South Manitou Island

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (boat access from Leland)

South Manitou Island lies off Leland in Lake Michigan, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Michigan Trail Maps puts it at about 5,000 acres and 17 miles west of Leland, with no cars. The National Park Service describes 10 miles of pebble beaches, dune formations, and a grove of old-growth white cedars more than 500 years old.

Camping is limited to three campgrounds, which makes this a shorter, more structured island trip than wilderness camping on North Manitou Island. In 2026, though, the ferry isn’t running.

The hike

In normal years the boat lands at the village on the island’s east side, where Michigan Trail Maps (2012) says campers get a short ranger orientation at the boathouse before picking up their permit. The NPS brochure lists the 100-foot lighthouse, in service from 1871 to 1958, as a short walk from the ranger station; the NPS hiking page puts it half a mile from the village.

From there, campers fan out to camp. Bay Campground, the closest, sits on Crescent Bay about half a mile from the boathouse, per Michigan Trail Maps. The NPS says Weather Station Campground is about a mile beyond the lighthouse on the south side, and Popple Campground, at the island’s north end, is the farthest, about 3.5 miles from the dock.

Most visitors then explore on day hikes. The NPS hiking page says the wreck of the Francisco Morazan lies about 2.5 miles from the dock on the south shore, viewed from a bluff, “only partially submerged,” with double-crested cormorants nesting on it. The NPS brochure says the Liberian freighter ran aground in 1960. About 0.3 miles past the Morazan turnoff, a loop trail runs through the southwest corner’s cedars, which the NPS calls “some of the largest white cedars in Michigan.” Up North Michigan calls the grove the Valley of the Giants and says its largest cedar measures more than 18 feet around, about 3.5 miles each way.

The NPS calls the bluffs and perched dunes on the west side a “difficult hike” with “the most spectacular views of the island,” and warns that poison ivy grows into the dune trail. Florence Lake, named for Florence Haas, the island’s postmaster from 1912, is reached by about a mile on Burdick Road and a quarter mile of trail to a sandy beach. The brochure gives the full shoreline walk around the island as 10 miles. The NPS says the Gull Point bypass is closed to people because gulls nest there.

Solitude Sports warns that mosquitoes and stable flies are worst from just after Memorial Day to mid-August and that ticks are active from early spring until winter.

Tips

Check NPS access news first. In 2026 there is no ferry and no dock; boaters anchor offshore.
Carry two extra days of food, as the NPS recommends, in case weather cancels a boat.
Bring a filter or purifier. The NPS lists no potable water in 2026 and suggests carrying at least 2 liters per person.
Use hard containers or a food hang. The NPS says chipmunks are the problem, and Solitude Sports says they chew through packs.
Learn poison ivy before the dune hike.
Treat clothing with permethrin for ticks, as Solitude Sports suggests.

Camping

Camping is permitted only at Bay, Weather Station, and Popple, and campers need a Backcountry Use Permit and an entrance pass, according to the NPS. Individual sites hold four people and two tents. Group sites (three each at Bay and Weather Station, up to 20 campers and 10 tents) are reservation-only on Recreation.gov, but the NPS lists Bay and the group sites as closed in 2026. Fires are allowed only in communal metal fire rings at Bay and Weather Station; use a gas or alcohol stove elsewhere, burn only down and dead wood, and don’t bring firewood to the island. Pit toilets are at Popple and Weather Station. Pets and wheeled vehicles are prohibited, and all trash must be packed out.

Inside Intel: In a 2012 Michigan Trail Maps article, Jim DuFresne singled out Bay sites 10 and 12, among pines along the Crescent Bay shore, with site 12 looking out on the beach, Lake Michigan, and the mainland; a reader who camped at Popple found it quiet. Solitude Sports notes Weather Station’s views of the mainland and the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and lilacs at some Popple sites that bloom in late May and early June and draw monarch butterflies.

Trail facts

Distance: About 3.5 miles each way to Popple (NPS); 7.4 miles round trip (NPS brochure); 10-mile shoreline loop
Route type: Out and back to a campground, plus day hikes
Difficulty: Easy to moderate; the west-side bluffs are harder
Campsites: Weather Station (20 individual, 3 group); Popple (7 individual); Bay (closed in 2026)
Water: None potable in 2026 (NPS); treat lake water
Permits: Backcountry Use Permit and entrance pass
Food storage: Hard containers or hang (chipmunks)
Pets: Prohibited
Access: Ferry from Leland (not operating in 2026); private or chartered boats anchor offshore
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Waiting out weather on South Manitou:

The NPS suggests carrying two extra days of food in case weather cancels a boat. See how three rain shells compare, and whether the Beta SL is worth it.

Read the comparison →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.