Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry offers a variety of cruises each year in addition to their daily trips to Mackinac Island. We’ve been lucky enough to join them for their Eastbound Lighthouse Cruise and Westbound Lighthouse Cruise a few times, and in June our dad was able to take the five-hour Les Cheneaux Lighthouse Cruise. Despite some rough weather, this cruise provided some great views of the islands, the Upper Peninsula’s Lake Huron shoreline, and six lighthouses. Today we will share some of Russell Katje’s photos from that trip and tell you how to secure tickets for the last remaining Les Cheneaux Lighthouse Cruise this year. A rainy day helped make it even more clear why these lighthouse were/are necessary!

The cruise departs Shepler’s Mackinaw City dock at 1:30 p.m. and heads out into the water of Lake Huron. After passing under the Mackinac Bridge the boat starts its trip past St. Ignace and toward the Les Cheneaux Islands.

The Les Cheneaux Islands are an archipelago of 36 small islands of different sizes, some inhabited by residences and cabins and some home to only birds and wildlife. Along the early part of the cruise you will see some stunning houses and plenty of boats and boat garages.

The first lighthouse the cruise visits is the Martin Reef Light. This 1920s lighthouse is 52 feet tall and sits on a concrete crib. This was the first time seeing this light up close and the stormy conditions made for some excellent moody pictures. This light is owned by the Martin Reef Light Historical Preservation Society Inc.

Next up is a visit to the DeTour Reef Light near Drummond Island. This 1931 lighthouse is 74 feet tall and the non-profit DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society offers tours and overnight stays. We’d gotten some decent views of this light from Drummond Island and the ferry ride over, but dad was able to capture some even better shots on this cruise!

The cruise next heads south into the open waters of Lake Huron and the more remote Spectacle Reef Light. This 1870s lighthouse took four years to build and was the most expensive on the Great Lakes! It is currently being restored by the Spectacle Reef Preservation Society and there was a crew present when the cruise passed by.

The Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse is next up, and this privately owned lighthouse is located on the largest of the three islands north of Mackinaw City (Mackinac Island, Round Island, Bois Blanc Island). Built in 1867, this is the fourth such structure on the island. It has been beautifully restored, and while it no longer functions as an active aid to navigation it is a beautiful sight as it stands more than 30 feet tall along the shoreline.

The final two lighthouses this cruise visits should be familiar sights to anyone who has made the trip to Mackinac Island. The Round Island Lighthouse is an iconic red and white structure that stands 57 feet tall. Built in the 1890s, it has survived some rough times and weather damage over the years but still stands strong. This lighthouse is featured in the Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour film Somewhere in Time.

The Round Island Passage Light is one of the most recently constructed Michigan lighthouses. Dating back to the 1940s, it is an automated light that is painted white and red. One unique detail to this light are the bronze relief Indian heads on each side of the tower, which commemorate the significance of the Mackinac Island area to Native Americans.

This excellent cruise features narration from the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. There is one last chance to catch this Les Cheneaux Lighthouse Cruise in 2024, and that is on September 8th. A boxed lunch is included. Below you can check out some more photos from this cruise: