Four Islands of Your Own on the St. Marys River
$2,300,000
Drummond Island sits at the far edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, reached by a one-mile ferry ride from De Tour Village that's been running long before anyone thought to put a 'no trespassing' sign out here. This is Great Lakes freighter country — big ships passing close enough to wave at, and a quiet most people only get on vacation.
This one's hard to wrap your head around: this listing is four islands, not one — Burnt, Wilson, Claw, and Harris, 520 acres total, with about 100 acres and the shoreline actually yours to use (the rest sits under a conservation easement, which really just means someone else is guaranteeing it stays wild). The house itself is on the southern point of Burnt Island, remodeled in 2017 and 2018, with 270 degrees of water views — you'd fall asleep to loons and wake up to foxes playing on the dock. It comes with two docks, both rebuilt in the last few years, private trails through the woods, and a boat slip in De Tour Village so getting out here isn't a project every time.
At $2,300,000, you're not just paying for land — the truck, the Kubota tractor, the brush hog, the mower, and two boats are all included, which makes this about as close to move-in-ready as an island retreat gets. It's remote, and that's the whole point; if you need a pharmacy nearby, this isn't your place. If you want four islands mostly to yourself, it's hard to find anything like it. Listing courtesy of Sam Decamp, Gaslight Group Properties.
Life at the Water
Water Access & Depth
You get 270 degrees of water views from the house and two private docks already in place — one of the few properties where 'waterfront' actually means water on almost every side.
Recreation & Boating
The St. Marys River and Potagannissing Bay here are known for walleye, bass, perch, and cisco, and paddling the coves around the other three islands turns into its own kind of exploring — untouched, quiet, and mostly just you and the wildlife. Worth setting aside a whole week for, honestly.
Dock & Waterfront Features
Two docks and break walls were rebuilt in 2022 and 2023, so the hard, expensive part of island living is already done — just show up and tie off.
Flood & Insurance Considerations
Great Lakes shoreline like this doesn't carry the flood risk of a coast, but it's still worth checking the parcel's FEMA flood zone status, especially with a conservation easement covering most of the acreage — confirm what that means for any future building plans before you commit.
Beyond the Property Line
Local Flavor & Small-Town Character
Drummond Island has a genuinely strange history, and most of it nobody expects — it was the last British outpost on American soil, held for years after the War of 1812 before the U.S. finally took over in 1828, and its first American settlers arrived in 1850 by way of King Strang's Mormon kingdom on nearby Beaver Island. These days it's better known for its massive dolomite quarry, running since 1853 and reportedly the largest of its kind in the world — some of the very first locks at the Soo were built from stone cut right here.
Outdoor Recreation & Natural Surroundings
De Tour Village, where the ferry launches from, has its own small-town charm — the 1931 DeTour Reef Light offers guided tours, and the little history museum and bakery downtown are worth a whole afternoon for when you want to be around people again.
Listed on Zillow
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