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The Ironton Ferry, a small cable ferry, crossing the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix on a summer day.

Day trip · US-31, M-66, C-56

Charlevoix around Lake Charlevoix to East Jordan and Boyne City

A loop from Charlevoix down the South Arm on M-66 to East Jordan, across on the Ironton Ferry to Boyne City, and back along the north shore.

Photo: Notorious4life, Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)

Lake Charlevoix has two parts: a main basin running east from Charlevoix to Boyne City, and the long, narrow South Arm reaching down to East Jordan. This loop takes in both. From Charlevoix, follow US-31 south to M-66, which runs along the lakeshore and then the west side of the South Arm through Ironton to East Jordan at the arm’s southern end.

From East Jordan, head back north on M-66 to Ironton and board the Ironton Ferry, a county-run cable ferry that has crossed the narrows of the South Arm since the 1800s and is a Michigan State Historic Site. On the far side, Ferry Road leads to Boyne City at the east end of the lake, where the Boyne River comes in.

The Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau’s Circle Lake Charlevoix route returns from Boyne City along Lake Street (C-56) to US-31, which carries you back to Charlevoix. Because the ferry runs only in the warmer months, plan this loop for late spring through fall.

The route

  1. Charlevoix
  2. East Jordan
  3. Ironton
  4. Boyne City
  5. Charlevoix

Map of Charlevoix around Lake Charlevoix to East Jordan and Boyne City

5 places on an OpenStreetMap map

Map of Charlevoix around Lake Charlevoix to East Jordan and Boyne City. The same places are listed on this page.

Before you go

  • The Ironton Ferry is a small cable ferry across the South Arm, run by Charlevoix County and operating only in season, roughly spring through late fall. Visit Charlevoix lists the season as May 1 through the day before Thanksgiving. Check before you go.
  • The ferry fee is small and paid in cash. The Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau notes that you may have to wait for the ferry and for the bridge in Charlevoix.
  • When the ferry is not running, you can drive around the end of the South Arm instead of crossing at Ironton.

Towns along the way

A red pier light at the end of a channel lined with a blue railing and large rocks, under a cloudy sky.

Charlevoix & Petoskey

Charlevoix

For boaters, beachgoers and first-timers: a harbor town where three lakes meet, with a summer drawbridge, a pier lighthouse and Earl Young's stone houses.

Wooden Young State Park entrance sign set in a fieldstone base in front of dense green forest

Charlevoix & Petoskey · Small town

Boyne City

For Lake Charlevoix days in any season: a small city with a state park beach, ridge trails above downtown and the National Morel Mushroom Festival each May.

Dense evergreen forest beneath low fog.

Charlevoix & Petoskey · Small town

East Jordan

For paddlers and anyone avoiding crowds: the Jordan, Michigan's first designated Natural River, floats into this small city at the south tip of Lake Charlevoix.

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