Pelee Island is served by ferries from Leamington or Kingsville on the Canadian side and Sandusky in Ohio. They dock on the island’s west side. Dick’s Marina, mainly catering to local boaters, is located in South Bay.
Scudder Marina, on Pelee Island’s north shore, is not only the preferred cruising destination but also the easiest to reach from Canada. Named after Dr. Scudder, who helped design and build the island’s first dike and drainage system, the marina is well protected from the elements – a good home-away- from-home for cruisers who want to explore Canada’s southernmost community.
Operated by the Townships of Pelee, the marina has only 64 slips. Still, boats up to about 60 feet can be accommodated on the ends of three main docks and the slips created by finger docks are fine for yachts up to about 35 feet.
About nine miles long and almost four miles wide with about 10,000 acres of land, Pelee is by far the largest of Lake Erie’s islands. Its relatively small population of Anchor and Wheel Inn Pelee Island about 300 full-time residents swells to roughly 1,500 in the summer, as Canadian and American cottagers take up residence. Hundreds more come for day visits.
Pelee was initially settled by Europeans, who leased and later purchased the island from local natives in the early 1800s. With land drained by ditches and a series of pumps, the island remains largely dedicated to agriculture. A wide variety of crops have been cultivated over the years, but the six families still farming on the island mainly grow soybeans and wheat.
Grapes were first grown on the island in the late 1800s and there were once as many as six wineries. Today, Pelee Island Winery combines agriculture and tourism. The winery takes grapes from its 580 acres of vineyards by ferry to a mainland facility for processing, but welcomes visitors to a spacious pavilion on the island, set amidst its vineyards.
The winery’s shuttle bus picks up cruisers at the Scudder Marina for one of several daily tours and wine tasting sessions. Visitors can also buy wine and enjoy it right at the pavilion with bread and cheese or with a do-it-yourself barbecued meal from the winery’s restaurant.
Because the island is quite flat, many cruisers opt to rent bicycles, which comfortably share the roads with local traffic. There’s a provincial campground on the island, plus hotels, inns and bed-and-breakfast operations. The downtown area near the ferry dock on the west side of the island has the largest grouping of stores, including an LCBO outlet, but there are also restaurants and a bakery within easy biking distance of the Scudder Marina.
Compared to its American counterparts further south, Pelee Island is quiet and relatively undeveloped.That’s good for the many rare and sometimes endangered species that call the island home.Many locals, though, are cheering on a proposed 1,300-acre development that will include up to 3,000 homes or condos, two golf courses, and a 600-slip marina.
A visit to South Bass Island and Kelleys Island south of the border gives a taste of what could soon be coming to Pelee Island.