Lime Island in Upper Peninsula Designated Newest State Recreation Area

DNR photo

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that it has designated Lime Island, a 980-acre, state-owned island in the Upper Peninsula, as its newest state recreation area.

The island, located in the St. Mary’s River Navigation Channel at the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula, was previously managed and administered by the Forest Management Division of the DNR. The Natural Resources Commission recently transferred Lime Island to the Parks and Recreation Division to be maintained and managed by Parks and Recreation Division. The new designation also includes renaming it the Lime Island State Recreation Area, and makes it the 99th facility within the Michigan state park system.

“The island has been used as a recreational area, and it made sense that it should be managed as a state recreation area,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division.

Lime Island has rental cabins, platform tent sites, a small harbor of refuge, historical structures and boat access. These facilities have received various improvements over the years. Fees and details can be found on the DNR website under Camping and Recreation.

The island was gifted to the State of Michigan for one dollar by the Consolidated Company in 1982. Accessible only by boat, the island is one of Michigan’s most remote and pristine recreational areas.

The cabin and campsites on the island will soon be available to rent through the DNR’s Camping Reservation System on the same terms as state park and recreation areas’ campsites and cabins.