Marine Services
Houghton County has over 30 square miles of water, with the most prominent being the Portage Canal Waterway. This waterway separates the cities of Houghton and Hancock, cutting apart the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The Waterway runs from the north west corner break walls of Stanton Township Park and McLain State Park, running SE Portage Lake to the Portage Entry southern break wall at Jacobsville. Both of these break walls open into the largest, cleanest freshwater lake in the world Lake Superior
Houghton County has 1 full-time deputy who is on the Marine Patrol team. The goal of this program is to maintain boater safety and assist with water related incidents. Boat and safety inspections and upholding laws on the waterways are a few of the services we offer from May to October of every year. During the summer months we also support our inter-lakes with a jet-ski for rapid deployment.
Off-Road Vehicle Patrol
It also sees a lot of use during Search & Rescue missions within the county as it can easily traverse terrain faster then a ground crew and help with extraction of an individual in need.
We operate a Yamaha Wolverine side-by-side to cover Houghton Counties many off-road trails. ORV Patrol is tasked with maintaining trail safety such as drunk driving, helmet checks, stop sign violations, and accidents.
Snowmobile Patrol
Houghton County has 1 full-time snowmobile deputy that runs throughout the entire snowmobile season from December 1 to March 31 covering at least 2000 miles per season on three different snowmobiles. This DNR funded program is focused on snowmobiler safety which includes careless/reckless operating, drunk driving, stop sign violations, snowmobile accidents, permit checks, and noise complaints. The team also is dedicated for search & rescue when needed within our region.
