Visiting the Les Cheneuax Islands: AI vs. Sue's AI (a.k.a. Sue's Awesome Insights)

Not that long ago, some friends decided to "make" my day by forwarding a link to a travel blog from Only In Your State touting the Les Cheneaux area as "The Perfect Outdoor Adventure." I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment. The execution, however, left something to be desired:

• There is no way the "author" has ever been to the Les Cheneaux Islands, Hessel, or Cedarville.
  

• The recommendations are as vague as the terms on a JoAnn's coupon, or whatever 20% offer is currently sitting unread in your inbox.
  

• The language has zero color — no descriptions, no adjectives, no humor.

  
  

• Several area highlights are completely absent, including the Les Cheneaux Culinary School restaurant and Les Cheneaux Distillers. (Arguably indoor activities — but people need to eat. And visitors would likely find knowing that they can assemble their own picnic lunches from shopping Cedarville Foods or buy take-out from local restaurants incredibly useful.)
  

• The images are uninspiring stock-scraped travel photos devoid of people, boats, kayaks, or anything that actually makes this place worth visiting.
  

• It calls Hessel "Hassel." We sell a sticker that says "No Hassle in Hessel." Maybe we should change it.
  

Before you work yourself into a huff: the author — unlike you — can never visit, because I'm betting an Oxford comma that this article was written predominantly by AI and never fact-checked beyond a desk-chair-bound writer using ChatGPT. If there is a real human hiding behind their keyboard, I encourage you to make the trek and learn for realsies why the Les Cheneaux Islands really are the perfect outdoor adventure.

So. Let's go through it.

The islands accessible by car

The article claims "only one pair of islands is accessible by car: Hill Island." It's true that Hill Island is accessible by causeway — the missing "pair" is Island 8. And as any local would tell you, randomly driving out to these two islands will be pretty boring unless you're into perusing mailboxes, counting deer, or checking real estate signs. Hill and Island 8 are where people live. They are not tourist destinations.

That said: the causeway is an excellent spot for bird watching. Eagles, herons, waterfowl, and ducks are very common in Flower's Bay. And if you want to skip the Labor Day Mackinac Bridge walk, you could always walk the causeway or the bridge between Hill and Island 8 — locally known as the Kissing Bridge (not a bad spot to enjoy 4th of July fireworks from either). You can fish from both.

The airport

Yes, there is an airport. No, it is not Detroit Metro. The Albert J. Lindberg Airport — named after a local legend, not that other Lindbergh — is a general aviation airstrip about two miles north of Hessel, managed by Clark Township. Jet fuel is not available. If you're well-to-do enough to own or lease a private plane, you don't need this article — though your personal assistant (maybe Claude) will still need to arrange a car. If you're arriving via commercial air, two options are within reasonable range:

Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is about 40 minutes away, served by Delta year-round to Detroit and Minneapolis, with seasonal United service to Chicago (May through September). Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) is about an hour away near Petoskey, served by Delta year-round to Detroit and United seasonally to Chicago. Verify schedules before you book — service can vary.

The shoreline and what you'll actually find on it

The article states: "You'll quickly notice that the rocky shoreline of Lake Huron differs substantially from the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. However, this allows visitors a prime opportunity to search for Michigan's prehistoric wonder — petoskey stones."

Hard no.

Petoskey stones are fossilized coral — specifically Hexagonaria percarinata — and they originate from glacially deposited coral beds found closer to, you guessed it, Petoskey, continuing south and west through the Traverse City, Leland, and Manistee areas. Although there is a small chance of finding one in our area (maybe someone tossed one on the shore for you), don't plan your trip around it. If you want specifics on where to actually find them, this sentence is a link.

What you will find around here is chain coral — Halysites, a tabulate coral that predates even the Petoskey stone species by tens of millions of years — along with limestone, more limestone, and alvar, which the northwest lower peninsula has none of. And here's the other surprise: we do have sandy beaches.

The only official public beach in the Les Cheneaux is Hessel Beach, managed by Clark Township — a lovely little sandy beach looking out on Hessel Bay with well-kept bathrooms, picnic tables, and a non-motorized boat launch. Heading east on M-134 toward DeTour, there are several additional sandy public beaches, including The Nature Conservancy's Gerstacker Preserve at Dudley Bay, an MDOT roadside park shortly after Albany Creek and the northern turn onto M-48 toward Goetzville, and the John Arthur Woollam Preserve and Bush Bay parking areas on M-134 a little east of McKay Bay, where the Narnia Trail gives access to a few sections of sandy shoreline — though fair warning: that trail now draws more than 50,000 hikers a season, TNC is actively working on managing the volume, and people are unintentionally destroying the fragile mosses covering the giant rocks by climbing on them. Please tread carefully and stay on the trail. The Hiawatha National Forest's Search Bay complex just west of Hessel also has sandy Lake Huron access — and on guided Bigger Dipper or Perfect Picnic Day kayaking trips, we take breaks at beaches only accessible by boat.

Coffee and breakfast

The author helpfully tells you "I can't imagine a better way to start the morning than with a warm cup of coffee and this view" — which is a view of an empty dock. Personally, I prefer a hot cup of coffee. Better options include:

Les Cheneaux Coffee roasts locally and makes homemade cinnamon rolls. Little Buoy Bakery serves coffee and many things worth getting up early for — try the buoy buns. Liberty Bay Baking Co. at Mertaugh's in Hessel works for those who like to sleep in a little and their breakfast cookie is a personal favorite. Full breakfasts on weekends can be found at Snow's Bar & Grill, Ang-Gio's, and Nibblelungen. The Les Cheneaux Culinary School also typically runs a short breakfast season in July — worth checking their schedule. Or skip breakfast entirely and start with ice cream — there is no wrong answer.

A note worth heeding: this is a small community with many seasonal businesses. Verify hours before you go, and make sure you've secured your caffeine supplies at your rented lodging — if leaving the premises before 9am is not something you're prepared to do. Note that Cedarville Foods is not open on Sundays, but the gas station may have what you need to make a decent cup of Joe.

Getting on the water

"The only way this could be any better is if you're actually on the water. That's a real possibility since you can rent boats and kayaks in advance for a sunrise or sunset cruise."

Partially true. They just don't tell you from whom.

Woods & Waters runs guided kayak tours for sunrise, sunset, and everything in between — including private full-day trips with a chef-prepared picnic lunch. Wondering whether a guided tour is worth it over renting? We wrote about that here. We also rent kayaks during the day — but a quick note: our hourly rentals run daytime hours. If you're hoping to catch a sunrise or sunset from a rental kayak at your rented lodging, plan ahead and book a multi-day rental instead. You can also rent gear from us and have it delivered to the place you've rented for the week. For motorized boats and PWCs, Hills Point Resort is your place — and yes, that's a reason to drive out to Hill Island.

Golf

The author correctly notes that Les Cheneaux Golf, one of Michigan's oldest operating links courses, closes in winter — Homer Simpson "d'oh" moment there. What they miss is that it has also been closed the past two summers for updates — verify before you head that way. In the meantime, Bear on the Mountain — formerly Hessel Ridge, now owned and operated by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians — is right across from the Hessel runway and absolutely worth your time.

The Antique Wooden Boat Show

"Hassel is one of the two 170-year-old communities on the mainland. It's known for hosting the largest antique boat show in the world."

Again with Hassel.

The Antique Wooden Boat Show & Festival of Arts is always the second Saturday in August, running officially from 10am to 4pm — though the fundraiser pancake breakfast starting at 8am is genuinely worth setting an alarm for. It is not the largest show in the world, but it is one of the largest, typically featuring around 150 boats on display. (Boats. Not boaters. This is not a beauty pageant.) Each year highlights a different type or era — runabouts, utilities, lapstrake. No dogs allowed at the show itself (this always surprises people but finger docks + hundreds of people is just a recipe for accidents when you mix in leashes, paws, and feet).

Winter

The article closes by telling readers that "cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are two popular activities when the water freezes over."

Sure. Along with the same activities available nearly everywhere else in the UP.

What they miss: cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at the Les Cheneaux Golf Course, Northwoods Christian Camp, and the Peek-A-Boo Trails system — where volunteers also try to maintain a groomed fat tire track. Snowmobiling on miles of DNR and Les Cheneaux Snowmobile Club-maintained trail. Ice fishing for perch — and spear fishing for northern pike when the ice is thick enough.

In early February, the Hessel Schoolhouse Snowy Owl Festival brings together birders and nature lovers for a multi-day celebration of one of winter's most spectacular arctic visitors. As part of the festival, Woods & Waters staffs the trailhead for a self-guided lantern-lit night hike through the William B. Derby, Jr. Nature Preserve — about 0.4 miles out and back through cedar forest and moss-covered boulders along Lake Huron, managed by the Little Traverse Conservancy. It's a genuinely magical evening.

SnowsFest follows in mid-February with fireworks, a hot cocoa crawl, a chili cook-off, poker run, ice fishing derby, cardboard sled races, and more — including another lantern-lit night hike at the Derby Preserve.

Heritage Park, home to public pickleball courts during the warmer months, also runs a months-long Light Up the Park event through the winter evenings — a lovely reason to bundle up and get outside after dark.

Spring and fall

Spring and fall are worth your time too. Wildflowers, duck and deer hunting, fishing derbies, leaf peeping, and gravel riding. The Aldo Leopold Festival takes place the week after Memorial Day each year, celebrating the legacy of the naturalist who spent his formative summers on Marquette Island right here in the Les Cheneaux. Woods & Waters offers a special Aldo Leopold guided kayak tour that traces the waters he paddled and the shorelines he roamed — available by request outside the festival as well.

In October, the Fall Harvest Fest brings a soup cook-off, haunted trail at Heritage Park, stein hoisting at Snow's Bar & Grill, and more — the second weekend of the month.

Special dinners from the Les Cheneaux Culinary School round out the shoulder seasons when they're on the calendar — check their schedule.

I truly hope Sue's Awesome Insights have convinced you that the Les Cheneaux really are the perfect outdoor adventure. We look forward to seeing you. Add your own favorite intel in the comments.