Kayaking The Great Lakes
During 2023, we spent our summer touring Michigan and Wisconsin. It was the first time for both of us to see the Great Lakes. Although the Great Lakes do not contain the ocean life we love (sharks, whales, manta rays, etc.), the vastness of them took us by surprise. The Great Lakes are amazing to kayak and explore. There are many shipwrecks and cool geological features that you must check out when visiting.
Kayaking to Turnip Rock in Lake Heron
When my husband said he wanted to kayak seven miles to a rock in Lake Heron in Port Austin, Michigan, I was skeptical. After all, I am not the strongest kayaker and lakes are not my favorite places to kayak. I prefer springs and salt water. But you hate to miss an adventure. So, I said I would try.
You cannot reach Turnip Rock in Michigan by land. It is all privately owned. So, you must kayak Lake Heron to see this unique rock feature. However, Lake Heron is a beautiful lake to kayak.
We launched our kayaks at Bird Creek County Park GPS 44.04798, -82.99296. We had no issues finding parking at this cool little park where we could launch for free. And we appreciate the public bathrooms before the seven-mile kayak trip. Once we left the sand beach, we turned right and headed to the rock.
It was a rough kayak trip for me, with the wind and currents. But it was worth it. Turnip Rock is a neat rock to see in Lake Heron. And we had a lot of fun kayaking around the rock, playing, and filming each other.
It took us several hours to kayak there and back from the Bird Creek County Park and I was worn out. The trip took longer because Windell had to wait on me a lot while kayaking back to the beach. But Lake Heron is gorgeous and turnip rock is a fun feature to kayak.
Booking a Kayaking Tour for Pictured Rocks in Lake Superior
Our favorite kayaking in the Great Lakes was with a Pictured Rocks kayaking charter. The Pictured Rocks in Upper Michigan are gorgeous! When we visited, we booked the boat ride with Pictured Rock Cruises, LLC and the kayak tour with Pictured Rocks Kayaking. Afterwards, we hiked the Lakeshore-North Country Trail to see Lovers Leap and the other rock features from the shore. FYI, though, when we hiked a fog rolled in and we couldn’t see some of the amazing features we wanted to see.
We booked the Pictured Rocks Kayaking charter because the boat takes you out into Lake Superior near Pictured Rocks. Supposedly, you can kayak Pictured Rocks without a guide. You can carry your kayak from parking lots to Lake Superior at the following locations: Sand Point Beach, Miners Beach, Twelvemile Beach Campground and Day-Use Area, and Lower Hurricane River Campground and Day-Use Area. However, this is recommended for expert kayakers only.
Because we wanted a boat to take us closer to pictured rocks and we wanted a guide, we booked the charter. We really enjoyed our tour with Pictured Rocks Kayaking. They ferry you out to near Lovers Leap and then put you into tandem sea kayaks with a guide to follow. We went through and in caves, under Lovers Leap, and so much more. You really get to see Pictured Rocks from the water level with this tour.
Windell’s favorite was Rainbow Cave. The colors inside the cave with the water dripping mesmerized him. My favorite was kayaking all the caves. It is a blast to go underneath the rock formations and see the colors of the rock and the water from this perspective. Our video of this experience doesn’t do it justice. Firstly, we didn’t record everything we saw. And, secondly, we were mesmerized by the ceilings of the caves, so we took a lot of shots overhead instead of around the entire rock.
You do not have to be an expert kayaker to enjoy this tour. Many of our fellow kayakers were beginners, and the tandem sea kayaks are easy to steer and paddle quickly. We were not sure about kayaking together in one kayak. After establishing who was steering and who was paddling, we finally got the hang of it. At the end of the tour, on the way back to the boat, we were having fun going as fast as we could and playing around.
We had so much fun with this tour. To really experience Pictured Rocks, you must book the boat tour for the history and a different view of the rocks. However, the kayaking tour will enhance your visit to this marvelous place.
Apostle Islands Main Shore in Lake Superior
Unfortunately, we did not kayak the mainland Apostle Shores in Wisconsin. Instead, we hiked the Lakeshore Trail to see the amazing rock formations. Although we do recommend the hike to see the upper level of the caves and rocks; we wished we had kayaked them also.
We saw many kayakers on our hike. There are a lot of amazing caves and geological features that you can explore both on the shoreline hiking and in the kayak. The kayakers were entering the caves and seeing the rock features that created many of the sounds of the water that we could only see from above. If we return to this area again, we will be kayaking it.
You can launch your kayak at Meyers Beach at GPS 46.88376, -91.04874. The parking lot for Meyers Beach is the same one we parked on for the Lakeshore Trail. The parking was $7 when we visited. From Meyers Beach, you make a right and kayak the gorgeous rock features. We also saw many kayak tours in the parking lot. If you wanted, you could book a tour for the Apostle Island mainland kayaking.
Wisconsin Cave Point and Whitefish Kayaking in Lake Michigan
Initially we visited this state park and hiked around. However, we knew we had to kayak this area when we saw kayakers playing in the caves and rock formations that we could only see from above.
So, we launched our kayaks at the Schauer Park Beach & Boat Launch GPS 44.94512, -87.18556. I believe it is $5 per kayak to launch. However, it is an easy launch and kayaking to Cave Point is gorgeous in the clear, beautiful Lake Michigan. After we launched our kayaks, we turned right to head south to Cave Point and Whitefish Dunes Parks.
When we reached the Cave Point Park, we kayaked into the fascinating rock formations that we had seen from above the day before. To hear the sound of the water entering the underwater caverns is something that still thrills us! We also found another cave that we entered that you could not see from the shoreline.
From there, we continued our journey towards Whitefish Dunes State Park. This is a lovely place to easily visit and explore with kayaks. Take your time and enjoy the amazing rock features at these parks.
Kayaking Door Bluff with Shipwreck in Lake Michigan
Also, while in Wisconsin, we decided to kayak the bluffs near the Door Bluff Headlands County Park and check out the Fleetwing shipwreck.
We launched our kayaks at the Garrett Bay Park kayak launch, GPS 45.2857, -87.05127. There is a small parking lot and we had no issues finding a spot.
There are tours that will take you out, tell you the history and point out the main points of interest. However, if we are comfortable kayaking the area ourselves, we like to save that money for other adventuring.
We decided to head left from the sandy beach to kayak the bluffs before the shipwreck. Although Windell was fascinated by the clarity of the water and the rocks below, I really enjoyed the gorgeous bluffs. We didn’t have to kayak very far to see the amazing shoreline.
On the way back, we bypassed the boat launch to see the Fleetwing shipwreck. Only the bottom boards of the boat remain. A local swimmer told us he could stand on the shipwreck. However, it was our first shipwreck that we kayaked and we spent a lot of time going over and over it again.
This is another great, easy spot to kayak while you are in Wisconsin. After kayaking the area, you can hike the Door Bluff Headlands County Park for a different perspective.
Kayaking the Great Lakes
You have so many fun opportunities to kayak the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin. If you enjoy kayaking, check out unique places to launch and explore the Great Lakes. Also, don’t forget about all the shipwrecks and cool boat tours that are accessible in these lakes. The Great Lakes, although still not salt water, wowed us with their beauty and amazing features.
You Will Not Be Disappointed on The Pictured Rocks Kayaking Tour
We did Pictured Rocks in Michigan three ways – we hiked it, we took the boat tour (which was amazing) and we took a kayak tour with Pictured Rocks Kayaking Tour.
Wow! They take you on a boat close to Lover’s Leap. Then, you must get into a tandem sea kayak with another person to kayak through the caves and different rock features. At first we were both a little skeptical about being in a tandem sea kayak together. After all, when Windell wants to go right, Jessica always goes left. We don’t even follow each other in separate kayaks. Yet, once we got the hang of kayaking together, we realized how much eaiser it was than kayaking separately.
This is an amazing tour that takes you under Lovers Leap, into Rainbow Cave, and is an excellent way to get close to the incredible rock formations of Pictured Rocks. The sea kayaks make it very easy to maneuver. By the end of the tour, we were really enjoying kayakin together. The best part is if one of us gets tired, the other one can paddle easily by themself for a little while. Of course, we didn’t get the best GoPro filmage with both of us paddling. Another couple on this tour had a GoPro also, but they were smart. One paddled and the other one filmed. But both of us paddling was so much fun and we could go so fast!!