Summer Cruise to Canada’s North Channel – Launching at Detour, MI

Crossing The Mackinaw Bridge to Get to Detour –

One of our favorite places to cruise in the Great Lakes area is Canada’s North Channel. We have traveled there by both cruising and trailering. When we had bigger boats, we would cruise from Charlevoix, off Lake Michigan, to the northern shores of the North Channel to begin our chosen route. We’d cruised all the way to Killarney most times. Since 2012, we have been trailering our Ranger Tugs, both the 27 and the 29 to either Spanish, Ontario, or Little Current to launch and explore.

This year we put in at Detour, Michigan, a first for us. Detour is at the easternmost tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was less than a four-hour drive north to DeTour, MI from Traverse City, crossing the Mackinaw Bridge on the way. We had plenty of time to launch the boat, get settled at the marina, and walk downtown to Dinghy’s restaurant. Pretty sleepy town. We didn’t see anyone in town while walking to the restaurant, where we were the only guests for dinner.

We found DeTour to be a tiny village with only about 400 residents, however, DeTour’s marina facilities are very boater friendly. It was easy to launch the boat and store the trailer right there on a grassy lot near the road; the launch is a short walking distance from the marina. The whole process could not have been easier.

One thing we loved about DeTour’s Public Boat Launch is the easy access to trailer storage. You can see the marina from the trailer lot (below). We were also surprised to see a friend’s trailer parked in the lot. We were hoping we’d catch up with them during our trip through the channel.