Summer Islands in Lake Michigan

Wilderness Tripping
#1

Does anyone know if you are allowed to kayak to Little Summer, and Summer Island in Lake Michigan?



Can you stay overnight?

#2

Little Summer for Sale

– Last Updated: May-13-09 5:14 PM EST –

if you've got $3.6M, you're welcome to camp there :)
http://www.vladi-private-islands.de/sale/site/html/cms_de-sale_detail_en-488/


I'd never heard of these islands before, and that's what I found through google.

#3

Let me check my wallet…
I don’t have any first hand knowledge of these islands, but the “for sale” ad says that the state of michigan owns two 45 acre parcels on the island. I’m pretty sure that michigan law on the use of public land would allow you to camp there. I know there are on-line maps of state land in michigan online, but the site is not saved on the computer I’m at and I’m too lazy to dig for it…

#4

Summer island
A large portion of Summer island is listed as state forest.

#5

I have paddled there

– Last Updated: Jun-17-09 4:42 PM EST –

We launched from Fairport where there is a small Marina. We launched off the "beach" which was rocky, to the East of the launch ramp. We paid to launch, not very much from what I recall. Nice folks there.
The channel between the launch and LSI is fairly shallow with a channel for power boats to traverse. Not a lot of boat traffic.
The waters around LSI are shallow. There is a small Islet off the North tip that has a lot of birdlife there. If you paddle around LSI (nice paddle), the paddle back from the South tip of LSI to the launch involved paddling out to stay in water deep enough to paddle, otherwise you end up walking through sandy mud.

The South end of Summer Island is Superior State Forest. You can camp anywhere according to their regs. You must have a free DNR card for you campsite. We filled out a form before we went that had the card in it, though we did not camp on SI. You can see St Martin Island from there. I have been there but paddled from Rock Island off Door County.
In the past if you wanted to paddle from the UP to Door county, the Gills Rock Ferry, which made trips to Fayette St Park, would take kayakers along and drop them at Fayette to paddle back. No more.

St Martin's is private also, though we paddled up to the dock/beach and asked for permission to land and stretch our legs. The folks there said it was fine.

At one point there was talk of making the Islands along there all part of the NPS The Grand Traverse Chain. Haven't hear any more!!