page_title: Ferries in Michigan
section_title: Straits of Mackinac
hierarchical_section_title: Ferries in Michigan / Passenger-only ferries / Straits of Mackinac
caption_attribution_description: English: An Arnold Line ferry arriving at Mackinac Island, Michigan (United States).
context_page_description: Due to its unique geography, being made of two peninsulas surrounded by the Great Lakes, Michigan has depended on many ferries for connections to transport people, vehicles and trade. The most famous modern ferries are those which carry people and goods across the Straits of Mackinac to the car-free Mackinac Island but before the Mackinac Bridge was built, large numbers of ferries carried people and cars between the two peninsulas. Other ferries continue to provide transportation to small islands and across the Detroit River to Canada. Ferries once provided transport to island parks for city dwellers. The state's only national park, Isle Royale cannot be reached by road and is normally accessed by ferry. The largest ferries in Michigan are the car ferries which cross Lake Michigan to Wisconsin. One of these, the SS Badger is one of the last remaining coal steamers on the Great Lakes and serves as a section of US Highway 10. The Badger is also the largest ferry in Michigan, capable of carrying 600 passengers and 180 autos.
  As of 2018, there are 18 ferry routes in Michigan, 13 of which have ferries which can carry vehicles.
context_section_description: Arnold Transit Company (purchased by Star Line in 2016)
  Current boats
  Algomah (1961)
  Beaver, (1952), freight
  Chippewa (1962)
  Corsair (1955), freight
  Huron (1955)
  Island Express (1988), catamaran
  Mackinac Express (1987), catamaran
  Mackinac Islander (1947), formerly Drummond Islander, freight
  Ottawa (1959)
  Straits Express (1995), catamaran
  Straits of Mackinac II (1969)
  Former boats
  Emerald Isle Built 1955 for Beaver Island Boat Company. Owned by Arnold Line from 1962 to 1982. Now in Detroit as the Diamond Jack.
  Algomah (built 1881), in use until the 1930s
  Chippewa, 1883 to 1943 ran a Cheboygan–Mackinac Island–Sault Ste. Marie route
  Detroit, later called Iroquois (built 1922)
  Mackinac (1909)
  Mackinac Islander (1922), in use 1938–69, originally The Oliver H. Perry, later freighter and sank as Alaska crab fishing boat Belair in 1974
  Mackinac Islander (1958), sold in the 1980s, now Diamond Belle of Diamond Jack's River Cruises on the Detroit River
  Mohawk (1956), since 1995 Diamond Queen of Diamond Jack's River Cruises
  Shepler's Ferry
  Capt. Shepler (1986)
  Felicity (1972)
  The Hope (1976)
  Miss Margy (2015)
  Sacre Bleu (1959), formerly Put-in-Bay, freight
  The Welcome (1969)
  Wyandot (1979)
  Star Line Ferry, (originally Argosy Boat Line (1962 -1977))
  Current boats
  La Salle (1983)
  Radisson (1988)
  Cadillac (1990)
  Joliet (1993)
  Marquette II (2005)
  Anna May (2012)
  Retired boats
  La Salle
  Nicolet
  Treasure Islander
  Flamingo
  Marquette (1979)
caption: An Arnold Line catamaran ferry at Mackinac Island
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