Harsens Island - The St. Clair
River
This
is a super cool place to dive that may not be for everyone. If you are an
accomplished
river diver this is a "must do" dive. Diving in the fast current and sometimes
limited visibility may not sound enticing if you are into clear water with lots
of wrecks and stuff to see. BUT... if you are into history, some of the
coolest stuff to find is right off this area. Imagine searching through a
muddy submerged antique store for that elusive great prize and you have a chance
to find it. There are hundreds of bottles, an occasional coin or
antique luggage tag and some very cool diving.
The boat traffic in this area make it a little tricky
(next to impossible) to
dive during the summer time but the winter is awesome. The water rarely
freezes because of the strong current. Grab a drysuit, a couple of
tanks and you can make this area your next favorite dive site. The
trip out to the river will take you to the San Souci Bar and Restaurant. Inside
there is a display of some of the old bottles found in front of the Bar in the
river. Down the river a little ways was a dock for the Tashmoo and other
Passenger steamers from the early 1900's. Ask for the manager of the
San Souci and she can tell you a little more about the area. Make
sure you eat while you are there, the food is fantastic.
To get to the area of the river that people regularly dive
from Divers Incorporated:
- Start out going EAST on WASHTENAW AVE towards US-23.
(0.2 miles)
- Merge onto US-23 S toward TOLEDO / DETROIT. (1.5 miles)
- Merge onto I-94 E via EXIT 35. (69.2 miles)
- Take the 26 MILE RD exit- EXIT 248- toward MARINE CITY.
(0.3 miles)
- Turn RIGHT onto 26 MILE RD. (1.0 miles)
- 26 MILE RD becomes MARINE CITY HWY. (5.0 miles)
- Turn RIGHT onto PALMS RD. (3.4 miles)
- Turn LEFT onto MI-29 / DIXIE HWY. Continue to follow
MI-29. (6.1 miles)
- Turn RIGHT onto HARSEN'S ISLAND FERRY (Check ferry
schedule / fares). (0.3 miles)
- Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto MI-154. (2.5 miles)
- Stay STRAIGHT to go onto LA CROIX RD. (0.3 miles)
- Turn RIGHT onto S CHANNEL DR. (<0.1 miles)
Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes Total
Est. Distance: 90.54 miles
