Michigan Lake to Lake
Bed and Breakfast Association

Port Hope is a hospitable little beach town on Southeast Michigan's Thumb. The name comes from it's origins: William Stafford was traveling by schooner to the parcel of land he had purchased in the area. Due to strong winds and a pending storm, the schooner was forced to anchor quite a way out in Lake Huron. As Stafford rowed a skiff towards shore, he vowed he would name the spot Port Hope if he made it there alive. He did.

Nowadays, people still travel to Port Hope by boat, and boating is a popular activity on Lake Huron and in Saginaw Bay. Guests of Port Hope Michigan bed and breakfasts may rent boats from different liveries in the area - it's fun to hug the shore in a kayak or canoe. There are also a number of charter services that offer fishing expeditions or scenic cruises. The Charity Island Lighthouse and Dining Excursion is worth the drive around Saginaw Bay. Passengers board at East Tawas and disembark at Charity Island, where they are given a brief history of the light, a tour, and then dinner at the lightkeeper's home. Admire splendid views of Saginaw Bay while eating, and imagine what it would be like to live out there.

The Thumb of Michigan is much more navigable now than when Stafford first arrived in the mid 1800s. In fact, some of the best trails in Northeast Michigan are within an hour's drive of bed and breakfasts Port Hope: Eagle Run Trails, Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail, Lexington to Crosswell Bicycle Path. The list goes on and on. Spring through fall hike, bike or ride horses on these trails. In the winter, many of these trails are open to cross country skiing or snowmobiling, or both.

Scuba divers will want to explore the Thumb Underwater Bottomland Preserve, which covers about 276 square miles from the breakwater in Port Austin to five miles south of Harbor Beach. Explore ships sunk during the Great Storm of 1913. Visit the Museum at the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse in Huron City, just north of Port Hope Michigan bed and breakfasts.

This is just the tip of all there is to do and discover in Port Hope, here on the tip of Michigan's Thumb.