Porch Notes
The Les Cheneaux Islands: A Wooden-Boat Paradise
Outdoors
Just northeast of the Mackinac Bridge, a cluster of 36 islands shelters about a dozen miles of the Upper Peninsula’s Lake Huron shoreline. Their French name, Les Cheneaux, means “the Channels,” and that’s exactly the appeal: a calm, pine-scented maze of protected waterways made for boating and kayaking, anchored by the small, century-and-a-half-old villages of Hessel and Cedarville.
The islands’ signature is wooden boats. Because the water is cold and the season short, an unusual number of beautiful early-1900s mahogany runabouts and launches survived here in regular use — many of them bought, back in the day, from a Hessel dealer that was one of the very first Chris-Craft dealerships anywhere. That heritage is celebrated every August at the Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show, which bills itself as the largest gathering of antique and classic wooden boats in the country, drawing thousands of admirers to little Hessel.
Only two of the 36 islands are reachable by car; the rest belong to the boats, the loons, and the quiet.
Where to see it
Base yourself in Hessel or Cedarville; the Antique Wooden Boat Show is held the second Saturday of August. Boat tours and rentals open up the channels.