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There are many small beach towns along the southeastern shores of Lake Michigan. You can enjoy miles of sandy beaches and perfect sunsets (most days). The water can even get into the mid-70s in late August. We enjoy exploring these small towns – even though they may seem similar, each one has its own unique vibe!
Within a day’s drive from our house, we visited South Haven. We drove up on the Red Arrow highway which has many other small towns along the way with cute shops. The Black River feeds into Lake Michigan at South Haven and there is a vibrant boating community with a nice harbor entrance and shelter from bad weather.
We hope to visit South Haven on SV Zeke E Boy later this year, so it was good to scout the harbor and get a feel for it. We went to the municipal marina and took pictures of the docks which will help us know how to set up our fenders when docking. The docks here have the typical 3 or 4 pilings and we would need fender boards out to rest on one mid beam piling during our potential stay. We also noted that there is very little protection to a western wind and the waves produce a reasonable amount of chop a ways into the harbor. This would mean some extra snubbers to dampen the action and make the stay on board more comfortable.
We also went to the Michigan Maritime Museum and spent several hours walking through it and reading the displays. It was still winter so their boats were not in the water and running tours, but it would be a fun trip to go for a sail with them to learn more.
The museum highlights the steam ship industry on the Great Lakes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. There were many work ships hauling materials from port to port and a significant tourism/leisure fleet as well.
We realized this was before the boom of the automobile industry, so these steam ships provided a way to travel other than train or horseback. After the automobile changed things, the steam ships all but disappeared with only a handful even around and fewer that are operational today.
The museum also has a wooden boat display with several small wooden boats to admire. Lastly we were able to stop by the working shop and talk to the craftsmen doing winter projects to get their boats ready for next season. This is something we know about after owning a boat on the Great Lakes!
By early afternoon we had worked up an appetite and stopped by Black River Tavern for wings. There is a neat shopping area, Old Harbor Village, just across from the museum that opens in late Spring so we’ll have to check it out when we come back … hopefully on SV Zeke E Boy.
On the way out of town, we stopped at Murphy’s Antique Mall and browsed for a bit. Kara is hunting for a home fireplace tool set and I keep my eye out for coins or sports cards.
For some reason, we got in a mood to keep looking so we stopped by several more antique shops along Red Arrow Highway in the various towns on the way home. No luck on finding the perfect item – for either of us, but we enjoyed the search.
South Haven is at the top of our list for this summer to come back and visit. 👍
Tell us what you think
Let us know what you think of our adventures by sharing your feedback in the comments below. Do you have advice for us on scouting or preparing to go to new ports, harbors and marinas? Are there any places in South Haven that you would recommend? We’d love to hear from you!
– Kyle from Zeke Life
Live like Zeke
You’re such a good boy!
