Fishtown, they probably picture the busy thrill of excited summer crowds enjoying Cheese Shop sandwiches, submersed in the authentic atmosphere of a historic commercial fishing village. But Abby Chatfield thinks of a sweet moment there last December, with businesses closed for the season and only a handful of locals gathered around under the falling snow, watching her children and those of other Fishtown retailers circle around a giant red button as they anticipated the honor of pushing it to light up the shanty rooftops, together, in a legendary holiday light display. Each child was honored with a key to Fishtown, inviting them to become the future caretakers of this place that many consider to be the heart of Leland. Fishtown faces numerous challenges today, including threats to its tax-exempt status from powerbrokers new to the community, and the lack of regular commercial ferry service this year to the Manitou Islands. As such, Leland residents are reflecting on what makes Fishtown special and important to their town.

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Manitou Island Transit family legacy in jeopardy: Grosvenor-Munozes sue National Park over dock closures

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Manitou Island Transit, a 108-year-old family-owned company that ferries customers from Leland’s historic Fishtown to South and North Manitou Islands, is struggling to survive due to forces beyond its control. The Grosvenor-Munoz family, owners of Manitou Island Transit, filed a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service in early February accusing the agency of breach of contract and mismanagement during dock reconstruction projects on North and South Manitou Islands. The National Park Service has closed North Manitou Island to visitors in order to replace and relocate the docks due to sediment shoaling which has created access issues. North Manitou hasn’t had regular ferry service since 2022. South Manitou will be inaccessible in 2026 while a new dock is being built. Captain Jimmy Munoz, who helms the ferry, warns that the closure could be the end of an era. “If they shut us down—which they’re doing right now—there will never be a ferry boat back there again out of Leland.”

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Manitou Island Transit resumes ferry service May 28

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.”

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Through first four months, Sleeping Bear Dunes on pace for another record

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore attracted a whopping 126,797 visitors during the first four months of 2021, which have typically been a quiet time for tourists in Leelanau and Benzie counties. By comparison, the Park received 93,729 visitors between January-April of 2020. That early number suggests another record-breaking year for visitation to the National Lakeshore. Sleeping Bear drew more than 1.7 million visitors for the first time in 2020, as Americans flocked to rural national parks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes to open Visitor Center, campgrounds. Ferry service to Manitou Islands canceled for 2020

Beginning Tuesday, June 23, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will reopen access to the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, and all campgrounds and camping. However, the Manitou Island Transit ferry will not run service to the Manitou Islands this year. High water in Lake Michigan has damaged the dock at South Manitou Island, making it unsafe for disembarking passengers until it can be repaired.

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High water levels hit locals in the wallet

June swelled Lake Michigan by another 4 inches which is bad news for Megan Grosvenor Munoz, whose family owns and operates Manitou Island Transit. The company ferries passengers on pleasure tours to the Manitou Islands out of Leland. This spring and summer, they’ve had to cancel four or five trips, Munoz says, “because we can’t get people on South [Manitou] safely” due to water splashing over the dock on the island.”

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The perfect day in Leland: Chubby Mary, Cheese Shanty and beach reads

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Leland is a getaway in every sense of the word. It’s idyllic and old school, clean and comfortable, and there’s just enough to do without overwhelming you. On this shore, Lake Michigan can be calm and quiet, or raging and dark. The weather decides which experience you’ll have. Big lake storms can be the best excuse to huddle up and reset in a cozy spot, hypnotized by the rain and wind.

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