Things to Do in Cheboygan Area Parks and Beaches The Opera House Snowmobile Trails Fishing Lighthouses of Cheboygan

Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw The Inland Waterway Golf Courses Bois Blanc Island Nearby Attractions

Bois Blanc Island

Bois Blanc Island (pronounced "boys" "blonk") is an undeveloped adventure-land - the ideal place to get away from it all. The local people on the Island also call Bois Blanc Island - Boblo Island. The name "Bois Blanc" stands for "white woods" in French, which means birch trees.

"Bob-lo" is just an Americanization of the French pronunciation. To get to the Island you may take a ferry or airplane.

Bois Blanc is located in the Straits of Mackinac southeast of Mackinac Island. Bois Blanc has summer homes, hunting cabins, and a few year - round residents. Camping, swimming, mountain biking and hiking are the most common activities that bring people to the Island. Eighty percent of the Island is Department of Natural Resources - managed state land. There are no State Parks or State Campgrounds on the Island. Camping is primitive with no facilities, no bathrooms, no grills, no electric or water hook up. Stop in at Hawks Landing General Store to obtain a campfire permit. It is recommended that you stop and ask someone on the Island before you set up camp. If you do not want to camp on the Island please find a list of people to contact regarding Island rental cabins enclosed. If you do not want to stay overnight on the Island, there are plenty of accommodations in Cheboygan. A Cheboygan Motel listing is provided with this information. Motor vehicles are permitted on the Island. There are only dirt roads on the Island.

Bois Blanc is a hunter and angler's paradise. Purchase your hunting or fishing license before going to the Island. The yearly deer kill runs between 33 and 50 % success for hunters. Inland lakes provide good partridge and duck hunting. Nature study is ideal with over 200 varieties of trees, flowers, shrubs, and berries grown, many of them extinct elsewhere. Wildlife on the Island include many bird species, beavers, snakes, deer, partridge and duck. Winter activities on the Island include snowmobiles and snowshoes. Maple Syrup is also plentiful on the Island.

Bois Blanc Island has five inland lakes - Twin Lakes, Lake Thompson, Deer Lake, Mud Lake and Lake Mary. From the Northwest shore of the Island, you can see the Round Island Lighthouse and Mackinac Island. Located on the North side of Bois Blanc is the Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse. Please note that the Lighthouse is a private residence and is hard to reach by car.

Most seasonal homes are along the coast or hidden in the interior of the Island.

FACTS ABOUT BOIS BLANC ISLAND

• 40 minute ride over to the Island by ferry from Cheboygan.
• Vehicles may go on to the ferry.
• 24,000 isolated acres of forest.
• Designated as Mackinac County.
• Has a (231) area code.
• Four inland lakes.
• 30 miles of shoreline.
• Five miles wide by twelve miles long.
• Home to the Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse.
• 50 year round residents.
• 1,200 residents during the summer.
• One room schoolhouse.
• One General Store.
• One unleaded gasoline pump at the General Store.
• One Airstrip.
• One Man Police Force.
• One Post Office (own zip code 49775)
• One non-denominational church.
• One Tavern
• Fire Truck
• Medical Service.
• Emergency Patients are flown off the island as soon as possible.
• Can mountain bike around the perimeter of the Island.

For other information on Bois Blanc visit, www.bois-blanc.com, www.bbiferry.com, or www.inselhausbandb.com.