Why the Fishtown Ferry Sat Out 2026, and What Has to Finish Before It Sails Again

No regular passenger boat left the Fishtown dock for the Manitou Islands this year. Manitou Island Transit's website says Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore closed the docks on both North and South Manitou for the whole 2026 season, so the company ran no trips. The empty season comes from a rebuild meant to stop sand from closing the docks every few years. North Manitou is nearly finished. South Manitou is not, and South's village is what decides when the boat sails again.

Sand was shutting ferries out of North Manitou well before this year

The ferry counts show the access problem started years before 2026. In May 2026, the Leelanau News reported that the islands historically drew 10,000 to 11,000 visitors a summer. The same story said 2026 visitation might fall to the hundreds.

North Manitou had zero ferry passengers in both 2024 and 2025, according to those counts. The park's planning page says sand carried along the shore by the current, along with high lake levels and erosion, kept blocking access. It says North Manitou's dock was made unusable by sediment twice in three years, and that the extension on South Manitou's dock was also threatened by shoaling. According to MLive, the ferry operator won an earlier case against the park service in 2023 after sand that wasn't dredged in time kept it from docking at either island in 2020.

So the 2026 closure isn't the first break in island access. It's the first year South Manitou, the island that kept the ferry running through those years, went offline too.

What's being built out on the islands

In March 2025, the National Park Service announced its decision to remove the old docks and build new ones at historic locations, where less sediment should collect. The project was funded through the Great American Outdoors Act's Legacy Restoration Fund and announced at roughly $32 million. The old crib docks are solid structures that sand built up around. The new docks are flow-through and pile-supported, so water and sand can pass underneath.

The work goes beyond the docks. The project also restores historic buildings and replaces failing drinking water, wastewater, and electrical systems in the island villages. Superintendent Scott Tucker told the Leelanau News that the South Manitou village was closed for infrastructure work that included six-foot trenches. He said the park would keep two maintenance workers on each island and three rangers shared between them.

The budget has grown. MLive reported in September 2026 that an early park estimate put construction at $31.86 million, while an April 2026 Department of the Interior fact sheet lists current funding at $52.73 million, about 66 percent more. Tucker told MLive the scope had not changed.

"The cost increase reflects a more detailed design and updated construction estimates. The original estimate was $31.86 million for construction. Once design progressed, the project team was able to develop a more accurate cost."

The dates that decide next summer

The dock and the village run on separate timelines, and the ferry needs both. Here's how the schedule has moved, using the park's announcements and MLive's September report:

1. March 17, 2025. The park service announces its decision and plans to start construction that spring.
2. Fall 2025. The original target for finishing North Manitou's dock, which would have moved the work to South Manitou in 2026. That target slipped, and both islands stayed closed.
3. February 2026. The park extends the construction closures into 2027.
4. September 2026. Tucker puts North Manitou at about 90 percent complete and South Manitou at about 40 percent.
5. December 31, 2026. The completion date federal contracting records used to list. The park still expects the docks themselves to be finished by the end of 2026.
6. July 15, 2027. The new end date for the overall construction contract. Spence Brothers is the general contractor.

A finished dock by New Year's doesn't mean a ferry schedule in June. MLive reported that both island villages are expected to reopen sometime in 2027, and the park hasn't announced a date for regular ferry service to resume. With South Manitou at 40 percent and a contract running into mid-July, the 2027 summer season overlaps the construction window. That's why the reopening date for South's village and utilities matters more to next summer's Fishtown schedule than the dock date does.

The ferry company's side, settled

Manitou Island Transit traces its start to a federal mail contract awarded in 1917, MLive reported. The company sued in February 2025 over 2024 North Manitou access and sought roughly $700,000. In the settlement, the government agreed to pay $101,417 and did not admit liability. The case was dismissed July 9. The settlement waives future claims over North Manitou dock access under the company's current concession contract. Tucker said that contract runs through March 15, 2029. That leaves the family business that has always run the Leland ferry as the concessioner whenever the islands reopen, and its contract runs past the 2028 season.

Getting to the islands before then

For now, there are two ways onto the islands, and both take more planning than a $45 ferry ticket did. The park service says private boats can't dock. Boaters have to anchor offshore and go ashore in a smaller vessel. There are no mooring buoys or protected anchorages. Drinking water and most visitor facilities aren't available.

The other way is a charter that holds a park Commercial Use Authorization, and the sources disagree on who has one. MLive names Manitou Passage LLC as the only authorized charter company. The Leelanau News reported that Manitou Passage runs two licensed landing craft, the 12-passenger Bear and the 25-passenger Manitou, and that its charter prices depend on group size and run higher than the old ferry fare. MLive reported that Manitou Passage's current authorization was issued February 16 and expires December 31. The park won't have trip or passenger counts for the company until 2027. The park's own South Manitou page, last updated September 25, 2026, lists Manitou Fishing Charters as the current holder. Anyone booking should confirm the operator's authorization with the park first.

In August, the Glen Arbor Sun described a visitor who booked a round trip to North Manitou through Manitou Passage. The same story described a private-boat trip that cost too much for one visitor and felt less secure to another.

What a quiet dock meant on the Fishtown side

The islands start at the Fishtown dock, and the shops there depend on its foot traffic. Before the season, Nels Carlson of Carlson's Fishery told the Leelanau News he was worried about losing foot traffic and souvenir and ice cream sales. He said his bigger concern was visitors losing access to the islands. No published source has yet measured how much Fishtown traffic actually changed this summer.

The village's calendar is moving toward its off-season either way. Village Cheese Shanty lists October 23 as its last sandwich day and October 25 as its seasonal closing. Morning on Main opened in April in the former Early Bird space at 101 South Main Street. The Leelanau Ticker reported that owner Ryan Marek planned to stay open year-round or close to it, which would put a breakfast room back on Main Street after the Early Bird closed several years ago.

The Leland Chamber's calendar lists these events for the rest of 2026:

• Broomsticks and Bubbles, October 23, 4 to 7 p.m., costumed shopping with themed specials at participating shops
• Leland Fall Frenzy, October 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Light Up Leland, November 25, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Black Friday in Leland, November 27, followed by Small Business Saturday on November 28
• Cocoa Crawl, December 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Leland Sip and Shop, December 17, 4 to 8 p.m.

As of MLive's September 2026 report, the park had not set a reopening date for either island village or a start date for regular ferry service from Fishtown.

If you own near the harbor and want to know how a year without the ferry, and a 2027 reopening without a set date, might affect a sale or purchase around Fishtown, Jennifer Gaston can walk you through what the island schedule means for your property. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll start there.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.