Need some ideas - Planning 3 days between Algonac and Detroit on Lake St Clair

[jmunro123]

I was wondering if any CSR members or others who know Lake St Clair can suggest some places to go and things to do on Lake St Clair between Algonac and Detroit.

Basically, it will our family of 4, two kids 13 and 17 (cool that he still wants to come with us!), and my wife and I.

I have heard there are places to swim in various islands and restaurants to pull up to with the boat? Something about Harsen's Island and Anchor Bay, perhaps a nice club or Marina would be nice also. Any idea ?

The start and end point will be Algonac and we are planning next Wednesday to Saturday.

Any suggestions would be really appreciated, I don't have a lot of time to plan this last minute trip.

 

[BillG72340]

We love Algonac Harbor Club and have made the trip there from Sandusky OH for the last 3 summers. Are you taking bikes or a dinghy on the trip? Some of our favorite stops have been-

Mac Ray Harbor- Nice pool and restaurant plus sand bar near entrance for swimming.
Metro Beach- Very large Metro park with great bike riding or roller blade paths.
William Milliken State Harbor- New waterfront parks into Downtown Detroit.
Gull Island- Popular swim hole.

I'm sure some Lake St Clair folks will chime in with some others. Have a great trip!

Bill

 

[jmunro123]

Thank Bill for the suggestions, we will not have a tender this trip, just a floaty raft.

 

[magstang1]

MacRay Harbor and next door neighbor Belle Maer Harbor are both very nice, full service marinas on the north end of Anchor Bay. Belle Maer is a park like setting. They have a very nice pool as well. Check out their website and webcams. MacRay has an onsite bistro.

Directly in front of the two marinas is a shallow sandy area locally known as poor mans beach. You will find many boats anchored and people swimming there during the weekends. There is even an on the water sorrentos pizza boat out there. $5 for a pizza.

Lake St. Clair Metropark is a nice place to spend an afternoon and possibly and evening. I don't recommend the actual beach there though. The remainder of the park is nice.

Bobby Macs on Anchor Bay is a nice family restaurant. Browns Bar on the middle channel is an experience unto itself.

 

[jmunro123]

Are there any restaurants we can tie up at for lunch / dinner??

Is it possible to tie up at Bobby Mac's? Looks like Browns Bar might be an interesting place to go. I will call them to see if the kids can have lunch there.

 

[Tim]

Bobby Mac's docks will not suit your boat. Browns only has a few spots that your boat would fit into and you'd need good timing to get one of those. Brownie's on the Lake in St. Clair shores is a nice spot and normally has plenty of room on the wall to dock. There is also Tin Fish in St. Clair Shores at Jefferson Beach Marina and just down the canal from Brownie's. And MacRay Harbor has transient docks for their restaurant. Another place would be Crew's Inn on the Clinton River. Great restaurant and bar as well as nice place to watch the boat traffic.

 

[magstang1]

Browns should be no problem mid week. The weekend is another story. The kids are not an issue either. We routinely go there on weekdays.

Crews inn is a good suggestion. Sinbads on the Detroit river is another possibility.

What marinas are you considering?

Edited to add:

New Baltimore just installed some new public docks. You may be able to tie up there for an afternoon and talk a walk to down town New Baltimore.

Sorry, I didn't notice you were in a 390 on my first post. Bobby Macs is out for you.

Strawberry island, Goose bay, Muscamoot bay, Gull island and Poor mans beach (in front of Belle Maer and MacRay) are popular swimming holes.

Idle hour yacht club, Belvedere boat club (BBC), Clinton River boat club, North Channel yacht club are all popular clubs around the area and may present opportunities for you.

This website may be helpful as well.

http://www.marinecruiser.com/

 

[jmunro123]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We ended up going to Macray's for a few nights. That is one of the best marina's we have stayed at. The docks are clean, food at the restaurant was good, and the swimming and water off the shore was excellent. We also eat at Crews Inn which was also very good. It took we a little getting use to the shallow depth. But it was a great trip!