Small Northern Michigan Village Pleads – Your GPS Is Wrong, Here’s How to Drive Through Town

Welcome to DeTour Village, population 263, a small town in Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula best known for being the embarkation point for the Drummond Island Ferry.

Thousands of drivers take the pathway along M-134. The official route of the highway is on Ontario Street northbound and a right turn onto Elizabeth Street which ends at the ferry dock.

There appears to be a slightly shorter and more direct route which would be to take Huron Street with curves closer to the lake and ends at Elizabeth Street at the ferry dock. However, the line for the ferry is along Elizabeth. So a northbound driver on Huron would not be in line for the ferry. Further, if traffic happens to back up on Huron, they can block driveways of village homes.

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A Facebook page for Drummond Island gave an alert for a first time visitor to the area.

Google Maps GPS, along with multiple other mapping apps, is INCORRECTLY routing motorists to turn right onto Huron Street off of M-134, then right onto Elizabeth Street to get in line for the ferry. DO NOT FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS! Doing so will not get you in line for the ferry! It will only cause backup and confusion....

We know the line is sometimes long, but blocking a driveway or roadway won’t get you on the boat any faster. It will, however, disrupt local traffic. Please start your vacation off right by doing the right thing — we all thank you in advance!

The GPS mapping is almost certainly AI generated looking for the shortest, most direct possible route and not done by a human with local connection. Locals do say the Michigan Department of Transportation has erected new signage to better direct drivers to the proper approach to the ferry dock.

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Here's what it looks like to ride on the ferry.