Riding the Ironton Ferry has been on my Michigan Summer Bucket List for a few years. This small historic ferry boat will carry you and your vehicle across a narrow arm of Lake Charlevoix for just a few dollars. What a memorable (and affordable) experience!
Just the idea of it intrigued me. Instead of driving around this long narrow arm of Lake Charlevoix, you can take a shortcut right across the water via a very small ferry vessel in Ironton.
When I saw that Ironton would be right on our way during our last Northern Michigan vacation, I added a ferry ride to our itinerary. It was a brief, memorable and affordable experience.
The Ferry Ride
The Ironton Ferry is located at 9800 Ferry Rd, East Jordan, Michigan. It runs seasonally from mid-April through mid-November. Ferry hours of operation are 6:30am to 10:30pm daily.
For our ferry ride across the Ironton narrows of Lake Charlevoix, we pulled up to the boarding area at the very end of Ferry Road on the east side of the water. We waited there in a very short line of cars. Our wait was less than 10 minutes on a Tuesday during the mid-day.
While you wait, be sure to check out the sign indicating rates. At the bottom of the sign, it includes a list of fares from 1884. So neat!
When it was our turn to be ferried across the water, an employee directed us onto the small vessel. The 50’ by 30’ ferry can hold up to four cars. We were parked right up front.
Another employee came around to collect money for our passage. At the time of our crossing, it cost only $3 for our minivan and its seven passengers.
While on the ferry, you should turn off your engine and your headlights. This is all explained on the sign as you pull up to the boarding area.
Soon, the ferry started to move. Watching it work is quite intriguing. While the Ironton Ferry is powered by a diesel engine, it is guided by large cables. The large cables in front of the voyage are pulled taut to guide the ferry’s way. In back of us, the cables were slack and dropped far under the water allowing other water vessels to pass through the Ironton narrows behind us.
The ride itself lasts only about three minutes. Be sure to take a moment to appreciate the scenery during your brief ride. The view was pretty, and I suspect that it would be especially lovely in the fall if you are doing a Fall Color Tour through Northern Michigan.
During our ride, I noticed a dining establishment with a large outdoor patio near the landing area on the West side of the Ironton Narrows. This restaurant is appropriately named The Landing Restaurant and may be a fun place to stop for lunch – enjoy the water views, watch the ferry and other boats go by in the water. We haven’t dined there ourselves but I have heard good things about their lobster rolls and sweet potato fries. (Click here to check out their menu.) We may give it a try next time.
Ironton Ferry History and Fun Facts
This historic ferry has been in operation since 1883. Click here to view photos of the original historic ferry.
Back then, the cost (or “rates for ferriage”) was $.30 for a double team and $.20 for a single. The cost to ferry a beast across was $.10 each. Although, sheep had their own pricing structure. The fare for a footman traveling without any animals was $.05, and it cost a full dollar to take your threashing machine across on the ferry.
The current ferry vessel is named “Charlevoix” and has been in operation since the mid-1920s. Although, it has had a number of improvements made within recent years. It operates with a diesel engine, propellers and guiding cables. It’s 50 feet long by 30 feet wide and weighs 43 tons.
The Ironton Ferry transports people and their vehicles about 600 feet across a portion of Lake Charlevoix referred to as the Ironton narrows. To drive around the lake, the trip would be about 20 miles by road.
In 1936, the Ironton Ferry was once mentioned in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Due to his many trips back and forth aboard the Ironton Ferry, long time ferry employee Sam Alexander had traveled 15,000 miles without ever venturing more than 1,000 feet from his own home.
The Ironton Ferry is listed in Michigan’s Directory of Historic Places.
Click here to view and print a PDF version of the Ironton Ferry brochure.
For more fun facts about the Ironton Ferry, check out this fun article from the Petoskey News.
For other fun adventures in the area, see these previous posts:
- Free stuff to do in Petoskey, Michigan
- Self-guided tours of the Charlevoix Mushroom Houses
- Petoskey Stones: Where to find them and how to polish them
- Family-friendly activities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
- Ten Unique Family Adventures in Michigan
Would you ride the Ironton Ferry?
This city girl (me) enjoyed the Ironton Ferry experience. While our ride was not super exciting, it was a unique experience and well worth the small price. It you are headed to Northern Michigan, I would recommend a ride on the Ironton Ferry at least once.
What do you think? Would you ride the ferry?
This is so cool! I like that it has the prices from the 1880s. That restaurant looks really nice, too. I’d love to try it!
Aren’t the old-timey prices interesting?!?! We are definitely checking out The Landing restaurant next time we are in the area.
I’d ride the ferry! Interesting history… loved seeing the historic rates & terms.
I wonder if they would have charged the “beast” rates for children back then. Hahaha.
Cool experience!
Agreed! Everyone should add a ride on the Ironton Ferry to their Michigan Summer Bucket List. It was definitely a cool experience!
What a fun little ferry! So different from the big ones we’re used to in Washington where the “small” ones hold 50 cars (and the big ones 200).
It was a really neat experience. Being the Great Lakes State, Michigan has several ferries that will take you and your vehicle across the big lakes… but the prices have always scared us off from riding those. This small 4-vehicle open air ferry (for only $3) was a fun little experience for us. I would like to ride a big ferry someday though.