Hiking and boat-watching on Lime Island

(Boat transportation required.) Three and a half miles offshore from the Raber dock, closer to St. Joseph Island in Ontario, is mile-long Lime Island, long a fueling station for ships. The island's onetime company town sits in a clearing in what has become a rather wild island, much less disturbed by man than nearby Neebish Island.
In the 1980s the island was gifted to the state DNR. In an age of tight budgets and decreased funds for camping and visitor facilities, state DNR officials thought long and hard before even accepting the gift in the early 1980s. Then they devised an extremely successful plan to transform the deteriorated village into a nifty yet simple and easy-to-maintain getaway.

The forests division created a getaway experience without cars, shops, or phones, and with only enough solar electricity for a water pump, a caretaker house, and rental cabins. Because of budget cuts at the Michigan State Forests recreation division, Lime Island is now part of the better-funded DNR Parks and Recreation division. Google "Lime Island" to read articles full of superlatives.
You need to have a boat to get here, or rent a charter. Most people leave from the Raber dock. For a charter, call Dream Seeker (888-634-3419). Expect to pay about $300 each way. Or try the Drummond Island Chamber of Commerce (906-493-5245). Or someone might ferry over kayaks for paddling around the island. The DNR doesn't recommend paddling the 3 ˝ miles across the shipping channel with its huge freighters to St. Joseph Island. On the other hand, the Drummond Island Chamber of Commerce has drawn up a multi-island water trail for strong kayakers that would go from Potaganissing Bay to St. Joseph Island to Lime Island. See its "Island Explorer Water Trail."

Visitors can camp in tents the DNR provides, or stay at refurbished workers' cottages. (See under "Lodging and Camping.") They can hike; watch freighters outside the main dock; swim; and fish. It's a five- or six-hour walk around the island's perimeter. The South Beach Campground has a good sandy beach for swimmers, but you can discover various other good beaches all around Lime Island.

Exploring the island can be an exhilarating experience for those who
savor getting away into the natural world. The forests are mature, with large pines at the sandy southern end, hardwoods in the middle, and cedar and tamarack in between. Moose occasionally swim across from St. Joseph Island and might be seen placidly munching foliage. Black bear are on the island. Toward the southern end the pine forest floor is covered in moss, which feels like walking on a carpet.

Lime Island actually has two campgrounds, one at either end, with a few small, simple campsites in between.

The island's northern end, with its imposing 900-foot dock, is a harbor of refuge. There are times during bad weather when boats completely line the dock, waiting out the storm. When the weather's especially nice, as many as 100 pleasure boats a day may pull up, but few stay long. Many are fishermen wanting to stretch their legs a few minutes and use the toilet.
Boaters are advised to be careful entering and leaving the harbor. A shipping channel is just 200 feet to the west, and freighters' bow waves can powerfully affect the course of small craft.
Visitors can explore many interesting relics of island history, starting with the huge, 900-foot coal dock at the island's northwest side. It forms the breakwall for the boaters' harbor. Except for pit toilets, no amenities are here, but there's no docking fee, either.

Near the dock area is a picnic area. Visitors can look in the restored one-room schoolhouse, the museum, then see the ruins of lime kilns operated here between the 1880s and the early 1900s. Earlier lime kilns here had provided mortar used in building the Soo Locks, and lime for nearby Fort St. Joseph, too. A few interpretive signs tell about the island's lime history. The kilns are 1/4 mile north of the docks.

Lime Island was owned and operated by a variety of owners since 1836, most recently as a fueling station by Consolidated Coal. It supplied fuel to coal-burning steamers and, later, to diesels. (See limeisland.com for history, a virtual tour, nature, and more.) Once the superintendent, desiring a grand home, had a large Victorian house moved across the ice and dragged up the bluff near the dock. Now it is a museum showcasing what the island has to offer. The island village, which had its own school, had become a deteriorating ghost town by 1982, when Consolidated Coal offered to donate the island to the state.

A walkway lets viewers look into the archaeological site excavating historic and prehistoric activities here. In the early 1700s the island was home to French involved in the fur trade. Four-thousand-year-old copper points have been discovered on the island.
Several miles of hiking trails are on Lime Island. One starts behind the schoolhouse and leads to the flat sand bars on Lime's south and east sides, where Indians rendezvoused and played lacrosse. The trails show visitors wildflowers, wetlands, wild berries, and birds. Blue herons nest on Lime's northeast tip, and eagles and osprey are seen.

Campground hosts live on the island, currently from late May to early September. They're happy to advise and help visitors once they get on the island. (Phones won't reach them.)

Info at michigan.gov/limeisland No fee to visit. For questions, call Straits State Park, (906) 643-8620. Handicap access: There's a steep bluff from the boat slips up to the cabins and trails. Most of the island is flat. If campground hosts are near the slips, they can provide transportation in their van. Pets permitted on 6-foot leash. No admission. See below for camping fee, reservations.
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