The Area
Cheboygan, Michigan is an historic deep water harbor and river city along the shore of Lake Huron and the Straits of Mackinac. The natural beauty of the area means residents and tourists pick Cheboygan County as their destination of choice. The CEDG is actively pursuing projects and initiatives which will help grow our community economically and improve our quality of life at the same time.
Location Assets
- Four major Michigan Lakes (Mullett, Burt, Black and Douglas ) are found in Cheboygan County, providing a full range of water sports for residents and visitors alike such as swimming, boating, sailing, water skiing, and fishing. Cheboygan County has more shoreline, including Lake Huron, than any county in Michigan.
- Cheboygan County is the crossroads of Northern Michigan’s trail system, providing miles of improved, groomed and maintained trails through scenic Northern Michigan for walking, hiking, bicycling, and snow-mobiling.
- Northern Michigan's four seasons encourage outdoor activities including fishing and hunting opportunities for small game, deer, wild turkey, elk and bear.
- Cheboygan is located at the ‘Tip-o-the-Mitt’ on the Lake Huron side of the Mackinac Bridge, and although quietly positioned away from heavy traffic noise and pollution, it is easy to find just 8 miles east of Interstate 75 ( north to Sault St. Marie and our Canadian border and south to lower Michigan’s metropolitan areas), The city of Cheboygan is just 12 miles east of Pellston International Airport which is served by major Airlines.
- Cheboygan’s deep water harbor is the entrance to Michigan's Inland Waterway, a true wonder as it winds it's way from the city to Mullett Lake, then Burt Lake and on to Crooked Lake near Petoskey and Harbor Springs. It's the only such waterway in the northern Great Lakes. For that reason Cheboygan is one of the boating and recreation capitals of the north.
- Cheboygan has a vital and active arts community. The historic Opera House, originally constructed in 1877 and ravaged by fire in 1888 and 1903, played an important role in the colorful lumbering era of Northern Michigan. It's not only one of the premier performance venues in the area but the Opera House is managed by the Cheboygan Area Arts Council with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. This grand Victorian structure serves as headquarters of the mission of the Arts Council which is "to promote and encourage cultural and educational activities within the Straits Area of Northern Michigan and to provide services that stimulate and encourage participation and appreciation of the arts."
- Cheboygan area schools are widely known for their excellence in providing a quality education to the students of the area. Student test scores routinely exceed state averages. At the high school level, programs from computer technology to culinary arts to welding technology and many others give Cheboygan students their greatest chance to succeed. North Central Michigan College is currently expanding their programs and partnering with the entire community in moving Cheboygan forward.
- The Cheboygan area's workforce is reliable and well educated in both the trades and business skills in customer service through management. A population of over 250,000 live within a 50 minute drive of the city.
- Cheboygan's history is everywhere around you in the city and smaller towns of Cheboygan County. It includes the Native American period and the times following Cheboygan's remarkable rise in the lumbering business in the late 1800s. The Cheboygan Historical Center and other civic groups work to highlight and preserve the heritage and cultural connections between the past and the present.
- If needed, Cheboygan Community Memorial Hospital and Medical Center provide Emergency Care, Urgent Care, and Critical Care services 24 hours a day, and is linked with High Level Care cooperating medical centers by helicopter.
- Shipping from Cheboygan's deep water harbor makes tremendous economic sense as it's perfectly located in the very center of the Great Lakes. That's why the two largest marine construction companies in the Great Lakes are headquartered in Cheboygan.
- There are ample commercial property opportunities with tax incentives throughout the city, which is the county seat, and all of Cheboygan County.
- Revitalization of downtown Cheboygan is well underway with new businesses opening along Main Street as no longer economically viable buildings are removed. Still, the historic nature of the city remains intact.
- Forestry assets abound in Cheboygan County and throughout the region.
Location by Choice
Folks live in Cheboygan by choice not by necessity. Those who were born and raised here, new folks seeking opportunity, and those returning to Cheboygan to raise their children in a more safe and secure environment, all share the same feelings for Cheboygan. There's a quality of life here that's hard to find anywhere else.