The Inland Waterway or Inland Water Route is a series of

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. With only a short portage, it forms a

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

route for small craft connecting

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

and Crooked Lake, across the

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

region. Despite

Little Traverse Bay Little Traverse Bay is a small bay, 170 feet (55 m) deep, off Lake Michigan in the northern area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The cities of Harbor Springs and Petoskey are located on this bay. Harbor Springs originated as ''L'arbre de C ...

being only 2 miles west of Crooked Lake, the waterway does not connect to it, making

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

inaccessible through this route. The route is in Emmet and Cheboygan counties and consists of Crooked Lake, Crooked River,

Burt Lake Burt Lake is a 17,120 acre (69 km2) lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The western shore of the lake is on the boundary with Emmet County. The lake is named after William Austin Burt, who, together with John Mullett, ma ...

, Indian River,

Mullett Lake Mullett Lake is a lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is named after John Mullett, who, together with William A. Burt, made a federal survey of the area from 1840 to 1843. A neighboring lake was named after Burt. Hist ...

, and the

Cheboygan River The Cheboygan River ( ) is a short but significant river in the Lake Huron drainage basin of the U.S. state of Michigan. in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Novemb ...

. The route passes through or near the communities of Conway,

Oden is a type of nabemono (Japanese one-pot dishes), consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth. Oden was originally what is now commonly ca ...

, Ponshewaing, Alanson, Indian River, Topinabee, and Cheboygan.

History

Early history

The Inland Waterway was originally used by Native Americans to avoid the strong waves around

Waugoshance Point Waugoshance Point (GNIS ID#) is a cape or peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan from the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan in Emmet County. It separates the Straits of Mackinac to its north from Sturgeon B ...

. Consequently, 50 Native American encampments have been discovered along the shores of the Inland Water Route. One such encampment, located in Ponshewaing, has artifacts dating back over 3,000 years.

Settlement in 1800s

The

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grappl ...

reached Petoskey in 1873. This opened up the surrounding area to tourism, settlers, and lumbermen. This eventually led to various people proposing different ideas for the water way. One such plan was the transportation of mail along the waterway. This involved the dredging of Crooked River. Freight was eventually transported along the route. With the advent of the railroad as a cheaper means with which to move goods, the Inland Waterway fell into decline.

The Inland Waterway today

Today the region surrounding the route is still a tourist destination. The historical society for the region was founded in 2004 and is known as The Inland Water Route Historical Society. It also is home to a museum in Alanson. There are four state campgrounds and several private ones along the route as well as hotels for accommodations. Several marinas are available for supplies and fuel. The waterway is maintained to a depth of . There are two locks (at Cheboygan and Alanson) and a swinging bridge along the route. The locks can handle boats in length and of beam. The lowest non-movable bridge on the route has a height of .Lock schedule
/ref> The locks are in operation from mid-April to late October. The shortest crossings of Burt Lake and Mullett Lake cover and , respectively, and each take a boat as much as a mile offshore.

Images

File:Indian River from North Central State Trail Cheboygan County Michigan.jpg, Indian River File:Cheboygan River in Cheboygan.jpg, Cheboygan River File:Swing Bridge-Alanson.jpg, Alanson swing bridge File:Burt Lake 1.jpg, Burt Lake

References

*Inland Water Route Historical Society
Inland Waterway
Michigan Historical Marker in

Burt Lake State Park Burt Lake State Park is a public recreation area covering on the south shore of Burt Lake at Indian River in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within ...

External links

Inland Waterway
Michigan Interactive Fishweb

Indian River Tourist Bureau
Northern Michigan's Inland Waterway
Indian River Chamber of Commerce {{Northern Michigan Bodies of water of Michigan Water trails

Inland Water Route The Inland Waterway or Inland Water Route is a series of rivers and lakes in the U.S. state of Michigan. With only a short portage, it forms a navigable route for small craft connecting Lake Huron and Crooked Lake, across the Northern Michigan ...

Michigan State Historic Sites