South Manitou Island: ancient cedars and a shipwreck offshore

Off the coast near Leland, within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, sits South Manitou Island. The Anishinabek connection to this island and the surrounding passage goes back thousands of years. Later, shipping, logging, farming, lifesaving work, and lighthouse service shaped the community that grew here.

One practical note comes first if you are planning a visit. During the 2026 construction season, the National Park Service says the passenger ferry will not operate and personal boats cannot dock. The dock, village, lighthouse, Bay campground, group campsites, and potable water are closed. This is not a normal island season, so read the current NPS access page before making plans.

The island became important to Great Lakes shipping because, as NPS puts it, South Manitou offered the only deepwater harbor from Buffalo to Chicago and shelter for ships crossing Lake Michigan. The surrounding Manitou Passage was still dangerous. Its underwater preserve holds more than 50 known wreck sites. The best-known wreck here is the Francisco Morazan, a freighter that ran aground about 300 yards from shore in a November 1960 snowstorm. Coast Guard vessels and a civilian tug responded, and the crew was removed after the ship could not be saved. The protected wreck remains offshore.

Inland is the Valley of the Giants, a small grove of old-growth northern white cedars. NPS says many are 300 to 500 years old, reach about 100 feet, and measure three to five feet around; one fallen tree showed 528 growth rings. The park credits the grove’s remote location and closeness to the dunes for helping it survive. That explanation is sturdier than the old tale that sand in the bark simply ruined every logger’s saw.