South Manitou

Posts

Missing the Manitous

,

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.

Read more
/by

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

, ,

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.”

Read more
/by

National Park holds book signing for “To Keep the South Manitou Light”

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a book signing with Anna Egan Smucker, author of the children’s book To Keep the South Manitou Light, at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Read more
/by

National Lakeshore holds book signing with author Anna Egan Smucker

The National Park Service at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a book signing with Anna Egan Smucker, author of the children’s book To Keep The South Manitou Light, at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center on Tuesday, July 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Read more
/by

National Lakeshore to get federal wilderness approval

The Ticker and other media outlets reported earlier this month that the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will receive the highest level of federal conservation protection for nearly 50 percent of our branch of the National Park Service.

Read more
/by

Lakeshore reviews South Manitou Boat Dock

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Dusty Shultz announced the availability of the South Manitou Island Boat Dock Extension Environmental Assessment for public review and comment. The Environmental Assessment describes and analyzes alternative approaches for providing boat dock access to South Manitou Island.

Read more
/by

ABC’s Good Morning America highlights Sleeping Bear Dunes

“Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, tucked in the northwest corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, is one of the nation’s best-kept secrets,” according to ABC’s popular show “Good Morning America.” We concur. But now the secret is out.

Read more
/by