This is really a fascinating place to stay because the campground is directly on the St. Mary's River, which is the only connection between Lake Superior and the rest of the Great Lakes, so all shipping traffic must pass through here. The river is narrow and the best campsites are right along the river with excellent views.
There is a hotline you can call to find out when ships are expected to pass through the Soo Locks, just upriver less than a mile from here. There is also a website that shows the location of all ships, ferries, and tugboats in the three upper lakes: Superior, Huron, and Michigan. If you find a ship and click on it, a window opens with some information, but if you click then directly on the name of the ship, it gives you more detailed info and photographs. http://ais.boatnerd.com/
The campground sites are open, but not too closely crowded together.
This is the boat launch in the next door day use area.
This strange thing is the Ironmaster, which is a barge that is pulled by a tug. It supposedly hauls coils of iron and spent most of last winter frozen in the ice on this river, but luckily out of the way of the shipping channel. It is VERY rusty and looks ready for the scrappers, frankly.
There is another tug waiting behind her, I assume for the purpose of getting her into and out of the locks safely.
This ship just coming around the river bend is the Herbert C Jackson. Most of these ships, by the way, are named after shipping company owners or executives.
Just a few hundred feet from the day use area is the ferry to Sugar Island. It is, for obvious reasons, named the Sugar Islander and operates late into the night. I know this because it blows its horn whenever it crosses the river.
This is a really big ship. It is actually a barge pushed by a tug: the ship is the Great Lakes Trader and the tug is the Joyce L. VanEnkevort.
More ships will be coming through the locks and downriver during the night. I will try to take some photos of the lights.
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