Boating, Canoeing & Kayaking

The Ontonagon River is the largest river on the south shore of Lake Superior, great for boating, canoeing & kayaking. Its classifications and corresponding mileage according to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System follow: Wild 42.9 miles; scenic 41.0 miles; recreational 73.5 miles; total 157.4 miles. Bring a canoe or rent one, fish from its banks, or follow it out to the big lake!

The marina has 7 transient slips and 29 seasonal slips and operates from May 1 to October 15. Features include water, electricity (30 amp), restrooms, showers, gasoline, pump out, ice, fish-cleaning station, boat launch, hoist, long-term parking, public phone, day-use dockage, and a park with a playground and grills and picnic tables.

Ontonagon Light Station: A fixed white light, 5th order Fresnel lens, visible 13-1/4 miles. Yellow tower, 39 feet high, rising from a brick dwelling. A coast and harbor light on the west bank of the mouth of the Ontonagon River.

Ontonagon harbor consists of two parallel piers, 250 feet apart, extending in a NW 3/4 N direction from the mouth of the Ontonagon River. As now constructed, the west pier extends into the lake 1,700 feet from the shoreline and projects 150 feet beyond the east pier; the outer 150 feet is without superstructure, and vessels entering at night should look out for the submerged cribs. The east pier projects 1,950 feet into the lake beyond the shoreline (the shorelines are not opposite each other.) The bar outside the piers continues to advance, and the channel across it is uncertain and shifting. A channel 100 feet wide has been dredged at Ontonagon, having an available depth of 16 feet from the inner end of the government piers to the merchandise dock. This places the dock in good condition permitting all vessels except a few of the larger ones to enter.