Beaver Island Up North
Beaver Island is located 32 miles offshore of Charlevoix, Michigan and is the largest island in Lake Michigan.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.com
St. Ignatius Church is often first recognized by the steep, white steeple peering above the treeline as M-119 enters Good Hart, twenty miles north of Harbor Springs.
Travel along the Tunnel of Trees from Harbor Springs to Cross Village and you will pass through Good Hart, a Northern Michigan cross roads rich with history. In Good Hart, turn onto Lamkin Road and head down the hill into Middle Village, an old Native American village.
The first structure in Middle Village was a Jesuit Mission in 1823 but the mission began in this area, once called Apatawaaing, in 1741. It was rebuilt in 1823 by Native Americans and then built again in 1889 after a fire destroyed it. What was once named the St. Ignatius Church of Loyola is now known as St. Ignatius Church.
Thanks to a massive restoration project, the St. Ignatius Church is now open to the public for Sunday mass in July and August, weddings, and funeral visitations. The church is adjacent to the Middle Village Cemetery where row and row of white crosses mark the graves of Odawa Indians. Also nearby is a pathway to Middle Village Beach, a popular spot for swimming.
101 N. Lamkin Rd., Good Hart, MI, 49737
(231) 526-2017
Beaver Island is located 32 miles offshore of Charlevoix, Michigan and is the largest island in Lake Michigan.
The arts, history and many types of entertainment in Northern Michigan mean visitors can enjoy fabulous music, theatre, and culture.
The history of the fur trade in Northern Michigan is captured at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.
The Charlevoix Circle of Arts is a vibrant, cultural center in downtown Charlevoix that presents six major visual exhibits annually.
Get the sleds and the skates out, put on the cold weather clothes, and enjoy sledding and ice skating in Northern Michigan.
The Harbor Springs History Museum offers a unique look at the history of the community, starting with the first Catholic missionaries.
Get off the ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace to Mackinac Island and the first thing you’ll see is the historic downtown area.
Northern Michigan builder Earl Young created the unusual mushroom houses in Charlevoix. Tours are available.
The North Country Trail is the longest trail in the U.S. and stretches from North Dakota to New York, passing through Northern Michigan.