Sault Ste. Marie Boatwatcher's Information

This page is my humble effort to provide intelligent and useful information to the boatwatcher visiting The Soo for the first time. (Maybe even some information for those who have visited before too.)This page includes information on the best places to view and photograph the boats, eat, sleep, play, relax, shop and also scanner tips and frequencies.

I'm going to assume that you do not have motel reservations as I write this, so the first thing to do as you near Sault Ste. Marie is look for the 3 Mile Road Exit off of I-75. This exit funnels you onto northbound 1-75 Business Spur, or "The Spur" as we call it. Most major motel chains have motels along the Spur as well as many local motels. To continue on to the Locks and the motels in that vicinity, stay on the Spur, at approximately the Dairy Queen the Spur turns into Ashmun Street, the main street in the Soo. Continue on Ashmun over the bridge, this is the canal dug to provide hydroelectric power to the Soo, to the stoplight at Portage Street. Turn left on Portage and in two blocks you are at the Locks and the motels in that vicinity. I wont recommend motels, everyone has different tastes. However, if amenities are number one to you, stay at one of the chain motels on the Spur, if being near the shipping action is number one, stay by the locks. Also, the motels near the locks tend to be cheaper than the chain motels.

Irvin L. Clymer from the Wisconsin Central RR Bridge

The first thing you'll want to know is where are the best places in Sault Ste. Marie for viewing and taking pictures of the boats. In the Locks area, the most obvious starting point is the park that ajoins the locks. This is the best place in the country to view the boats up close. There are three observation towers immediately adjacent to the locks themselves. To best view upbound boats as they approach the lock, choose the tower furthest to the right. As the ship passes, you may choose to move the tower furthest to the left to continue the view as the ship leaves the lock. For downbound ships, do just the opposite. The locks are not the best place for picture-taking however, as the ships are just so close as to make a decent picture nearly impossible. I like to drive past the locks toward the bridge to the West Pier area to watch downbound ships. To do this, you turn right before the big turn in the road onto a gravel road. Follow this under the railroad bridge and it eventually come out alongside the west approach to the McArthur Lock. There is a nice little drive-in restaurant here that I highly recommend. The railroad bridge over the road is a favorite place for hardcore boatwatchers to take pictures. They climb the stairs and walk out to where the tracks end. This is tresspassing and thus illegal. I do not recommend that you do this.

Baie St. Paul downbound at Mission Point

Since the Locks limit your picture-taking abilities, you will need to move to a better spot. I recommend Mission Point, the Mecca for boatwatchers, here you will meet the fanatics as well the easygoing casual boatwatcher. To reach Mission Point. Follow Portage Street away from the bridge. Stay on Portage through four stoplights and over the power canal. At this point it is approximately 1 1/2 miles to Mission Point. Continue on Portage until you see the signs for the Sugar Island Ferry, turn to your left into the lot for Clyde's Restaurant and go to the right over the one lane isthmus. This is Mission Point, the last radio check-in point for the ships before the Locks for the upbounders and the first check-in point for the downbounders after leaving the locks. Park by the little shack and prepare for the best boat photography point in the world, particularly for the downbound ships. On any given day in the summer there will be a dozen or so boatwatchers here, more if the Ryerson is due. The park area here is maintained by the city of Sault Ste. Marie and is known by many names to locals: Mission Point, Clyde's, Sugar Island Ferry Crossing, Little Rapids Cut and Rotary Park. On behalf of the residents of The Soo, I implore you - please do not feed the seagulls or geese. They are a major problem here and feeding them makes things worse. Thanks. Be sure to drop in to Clyde's. They have the best hamburgers in the area. Also, if you're feeling daring, try the buffalo burger, highly recommended.

If you will be bringing a scanner with you to The Soo, please check out Tom's Soo Scanner Page. This web site contains frequencies for Soo Area, both U.S. and Canada sides, codes and other general scanner information.

I strongly encourage all boatwatchers new to The Soo, as well as veterans who have never left town, to take the following trip. It can be done easily in 2 1/2 hours, not counting time for side trips or lingering . Head out Ashmun St. to the second stoplight after the crest of the hill, this is where Ashmun becomes The Spur. Turning left at this light keeps you on Ashmun. At the next light Ashmun becomes M-129. Follow M-129 south for 21 miles to Pickford. Be careful at the juction of M-129 and M-80,(about 14 miles south of The Soo) the local sheriff's deputies and the State Police like to park at the top of this hill and use radar on the southbound traffic. Continue through Pickford and in 11 miles you will be in Cedarville.

There is an excellent little restaurant here and several local motels as well as a major chain motel. Cedarville can make a very pleasant, quiet stopover for the night. At the intersection with M-134, the flashing yellow light, turn left. In about four miles you will see a railroad bridge over the road, just before this is the entrance to Michigan Limestone Operations, Port Dolomite, where ships load limestone. It is possible to drive in and down by the dock as there is no gate or security personnel here. They do post "No Trespassing" though and I discourage you from doing this. You will be able to tell if a ship is loading here only by seeing the self-unloader sticking up above the trees. For picture-taking, turn right onto Lakeside Road before you reach Port Dolomite. There are several places to walk down to the water and take pictures across the bay. Ships load here fairly often, at least one a day in the summer. Turn around here, go back to M-134 and turn right.

This stretch of M-134 is quite beautiful, equal parts lakeshore and deep forest driving, there are great turnoffs all the way with wonderful sandy beaches and views of the Martin Reef Light and the ships in the distance. If you are on this stretch between the top of the hour and half past watch out for cars speeding to make the Drummond Island ferry which leaves De Tour at 40 past the hour. Nine miles past Port Dolomite you will see Albany Island on your right, you can identify it by the long causeway leading through the water to it, this is an island that was sold a few years ago via an internet auction. A retired Ford Motor Co. executive bought it for $900,000. Just past the driveway to Albany Island is the junction with M-48, notice the highway sign: 10 miles to De Tour and 11 miles to Drummond Island, good luck driving to Drummond Island! In another mile is a wonderful long sandy beach, this area and much of the vacant shoreline between Cedarville and De Tour is owned by the Nature Conservancy and thus the beach is open to the public. The group of three homes to west here includes one rented to the resident State Trooper so watch your speed here. 2 1/2 miles down the road is the entrance to De Tour State Forest Campground, a very quiet peaceful place with only primitive facilities. The campground and much of this area was once De Tour State Park. 5 more miles brings you to a nice little roadside parked which is marked by a green and a red bouy. From this spot you can get great pictures of the ships as they enter or leave the river and of ships loading limestone at the Drummond Island dock. Another 1/2 mile brings you into De Tour Village, the entrance to the St. Marys River.(Note that the proper spelling is without the apostrophe.)

A beautiful spot, De Tour lacks the amenities of even Cedarville but that makes it even better. Turn right in De Tour at the sign for the Drummond Island ferry. This leads you down to where the ferry leaves for Drummond Island. This is a nice spot to watch the ships as they sail between the mainland and the island. If you are real lucky in your timing, you may a see a ship loading at the stone dock on Drummond Island. This is not a busy port, perhaps two or three ships every week, but the ships that do come here are often ones that do not go past the Soo frequently, such as McKee Sons, John J. Boland and American Republic. But they are more likely to be ships such as American Mariner, H. Lee White or Charles E. Wilson. If you are adventurous, you can ride the ferry across to the island as a passenger without your car for $.75. It is possible to enter the area where the ships load, but there is a gate that is sometimes closed, and I don't recommend it. You can get good pictures from the ferry anyway.

Turn around and go back to stop sign up the hill from the ferry crossing. Turn right on Ontario Street and follow it around the curve and up the steep hill. You are now on North Caribou Rd. On your right in about a mile is Spring Bay Road. Up this road about a mile Interlake Steamship Company owns some land and a docking facility. During the 80's Elton Hoyt 2nd and William G. Mather were laid up here. Recently, Charles M. Beeghley has been here for winter layup. At M-48, about 9 miles past Spring Bay Rd, turn right and follow it for 3 miles through Goetzville. Immediately upon leaving Goetzville turn right on Raber Road. This road curves around and two miles later you are in Raber alongside the St. Marys River. Across the river you will see Lime Island, once the coal refueling point for the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet. You can still see the huge tanks that were installed after the switch to diesel. This island is now abandoned, but the Michigan DNR is devoloping it as an historic site, renovating the buildings and building a campground. There are great views of the ships in the distance here.

Halifax in the Rock Cut

Continue on Raber Road, around a sharp bend in about 4 1/2 miles it becomes Gogomain Road. At this corner are more great views of the river, this area of the St. Marys River is known as Munuscong Lake or Mud Lake, you'll know why when you see how brown it appears. Follow Gogomain Road for another 11 miles, be careful, this is prime deer country, until you come to Pennington Road. Turn right onto Pennington (gravel) and follow for two miles. Turn right on Riverside Drive and left at the stop sign ( still Riverside.)In eight miles turn right on 15 Mile Road and in three miles you will be in Barbeau. This is the entrance to The Rock Cut, a channel blasted out of rock to create separate upbound and downbound channels for the ships. Turn right on Scenic Drive and left to the Neebish Island ferry crossing. This is a great place to get pictures of the downbound ships as they enter The Rock Cut. There is really no reason to take the ferry over to the island, it is a pleasant, but undeveloped area and the view of the ships is no better. The only way to photograph the ships in The Rock Cut is to continue down Scenic Drive a little ways and hike through the woods, this is a spectacular location for taking pictures, but it is private land so again I do not recommend that you do this.

Go back to 15 Mile Road and turn left, then right in 3 miles at Riverside Road. In about 11 1/2 miles turn left at another flashing light. This is still Riverside Road, in two miles you are back in the city limits of Sault Ste. Marie. This road follows the St. Marys River and offers great views of the ships but few places to take pictures since homes line the river side of the road. In another two miles you are back at Mission Point.

You will enjoy this tour, I guarantee it. Be sure to choose a sunny morning for best picture-taking. Also, be sure to buy gas in The Soo before you leave, the price becomes very high once you leave town.

I hope you have found this page to be useful to you in your visit to The Soo. Please let me know if you take this trip following my directions, I would love to know how accurate and useful this information was to you. Please check out these links pages for links to just about everything in The Soo and the Eastern U.P. that is on the web. Also check out the Upper Peninsula Links page. Thanks for visiting and come back soon

Sault Ste. Marie Links Page

The Upper Peninsula Link Page

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Since July 3, 1998

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