Charlevoix Municipal Marina

Charlevoix Municipal Marina occupies the Round Lake inner harbor — a glacial-cut basin protected from Lake Michigan's open-water chop by the natural mouth of the Pine River and gated to the open lake by a USCG-maintained drawbridge on US-31 that opens on demand for sailboats with fixed mast clearance above 25 ft. The marina holds 64 slips arranged on three concrete floating piers, 2 public boat-ramp lanes at the basin's south end, and an 18-ft channel depth that accommodates the high-end Great Lakes liveaboard cruiser traffic transiting between Lake Michigan's open water and the inland Lake Charlevoix system that runs 17 miles southeast to Boyne City. Vessel-length cap is 75 ft on the outer transient pier, one of the larger LOA caps among Michigan's municipal harbors. The drawbridge is the central operating constraint: it runs on a fixed 30-minute schedule from May 1 through October 30 (every hour at :00 and :30) and shifts to on-demand off-season at the bridge tender's discretion, with priority given to commercial passenger and USCG cutter traffic. Vessels with fixed-mast clearance above 25 ft must time arrivals against the published opening schedule on the Charlevoix city marina dashboard, and the marina's harbormaster will hold a vessel at the outer breakwater until the bridge cycles. Channel depth in Round Lake is held at 18 ft minimum by USACE Detroit District periodic-maintenance dredging under the Great Lakes Navigation System; the Pine River channel between Round Lake and Lake Michigan is maintained at 21 ft. Fuel runs gasoline and ethanol-free premium year-round through the open season; diesel is available off the south-pier service dock under a Star Line refueling-truck arrangement. The pumpout is free with any slip rental. Ice-out timing follows the NOAA GLERL Great Lakes ice-coverage dashboard; the marina typically opens May 1 (weather-dependent) and closes the second weekend of October ahead of November freeze. The marina's own lot enforces a 4-hour day-use limit and prohibits overnight RV parking under the Charlevoix City Code. Fisherman's Island State Park 4 miles south on US-31 (Michigan DNR, 80 sites, no electric, 35-ft rig cap, vault toilets only) is the closest state-managed RV basecamp; for full-hookup needs the next option is Whiting County Park 7 miles east of town on US-31 (50-amp, 50-ft cap, 70 sites, reserves through the Charlevoix County parks system 6 months out).