This trip was a bucket-list item I checked off finally, this year! We made the journey, initially to St. Ignace for the Trek the Mighty Mac event, you can see our article about this event in our blog.
The ferry ride over to the island is great and unique on its own. The Ferry trip only takes about 20 minutes to cross the St. Mary’s River, which is where Drummond Island is located, Between Lake Superior and Lake Huron in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
From the Trailhead near the Drummond Island Resort, we ventured west. I must say, the trails in the area near the community of Maxton are rugged, very rocky. It took us quite a while to get to decent trails towards the western side of the system. Once there though, the trails are nice and wide and not as rocky, but they are very wet. You can see this in the photos and videos below.
Wet / Rocky Trails…
I knew going into this trip, that Drummond Island is known for catering to off-roading Jeeps. Knowing this, I expected deep ruts, you know, Only the kind of deep ruts Jeeps or SUVs can get through! I was amazed to find out that the trails are not full of deep ruts, because the Island is so rocky. Yes, the trails are very wet, but the puddles are really only a foot or two deep, because of the rocky terrain, you don’t sink in as you do in other areas of the country.
Western side of the Island…
All of the trails and things to see (i.e. Marblehead, Shale Beach) are on the western end of this island. The trek over to this side of the Island does take some time, plan on all day there and back. It’s worth the ride out there to see Marblehead and Shale Beach like we did in the photos and video below…
You can see one of the Canadian Island offshore as well, Kinda neat.
The Island is very rugged & exceptionally beautiful! There isn’t much on the island, a few restaurants and a hotel and a few residential areas. It’s an off-roader’s paradise as far as I’m concerned. You could spend a week here, Lots of trails to explore. Just try to remember everything you need, there is a small grocery store on the island, but the selection is limited. I would highly recommend you make this a must-see destination!
It’s such a unique location, from ferrying your machine over to just riding on a island, it’s amazing. That said, The island is so big, somewhere around 250 sq miles, That you feel like your not on a island, but you are! The ferry is very reasonable, at the time of the article writing, just $35 for my 26” trailer and truck and that’s round trip!
Here is some bonus footage…
Our ferry from Drummond Island to De Tour Village in the Upper Peninsula. It’s kind of an interesting process, here are two random videos of the ferry unloading…
