Lake Huron, which runs along much of Michigan’s eastern coast, has the longest coastline of the Great Lakes, and offers opportunities for underwater exploration and waterfront recreation, as well as providing a key link in international shipping and crucial fish habitat.
The lake, which Michigan shares with Ontario, Canada, has 3,800 miles of shoreline and the world’s largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island, the National Museum of the Great Lakes notes.
“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,” the museum’s website says. “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.”
A trip along Michigan’s eastern coast reveals dozens of state and local parks, perfect for camping out or for a day of fun and relaxation along the shores of Lake Huron. Offshore lie hundreds of shipwrecks, reminders of both the lake’s role in shipping for hundreds of years and its dangers.
Lake Huron joins with Lake Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac, the Great Lakes Commission notes, making them essentially one lake. Lake Superior, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario make up the rest of the quintet.
“(Lake Huron) forms the eastern outline of Michigan’s ‘mitten,’ including the distinctive ‘thumb’ which is dotted with port towns, and shelters Saginaw Bay,” Pure Michigan says.
Here’s what to know about Lake Huron.
Where is Lake Huron located?
Lake Huron borders Michigan to the west 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?
Lake Huron is the scene of hundreds of shipwrecks, the Manistee News Advocate reported. The lake features several designated underwater preserves.
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.
Fossils along the shoreline
Drummond Island, a northern Michigan destination off the east end of the Upper Peninsula, includes one of the best known locations to see fossils.
On the north shore of Drummond Island, fossil ledges are made up of the remains of a saltwater coral bed.
Saginaw Bay known for some of the best fishing
“Perhaps the one of the world’s best walleye fisheries, Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay is certainly among Michigan fishing’s most enticing puzzles,” the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau proclaims. “The Saginaw Bay challenge is to find its abundant gamefish in a vast, relatively featureless underwater landscape.”
In addition to walleye, a Great Lakes delicacy, the bay boasts dozens of other species, including perch, bass and catfish, that provide anglers a challenge to land to a great meal.
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?
Lake Huron is named after the Huron, or Huron-Wendat, people whose ancestral homelands surround Lake Huron, Pure Michigan says.
French settlers previously 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 deep is Lake Huron? What to know about parks, fishing and more
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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