Lake Charlevoix’s Ironton Ferry has been transporting people and cars between Ironton to Boyne City in Michigan since 1876, although of course, it was originally powered by horses and absent of cars. The cable-pulled ferry runs between spring and late fall only, and has a capacity of up to four cars at a time. Ironton, home of the Pine Lake Iron Company, was once located directly across from George Hemingway’s summer home. His nephew, Ernest Hemingway, would often spend time there, thus the south ferry landing is now known as Hemingway Point. The location is referenced in ‘The Nick Adams Stories’ by Hemingway, and in a collection of short stories by Alicia Hein Cook titled ‘My Summers on Hemingway Road.’
The drive to the ferry takes 28 min (6.3 miles via M-66 S):