Les Cheneaux Islands

E

El and Bill

New member
Anyone familiar with these islands in Northern Lake Huron? Any preference between launching in Hessel or Cedarville? Places not to miss in the islands? Thanks. Brat ideas have been great for our cruising this summer in the Great Lakes.
 
Man, it took a LONG time to get down to the AT-FOR part of the last one!

El and Bill":1hxqh257 said:
Anyone familiar with these islands in Northern Lake Huron? Any preference between launching in Hessel or Cedarville? Places not to miss in the islands? Thanks. Brat ideas have been great for our cruising this summer in the Great Lakes.
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El and Bill,

Good Ramp in Hessel and Cedarville but overnight parking not so sure.
The launch at Cedarville has a park lot across the street but used to have signs saying no overnight parking. You could launch at Raber and just leave the truck there for a month as you visit these wonderful spots.
Maybe Hessle Marina will give you a break? Cedarville has a grocery store and a good sandwich restaurant two blocks from nice little public day dock. The restaurant and store are on the highway. Restaurant is named Pam's or Patricia's something like that. Cedarville has a small museum one block from dock and a larger maritime museum 1.5? miles west on the highway. The MM has old wood boats, the first four stroke outboard, some other okay stuff to look at.
Hessel has a marina, and Mertaugh? sp? boatworks. Once a year they have the reunion for wooden runabouts and there are a number of these boats in the islands. The Dollar Island house has fallen into disrepair last time I was there but is still unique. Hessel has a couple of b and b type places with beautiful grounds.
If you go to the E end check out Port Dolomite, likely to see a freighter loading or enroute.
There are some cuts you can go thru in a c-dory in the daytime that most boats can't. The area has perch fishing and lots of old boathouses. Government Island is not privately owned, most islands are, but you wouldn't know it from their quiet appearance.

Regards,
 
We covered most of the islands last year. We launched from the Cedarville ramp.
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You need to see Dollar island. It's really a chunk of rock with a patched up house on it.
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And visit Government island. It's the only public island over there. It has a beachable sandy beach on the north-west side.
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And a quiet cove on the south-west side.
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And on the east end of the chain along the mainland there is a quarry.
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Watch out for submerged rocks everywhere. The locals tie plastic jugs to some of them.
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There is also an unknown C-dory up there as well in a cove that backs up to the mainland.
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The map brochure from the visitors center, which I think doubles as a placemat, was not to be used for navigation purposes.
I have more pictures of that day in my album HERE
 
What days will you be there? We were planning Traverse Bay for the next week but, might go to Les Cheneaux Islands this Saturday. Levitation (R-25 Tug) will be at Hessel on the 14th, going to Detour later in the day on the way to Drummond Island.
 
Also, Hessel is having it's 33rd Annual Antique Wooden Boat Show Saturday the 14th. More info found HERE. No dogs allowed, guess it counts me and the beagles out.
 
Yup, the dog issue is a problem... We will be at Hessel early Saturday morning... I plan on leaving Pasta in the boat with all the ventilation open and only spending a couple of hours wandering the docks... We will be back underway before it gets too warm for the fur bag... If anyone expects to be there first thing in the morning drop me a line on this thread and we can hook up for a chat...

Only 5 more hours here at the office and I can go home and finish loading... I expect to leave mid afternoon and be up to the bridge about dark... We will stay at some flea bag motel that takes dogs, and go to Hessel in the AM...
 
It's 8 o'clock and we are finally leaving Farmington. We are going to stop at Tony's in Birch Run to get dinner. So, we'll be crossing the bridge sometime in the middle of the night and camping in the woods somewhere nearby. We should have cell/Internet wherever we are at. We will also be getting early to make it to Hessel.
 
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