In my March 2023 post about the Great Lakes as the characters of the movie The Breakfast Club, I referred to Lake Huron as the dark horse of the lakes. Despite being the second largest Great Lake, its identity feels less specific, somewhat unknown, perhaps a bit mysterious. I gotta be honest – it took me a while to even find a decent map of the lake to post (feel free to check my googling!). 

Some of this is likely due to the fact that despite having the longest shoreline of all the Great Lakes – almost 3,800 miles – there are only three million people living on or proximate to the lake. There are no large cities on its shores. The west side of the lake is the thumb side of Michigan’s “mitten” with lake waters flowing down towards Detroit where they will pass into the St. Clair river and then on into Lake Erie. Most of the shoreline is in Ontario.

At one point in history, the lake was called La Mer Douce, or “the freshwater sea” by French Explorers. It was later named for the indigenous Huron people who have lived around the lake for centuries. Much of the lake and land surrounding it has remained in a fairly wild state. Like all the Great Lakes, Lake Huron was carved from glaciers. Over time sedimentary and volcanic rocks carved away and what were likely smoother expanses of rock along the shore. Hills and small mountains of jagged rock form what is called the Canadian Shield around the northern side.

Lake Huron has over 30,000 individual islands including the largest freshwater island in the world – Manitoulin (1,068 square miles) – which has over 100 freshwater lakes of its own. The shipping economy on the lake has historically been focused on the lumber industry present in the deep, dense forests north of Lake Huron in Ontario.

The eastern side of the lake is the Georgian Bay, a popular destination for Toronto area residents in the summer months. The bay is created in part by the Bruce Peninsula, home to a popular Canadian national park.

The waters of Lake Huron off the shore of Alpena, Michigan are home to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which was formally designated and opened in 2000 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most people are not familiar with our 15 national marine sanctuaries – essentially national parks in bodies of water. Most are dedicated to protection and advocacy of aquatic life, others like Thunder Bay also pay honor to maritime economies. Thunder Bay protects an area home to over 100 historical shipwrecks that can be visited in glass-bottomed boat, kayak, or with scuba gear. It is also home to the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Museum.  

For more things to do along Michigan’s “sunrise coast”, see this article from Midwest Living magazine. As I shared in my post two weeks ago, my daughter and I were lucky to witness daybreak over Lake Huron. It remains a favorite memory of 2023. 

Note: Other than above, credit goes to others for pictures in today’s post.