Michigan Islands: Year-Round Life & Surprising Costs

Michigan has many islands that have permanent populations. Some are quite famous like Mackinac Island and others are much less known.

Some have bridges that make living on the island nearly indistinguishable from living anywhere else. Some islands have ferry service which makes passage to and from home not wholly on your schedule. And for some islands like Mackinac ferry service can be cut off in winter when the water freezes over and closes off routes fully.

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So what is life like for those who have chosen to live on a Michigan island?

The question came up recently on the Geography subreddit of Reddit that asked in general about life on an island.

One quick comment that came up was the cost associated with getting to and from on a toll bridge or ferry.

Much less known compared to the Mackinac Bridge is the toll bridge to Grosse Ile in Detroit's Downriver region. It's a $3 one-way trip across the bridge. As for ferry service,. the ferry to Beaver Island is $110 for vehicles and just over $30 per person. Near Sault Ste Marie, the ferries to both Sugar and Neebish Islands are $20 trips. It's the same rate to travel to Drummond Island. Between Port Huron and Detroit, it's a round trip cost of $15 to Harsens Island.

What Michigan does not have in islands, outside of perhaps Grosse Ile, is one placed near a major metro area. One commenter from Key West shared a story of driving 95 miles to the mainland for certain fast food not available on the island. That's likely a very similar feeling held by those on Michigan islands not being near what many see as quick and easy urban comforts.

👇🏼BELOW: These Tiny Michigan Counties Have Less than 10,000 Residents + These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End👇🏼

And that may be a key difference about Michigan island dwellers. It's a smaller percentage who live on an island year-round. Rather many have island homes as summer escapes making the time spend on the island temporary and not a function of daily life.

These Tiny Michigan Counties Have Less than 10,000 Residents

These are the counties in Michigan where you can really feel detached from society. Each of these counties have less than 10,000 people living there.

Note: population counts are via Wikipedia and 2023 estimates.

These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End

Nearly all highways exist to connect you from one place to another. When you come to the end of the road, there's almost always somewhere else to go. Somewhere to turn. But there are parts of Michigan's highway system that don't leave you anywhere else to go - Michigan's dead end state highways.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier