Manitou Island lakes: Lake Manitou & Florence Lake
I’ve had this Enterprise article kicking around for just about ever. Since I can find absolutely nothing of interest about Leelanau on the entire internet, it finally gets to see the light of day!
Manitou lakes share tranquility is a detailed feature that looks at Florence Lake on South Manitou, which is home to just 4 species of fish: northern pike, perch, smallmouth bass and the Iowa darter and Manitou Lake on North Manitou that is teeming with fish and bald eagles pursuing all those fish.
Both are longer than they are wide, with Manitou Lake decidedly the larger of the two. On a plat map Manitou Lake appears to occupy about one-half of Section 32, located halfway between east and west Lake Michigan shorelines on North Manitou closer to the north than the south shore.
Lakeshore biologist Ken Hyde puts the lake’s actual size at 256 acres. Florence Lake on South Manitou, found just one-half a mile from the southern edge of the island, is just 78 acres.
Check out the pages for Lake Manitou and Florence Lake from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Photo credit: Lake Manitou by mollypitcher. Check out her cool set of photos from North Manitou Island.
My wife and I are planning a backpacking trip the 22 of july and would like to know if you know of any good locations for fishing on Florence Lake?
Thanks
I think pretty much any place on the lake is good!
Do you know any place that I can rent a canoe or kayak for use while I am on the islands? Maybe a place on the mainland and then the ferry could bring my boat over…
What month is best time to plan a visit?
Thanks.
Hello Roberto – every season has its highlights but July & August are definitely prime time. The lakes are at great swimming temperature, temps are in the 70s to upper 80s and there’s food & fun to be had everywhere.
Where can I get more information about the Manitou Island Transit. Someone posted about a 1 1/2 hr evening cruise but I can’t find anything about it on the website.
They take place in the summer and early fall – here’s their website. It’s a great way to see the Manitou Passage.