It’s location, location for docks on the Manitou islands.
Or to be more accurate, new location and new location.
If all goes as scheduled, construction of docking stations at North Manitou and South Manitou islands will commence in 2025 and be completed for the 2026 tourist season, according to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker.
Tucker, speaking ahead of a National Park Service press release expected in early April, said present docks on both islands will be abandoned due to their poor locations. Instead, the Park Service plans to build structures at different sites on the islands as part of a $31 million infrastructure project that includes updating island utilities.
“The good part is 2025 will bring construction and progress, and in 2026 there will be new docks dedicated on North and South islands,” Tucker said.
The Mishe Mokwa, a privately owned ferry docked in the Leland Harbor, was unable to transport passengers to North Manitou last season until late August because the present L-shaped dock was plugged with shoaled sand and dredging operations were booked. The ferry business was first left high and dry in 2020 when sand clogged the North Manitou dock and high water in Lake Michigan made it dangerous to load passengers from the South Manitou dock.
Manitou Island Transit (MIT) sued the federal government for breach of contract following its disastrous 2020 season, and won. The lawsuit sought $500,000 in damages; a damage award has not been determined. The ferry service remains in litigation over lost revenue from 2023.
Tucker is confident ferry service will be provided to both islands this summer, although a principal in family-owned MIT expressed concern.
“South is good to go,” Tucker said. “We are not dredging either island this year. But we do have a contract in place for a temporary dock to extend the north dock into deep water.”
That dock, which is constructed of H-beams supporting a steel deck, should withstand Lake Michigan waves, Tucker predicted. It will be removed in the fall and stored on the island until spring 2025, when it will be installed for the second and, hopefully, last time.
Captain Jim Munoz is usually behind the wheel of the Mishe Mokwa when it approaches North Manitou. He’s worried about safety when trying to maneuver the 65-foot ferry into an unprotected area.
“The last I heard they could only go out 100 feet. So we might not be deep enough. And if you do that, it puts us right in the open for anything but a west wind … it puts us out that much farther in the lake and gives us no protection,” Munoz said.
Only one new location was being considered for the North Manitou dock project, according to a “preliminary options” statement released last fall, With Tucker stating that the current location will be abandoned, the new dock site is sure to be located a couple hundred yards north of the present facility. That dock will include a “flow-through” design that should help mitigate sand buildup. It will be 274 feet in length 12 feet wide, and come with a 125foot “T-section” at its end.
“This location should allow for natural littoral drift processes, decreasing the need for maintenance dredging, and would offer some wave protection,” the statement reads.
Two new locations were outlined for the South Manitou dock — at the end of Chicago Road where a commercial dock was once found, and between Bay Campground and the lifesaving station. The former option “would be at the center of the natural harbor” and “offer protection from wave action,,” while the latter would be “in deeper water than the current dock” and closer to existing visitor facilities, the release states. One of the sites will be selected in a “design development decision document” released this spring.
Dock location has been a hot topic through the years, recalls Mike Grosvenor, who 10 years ago passed ownership of the ferry service to his daughter, Megan, and son-in-law, Jim Munoz; as well as his son, captain Mike Jr., and daughter-inlaw, Sarah. Michael and Megan are fourth generation co-owners of Manitou Island Transit.
Forty-some years ago county residents familiar with the Manitou Passage warned against building docks in their present locations, but were ignored, Mike Grosvenor recalled. In particular, locals felt historic sites were less susceptible to drifting sands and would require less maintenance. NPS officials, however, also took into consideration the visual and access benefits when selecting current dock locations.
“Further administration’s didn’t keep that promise to dredge, and stopped maintaining the (North Manitou) dock … If they don’t maintain it, there will be a problem again. Even though they are selecting a better location, it won’t be maintenance free. There are better locations on the island.
“There is no such place as a perfect location they won’t have to dredge.”
Keeping both docks open is vital both in terms of quality park experience and natural resource protection, Tucker continued. Even though only 617 visitors took in North Manitou in 2023, overall visitation to both islands only slipped from 10,398 to 9,700. Meanwhile, South Manitou was overrun, handling more than 9,000 visitors.
“South had almost double its normal numbers. Folks who wanted to go to the Manitous had to go to south, It was tough on resources, especially on the water management side — septic system strain — and trash. It also put additional footprints on the island, which added to shoreline land erosion and the creation of off-trails. And it takes away from people wanting a wilderness experience,” Tucker said.
Funds for the work were allocated through the Great American Outdoors Act passed in August 2020. Other island projects include:
• Replace and update solar fields used for electricity on both islands.
• Replace drain fields for septic systems servicing island buildings used by rangers. “They are all at that point when it’s time to update,” Tucker said;
• And install new potable water systems for villages on North and South Manitou.
