We’re always up for trying something new, and the Portage Point Resort and Marina had gotten my attention when I was doing research for this year’s trip. Their website was flashy, but much of it seemed to be stuff that was “Coming Soon.”
With a forecast of south winds for several days, and with Kristin’s vacation time running out, we were trying to figure out how sailing home to Milwaukee (south of where we were) was going to work out. We had spent a full day and two nights at anchor at South Manitou Island while the wind was northwest… great for sailing south… but instead spent it hiking ashore.
The good news was the day’s forecast was for the south wind to be light, at under 8 knots. I think motoring into a headwind is annoying on a sailboat, but with winds that light it shouldn’t be unbearable. Portage Lake was far enough south that we could probably lay the Wisconsin ports of Manitowoc or Sheboygan the following day when the winds were stronger out of the south. So, we motored the 6 hours to Portage Lake.
I’ve always anchored on Portage Lake, usually because I’m in the middle of delivering my boat somewhere farther north to meet crew. Anchoring remained an option if getting a slip didn’t work out. With unusually cool nighttime temperatures in the upper 40s, though, we were hoping to plug into shore power at a marina to run the heat!
Fortunately, after calling on the phone about an hour before our arrival, they gave us a slip assignment. The current marina (a marina expansion is “Coming Soon”) is a tight fit, especially for us since we don’t have a bow thruster. They did have dock hands help us, though, which is always appreciated, though there were a few hiccups with radio communications and slip assignments.
The “hotel” part of the resort is a grand building over 100 years old, but other parts are new. The pool is actually a heated infinity pool, looking onto Portage Lake! The hot tub is nice, too, and there is a small beach with fire pits, lots of lounge chairs, shuffleboard, and a swim area. The marina/pool bathrooms are the nicest I’ve seen in any marina anywhere, with Kohler fixtures and framed photos on the walls.
The beach on the Lake Michigan side isn’t too far away, but it’s currently small this year due to the high water levels.
The only food they had when we were there was pizza, though it was pretty good. I think I noticed some locals stopping by in their speedboat just to get pizza to go, so in the future if the marina is full we could probably dinghy in for food. The bar seemed busy with live music, but it wasn’t our style that night.
Overall, it’s a cute place that we look forward to returning to!