Bois Blanc Island
Yearning for a quick escape out of Chicago? If you can carve out two to four days, the Great Lakes offer unsurpassed opportunities for bike touring, bikepacking and camping within just a few hours drive of the city. For a simple overnight, like the one we did in northern Michigan, you barely need any special equipment beyond what you probably already have. We literally strapped our tent, sleeping bags and mats to the bike frames with cinch straps an bungees, and —since it was just an overnight— we carried food for dinner and breakfast in lightweight nylon backpacks. We did not carry the pink bucket! That was fortuitously left on the site by previous campers.
We did bring two highly packable and highly useful objects: an ENO's hammock, and a MSR Trailshot microfilter, so we did not have to carry water.
Summary:
Bois Blanc is a place near and dear to our hearts, and we visit several times a year. Here’s an account of an overnight bike camping trip we did on the island in early fall.
Accessible by Plaunt Transportation Ferry service from Cheboygan, MI.
Mackinac Island’s larger (34 sq. mi) and much more rustic sister in the Straits of Mackinac.
No paved roads. The main gravel road goes most, but not all the way around the island.
Many inland roads are accessible only by ATV.
Outstanding opportunities for self-supported bikapacking and camping.
Bois Blanc has 6 inland lakes and a privately owned lighthouse at its northern tip.
Rudimentary amenities, including small general store & restaurant, and a tavern.
During some winters, an ice road is marked by cut evergreen trees, allowing travel over the ice between the Island and the mainland. The route generally runs from Pries Landing on the mainland, to Sand Bay on Bois Blanc.
Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo) official website.
Pure Michigan Bois Blanc page.