Straits State Harbor — Attraction in Michigan

Our stay here has been the worst experience since we started our Loop back in January. We actually had reservations with the Municipal Marina but stopped here for fuel. The girl at the fuel dock gave us a great price for a slip there which resulted in us canceling the other reservation (which we're not in the habit of doing BTW). After that cancelation the girl states she gave us the 'primitive' rate which doesn't include water or power and the actual rate is double (and now $6 more than the Municipal Marina). Really?? The $6 is really no big deal but the inept girl doesn't even apologize. Now just an awkward silence while we decide what to do. Rather than eat crow and call the nice lady at the Municipal back we decide to just go ahead and stay there. Then the girl harasses us about our stated boat length. We tell her the length that's been on the COD for 35 years and explain that we've never actually put a tape measure to it but that she fits in our 45' slip at home. If she'd been nice and said she needed to measure to be sure that wouldn't have been a problem for us. Instead, she couldn't have been more rude and so we didn't offer - especially since she made such a grievous 'pricing error' in the first place. We should have left right then and there but we're too nice I guess. We settled in and focused on leaving there as soon as the weather got better. The next day comes along and we get an unannounced visit from a state guy who doesn't even introduce himself. He just throws out a tape measure and measures the boat. Claims it's a little longer than we stated, talks to my husband like he's a criminal or something and says he's going to change our length in the system. No big deal. If it's longer it's longer. Fine, now we know (we will verify this ourselves). But is this a way to treat your customers? None of the other marinas in over 3000 miles of travel have had an issue. And, after checking the DNR site for that marina later on, I saw nothing mentioning primitive rates. This marina was practically empty. Wonder why? BTW, we did walk over to the Municipal Marina which had plenty of boats in their slips and people we talked to were happy there. Plus they're closer to town. So do yourself a favor and pass Straits State Marina on by. I wish we did! Lesson learned...

Such a beautiful marina. The staff is friendly and were very helpful, often going out of their way to ensure we had a wonderful visit. The bathrooms were always clean, as was the laundry room. When we said we weren't from the area the staff recommended several different places we could visit as well as restaurants that were frequented by tourists and locals alike. We even received a small map of the area that outlined all of the eateries in the area. The people at the front desk even highlighted points of interest on said map so we would be able to find them easily. That being said downtown was just a short walk from the marina, maybe 10 minutes at the most.

Needless to say it was a very positive experience overall. I can't believe this place isn't busy all the time. We definitely will be coming back here...

I've been vacationing here for literally my entire life. I have earned some accreditation when it comes to this review. This is a beautiful walk at night especially when the lights of the Mackinac Straights combined with the Bridge and the night sky light up your path. Get yourself some Mooney's ice cream and enjoy your walk on this pier. It is gorgeous and peaceful in a more...