Moosehead Lake Steamship Tours
PHOTO © todvz
The Maine Highlands of northwest Maine are home to Moosehead Lake. This glacial lake is the largest in Maine, covering almost 75,000 acres with 400 miles of shoreline. More than 80 islands dot the lake’s surface, the largest of which is Sugar Island. The Moosehead Chamber of Commerce boasts that the region is home to more moose than people!
Whether hiking, boating, or driving, the wilderness beauty of Moosehead Lake can be enjoyed year round. Mount Kineo’s 800-foot cliffs rise dramatically from the lake’s eastern shore. The steamship SS Katahdin provides lake tours from summer through fall, passing directly beneath the mountain, where peregrine falcons are frequently sighted. The mountain views are spectacular on clear days, with visibility all the way to Mount Katahdin, the highest point in Maine at 5,268 feet and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
Maine Backroads Autumn Drive
PHOTO © pfly
The town of Greenville, at Moosehead Lake’s southern end, is a convenient location to begin a fall foliage drive around Moosehead Lake and through Maine’s backcountry. Route 6/15 winds its way along the lake’s western shore, past the ski area at Big Moose Mountain (previously Big Squaw Mountain), to the village of Rockwood where the imposing sheer cliff of Mount Kineo dominates the view. This road heads west at Rockwood toward the town of Jackman, a 30-mile drive through Maine wilderness with scenic overlooks of lakes and ponds.
The road along Moosehead Lake’s eastern shore leads to Lily Bay State Park, where leaf-peeping and wildlife viewing are popular in the fall. This four-season park offers swimming, boating, camping, hiking and fishing during warm temperatures; when temperatures dip, the park welcomes hearty visitors for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. Continuing northeast beyond Lily Bay State Park leads to Mount Katahdin, the centerpiece of Baxter State Park.
Healing Rings of Spotted Lake
PHOTO © keepitsurreal
If Dr. Seuss created a lake, what would it look like? Probably like Spotted Lake in British Columbia, located just a few miles from the Washington state border. Due to high summer temperatures in this semi-arid region, much of Spotted Lake dries up every summer, leaving behind hundreds of colorful, crystallized rings of pale yellow, green or blue.
The First Nation People considered Spotted Lake sacred and magical, believing that different rings cured different ills. The natives bathed in the water and applied mud from the different pools to heal wounds, sprains, skin diseases, and body aches. Spotted Lake has high concentrations of minerals, including Epsom salts, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other trace minerals. The color of each ring depends on the type and concentration of minerals.
Spotted Lake is on private land, so tourists cannot bathe in its curative waters. However, sightseers can get great views and pictures from Highway 3. There are also other, smaller spotted lakes in the region along Highway 3. The best time to observe this unique natural phenomenon is from June to mid-September when the lake’s rings show their best colors.
Early Morning on Osoyoos Lake
photo © JamesZ_Flickr
Hollywood’s spectacular re-creations of actual and fictional shipwrecks have included the box office hits Titanic in 1997 and The Poseidon Adventure in 1972. Although shipwrecks conjure up images of ships sinking in open seas or running aground on dangerous ocean shoals, lakes have claimed their share of shipwrecks. According to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Great Lakes alone have claimed more than 12,000 boats and ships! Here’s a sampling of some freshwater shipwrecks in famous and not-so-famous lakes.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck
photo © National Marine Sanctuaries
Lake Huron
A glacial lake of epic proportions, Lake Huron covers more than 14,700,000 acres, bordering Michigan and Ontario, Canada. When planning your visit to this Great Lake, put the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary on your itinerary. Operated by NOAA, the Sanctuary is located in Thunder Bay near Alpena, Michigan. The Sanctuary protects over 200 shipwrecks in Lake Huron; its collection highlights the diversity of ships that navigated the Great Lakes in the 19th and 20th centuries. Come explore the lore of Great Lakes maritime history. Viewing shipwrecks is not limited to scuba divers; shallower wrecks can be viewed by snorkelers, kayakers, and boaters.
Whitefish Point Light Station
photo © J.harwood
Lake Superior
Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior reigns as the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. This Great Lake spans more than 20,000,000 acres, bordering Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offers two opportunities to explore the underwater world of shipwrecks. The Great Lakes Shipwrecks Historical Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station, a National Historic Site and the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. The Alger Underwater Preserve, located near Munising, is popular with scuba divers at all skill levels. Complete shipwrecks, underwater caves, and underwater interpretive trails await exploration. Munising is centrally located to Grand Island, a National Recreation Area, and to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Ice Break-Up at Portage Lake Canal, Michigan
photo © emperley3
Portage Lake, Michigan
Connected to Lake Michigan by a channel, 2,110-acre Portage Lake served as a port to Lake Michigan during the age of steamships. Resorts and lavish homes were built along the shore during the steamship era. The resorts did a flourishing business during Prohibition when high-grade alcohol was smuggled in from Canada on schooners. Today, shipwrecks lay at the bottom of Portage Lake, including the Music, a pleasure steamer that offered moonlight concert tours. The Music caught fire and was set adrift; a report from that era reminisced that the steamer made a glorious sight, floating off into the darkness engulfed in flames. Today, Portage Lake is a popular recreation lake with sailboats, fishing boats, and other pleasure craft plying the waters. Ice fishing, ice boating, and other winter sports take center stage when the weather turns cold.
Autumn at Lake George, New York
photo © Bree Bailey
Lake George, New York
Sitting pretty at the base of New York’s majestic Adirondack Mountains, Lake George’s nickname is “Queen of American Lakes.” This 28,000-acre glacial lake is dotted with islands and notable rock formations. Beautiful mountains and scenic vistas surround the shoreline. In 1791 Thomas Jefferson wrote that “Lake George is without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw.” Today, Lake George is a recreational playground for visitors from all over the world. Scuba diving is superb due to the clarity of the water. Two DVD documentaries have explored shipwrecks from the French and Indian War, known as “The Sunken Fleet of 1758.” With winter approaching and no fort to protect the fleet, British forces deliberately sank 260 of their warships, intending to raise them the following year after the ice melted. However, many of the sunken vessels were not retrieved, and have become the subjects in the study of underwater archeology.
To read about all 9 shipwrecks, visit our Lakelubbers Newsletter Archive. And don’t forget to sign up for future newsletters, delivered straight to your email inbox!
Tall Ship
photo © Tecfan
The world’s Tall Ships (tall-masted sailing ships) have played an important role in America’s celebrations: the World’s Fair Parade of Ships (1964), America’s Bicentennial (1976), Salute to the Statue of Liberty (1986), Columbus Quincentennial (1992), and the Summer Millennium Celebration (2000).
The Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge® 2010 is a partnership between the American Sail Training Association and Great Lakes United, bringing a fleet of international tall ships to all five Great Lakes during the 2010 summer. The ships will race from port to port from late June to the end of August, bringing a message of conservation and protection of the Great Lakes. The ships will visit Toronto, Cleveland, Bay City, Duluth, Green Bay, and Chicago.
Split Rock Lighthouse Overlooking Lake Superior
photo © nty713
The Challenge is an environmentally friendly race that trains young sailors in a sustainable mode of transportation: wind. Although the Great Lakes are the world’s largest source of fresh water, they are a fragile ecosystem and vulnerable to degradation.
Great Lakes United is a diverse coalition of organizations that have united over the past three decades to preserve the health of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. These organizations have worked together to clean up toxic pollution, stop invasive species, and promote responsible use of these vital waterways.
Floating Homes on Lake Union Shoreline
photo © Matthew Piatt
Lake Union was the setting for Tom Hanks’ floating home in the 1993 box office hit “Sleepless in Seattle.” This floating home is a popular stop on boat tours around Seattle’s Lake Union. In fact, Seattle has one of the highest concentrations of floating homes in the world. The map at Seattle’s famous Space Needle shows the location of Lake Union’s movie floating home.
Surrounded by four vibrant urban neighborhoods, Lake Union sits in the heart of Seattle. The lake was formed about 15,000 years ago when glaciers retreated from the Pacific Northwest, leaving scenic lakes and hillsides that would become Seattle’s landscape. True to its name, Lake Union unites freshwater Lake Washington to the east with saltwater Puget Sound to the west via the Lake Washington Ship Canal, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1911 and 1934. Pleasure boats share the canal and locks with industrial ships headed to international ports. Lake Union was home to the first Boeing Company assembly plant and the Kenworth Motor Truck Company. Today, the mix of industry, medical center, museums, parks, and residential neighborhoods make Lake Union an exciting place to live and work.
Seattle Skyline from Lake Union
photo © skycaptaintwo
Tourists and locals alike enjoy watching the parade of boats that pass through the Ship Canal and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, often called the Ballard Locks, including sailboats, motorboats, tugs, barges, and yachts. A fish ladder was built to allow spawning salmon to pass between freshwater and saltwater. Visitors can watch the salmon through glass panels, adjusting to different levels of salt as they ascend the ladder.
When clouds break over Lake Union, the view of Mount Rainier’s snowy peaks remind spectators that water is only part of the beauty found in the Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier National Park is an easy day trip from Lake Union and offers four seasons of outdoor adventure. Just west of Lake Union is Olympic National Park, a designated World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. The amazing mix of climates includes mountain wilderness, dense temperate rainforest, subalpine meadows, and sandy Pacific beaches.
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