If you’re looking for a lakefront summer vacation, but want to skip the tourist rush, Lake Huron may offer more solitude than the west side of Michigan.
From Mackinaw City to Port Huron, Lake Huron has the longest Great Lakes coastline in Michigan, offering more than a dozen state parks, historic lighthouses and shipwrecks. Popular Mackinac Island lies in its northern waters and, in Canadian waters, the world’s largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island.
In addition to Lake Huron, the Great Lakes quintet includes Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario and Lake Superior.
“While Lake Huron was the first of the Great Lakes to be discovered by Europeans, it has not experienced heavy industrial development. The pristine nature of Lake Huron and its environs can still be seen in the rustic landscape of the Georgian Bay north shore and the mountains of Manitoulin Island. Although small fishing villages and ports dot the map of Lake Huron, much of it is exactly like it was 10,000 years ago when the retreat of the last glacial ice age gave birth to the Great Lakes,” the National Museum of the Great Lakes says.
Here’s what to know about Lake Huron.
Where is Lake Huron?
Lake Huron borders Michigan on its western shore and Canada to the east. The lake’s southern end empties into the St. Clair River, which divides Port Huron, Michigan, from Sarnia, Ontario. To the north, the lake’s northwest tip meets the Straits of Mackinac while the St. Marys River is the northernmost point at Sault Ste. Marie.
How deep is Lake Huron?
Lake Huron has an average depth of 195 feet and a maximum depth of 750 feet, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
How wide is Lake Huron? How long?
Lake Huron is about 183 miles wide and 206 miles long, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant says.
How warm does Lake Huron get?
Temperatures climb in the spring and summer months, reaching peak temperatures in the late summer and early fall, according to GLISA, a collaborative between Michigan State University and University of Michigan supported by NOAA.
Seatemperature.org says the average temperature in Lake Huron is 39.9 degrees Fahrenheit in May. It rises to 50.2 in June and 65.5 in July before topping out at 69.1 in August. In February and March, lake temperatures average in the low 30s.
How many lighthouses are on Lake Huron?
More than 30 lighthouses are stationed along Lake Huron in Michigan and Canada, Pure Michigan and Destination Ontario say.
How many shipwrecks are there in Lake Huron?
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is home to nearly 100 historic shipwrecks along the Michigan coast of Lake Huron. The Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve includes 20 shipwrecks along the coast of Sanilac County in the thumb. The Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve includes 35 shipwrecks and more waiting to be discovered along the northern coast of the Thumb.
Canada also has a designated underwater preserve in the lake, including the Fathom Five National Marine Park featuring two dozens wrecks.
The lake remains a crucial link from ports in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. You can track ships traversing the lake in real time.
How long is Lake Huron’s coastline?
The lake, which Michigan shares with Ontario, Canada, has 3,800 miles of shoreline, the National Museum of the Great Lakes noted.
Canadian waters feature world’s biggest freshwater island
Known as the world’s largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island covers 1,068 square miles in Canadian waters in northern Lake Huron, according to Destination Ontario. The island is home to a population about 12,600, 40.5% of whom are Indigenous, from six Anishinaabe peoples, WorldAtlas noted.
“Locally known in Ojibwe as ‘Spirit Island,’ it has four main rivers: the Kagawong, Manitou, Blue Jay Creek and Mindemoya, each providing spawning grounds for trout and salmon,” Destination Ontario said.
The island’s vast nature offers scenic beaches, Bridal Veil Falls, hiking trails, a Dark Sky Preserve, over 100 lakes with fishing and boating opportunities, golf courses and more. Summer powwows offer a chance to observe Indigenous dance, regalia and music and Indigenous-led tours detail local culture.
To get to Manitoulin Island from the Canadian mainland, you can drive across the Little Current Swing Bridge or take a ferry ride with the Chi-Cheemaun, traveling between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island, per Explore Manitoulin.
What state parks are along Lake Huron?
Here are Michigan state parks and recreation areas to check out along the Lake Huron shoreline:
How did the lake get its name?
The name is a nod to the Huron, or Huron-Wendat, Indigenous people whose ancestral homelands surround the lake.
French settlers once called the lake “La Mer Douce,” meaning the freshwater sea.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How long is Lake Huron coastline? 10 facts about ‘sunrise side’ lake
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
