Seven themed rooms offer a vintage charm and feel next to the shores of Lake Huron in Port Sanilac, where the vibe is always “lake time.” Historic treasures, shipwreck tales, and lake time await.
Historic charm meets comfort and warm hospitality at Raymond House Inn B&B in the Lake Huron village of Port Sanilac.
With seven rooms, including a family suite, Raymond House is less than two hours northeast of Detroit’s city center and 43 minutes north of Port Huron.
As harbor towns go, ours is a quieter and more laid-back cousin to Lexington, 11 miles to our south. This is one reason so many people love Port Sanilac.
Which room suits you best?
If you prefer a first-floor room, choose the Princess Room, with a queen bed and an en-suite bath with shower. The room has a small fridge.
We have four rooms on the second floor:
The Family Suite occupies the entire third floor, with a king-size bed and sofa in one room. On the other side of a hallway — which includes a fainting couch and reading nook plus access to the shared private bath with shower — is the Kid’s Room. It has a queen-size bed plus bunk beds plus a crib and rocking chair.
The inn includes multiple common areas, making for the perfect gathering spot for families or friends coming for a special celebration. Relax in the first-floor parlor with its fireplace, picture windows, and comfortable furniture. Period touches include an antique View-Master, glass goggles, and photos on the wall of Uri Raymond and Nancy Ann, the home’s first occupants. The adjacent space is called the Meeting Room and can be used for games and crafts and can accommodate up to 12 adults for a retreat or other meeting.
Breakfast is served in the dining room between 9 and 11 a.m. One day, breakfast might be blueberry pancakes, another day steak and eggs, with cornbread muffins and country-fried potatoes. In warmer months, some guests dine on the deck. #yumyu
Port Sanilac is on the Southeast Michigan Thumb, on the coast of Lake Huron. It is just 90 minutes north of Detroit, but it seems like an entirely different world. History is everywhere in Port Sanilac – in the oldest continually operating hardware store in Michigan, in the Port Sanilac Light (established in 1886, and a private residence today), and in the numerous historic homes. Visit a Port Sanilac bed and breakfast and visit another time.
The Sanilac County Historic Village and Museum are on the 10-acre, 1853 estate of Dr. Joseph Loop. Imagine what it would be like to learn in the old (150 + years) one-room schoolhouse in the village. Imagine what it would be like to live in the Banner Pioneer Log Cabin, or to stay in a 1937 hunting cabin for a weekend.
A trip to Port Huron, about 40 minutes south, will allow you, in season, to climb the 82-foot-high restored Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, established as the first lighthouse in Michigan and the second on the Great Lakes. While you’re there, tour the nearby Huron Lightship, which served as a floating lighthouse for five decades.
Two other lighthouses are within a 45-minute drive north, Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse at Port Hope and Harbor Beach Lighthouse, accessible via periodic boat tours in summer.
Expect fees to climb or tour lighthouses and pay them cheerfully. You’re helping to preserve these historic beacons.
Kayak the Tip of the Thumb Heritage Water Trail between Port Sanilac and Port Austin. The trail consists of rest areas and campsites marked with signage visible from Lake Huron. Larger boats stay in deeper waters along this stretch of shoreline because of rocks and shallow areas, so kayaking near shore can be peaceful. However, wind and wave conditions on Lake Huron are changeable, so it’s recommended that you launch in a sea kayak that you have experience using.
Port Sanilac Marina, which overlooks the harbor, is a dealer for some slick-looking Hobie Kayaks (plus sailboats and paddle boards).
If you want to kayak in and near the harbor on a fair day, Port Austin Kayaks has a rental outpost at the harbor.
Take a day trip or a sunset cruise aboard Miss Port Sanilac, a 45-foot trawler. Charter a fishing trip to troll for trout and salmon or to cast a line for perch. Learn to sail. The folks at Port Sanilac Marina are the ones to ask about current opportunities like these.
You can scuba dive shipwrecks out of Port Sanilac. The 163-square-mile Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve was established to protect a number of historical shipwrecks, including the Regina, a 250-foot freighter that went down in a storm in 1913. In the many decades before technology made Great Lakes navigation safer, this area experienced many disastrous wrecks, which fascinate divers today.
Other adventures in our area include:
Rates/policies are subject to change and vary during high-impact periods and special requests. A 30-day cancellation notice is required on whole house bookings and for some holidays and special events.
Rooms canceled at least 14 days before your reservation date will incur a $100 cancellation fee with the return of your initial deposit. Rooms canceled less than 14 days before your reservation date will result in a loss of your initial deposit.
Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association
6757 Cascade Road SE, Ste 241
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
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