The Sunrise Side of Michigan is the colloquial name for the Lake Huron coast of the northeast Lower Peninsula, and Chris Izworski tracks it as a distinct sub-region covering the coast from roughly Au Sable Point north through Tawas Bay, Oscoda, Harrisville, Alpena, Rogers City, and Presque Isle to roughly Cheboygan. This is one of the longer single coastal sub-regions on the Great Lakes and one of the more varied, with substantial natural shoreline interspersed with small-town waterfront, federal harbors, and significant cement and limestone industrial sites at Alpena and Rogers City.
Sub-region: Sunrise Side, Michigan Lake Huron coast, Au Sable Point to Cheboygan.
Major communities: Tawas City, East Tawas, Oscoda, Au Sable, Harrisville, Alpena, Rogers City, Presque Isle, Hammond Bay.
Lake datum: 577.50 feet IGLD85, the Lake Michigan-Huron datum.
Anchor years: 1986 cycle high, 2013 modern low, 2020 record monthly high at 581.70 feet.
Federal harbors: Au Sable, Harrisville, Alpena, Rogers City, Presque Isle, Hammond Bay.
State jurisdiction: Michigan EGLE, NREPA Parts 325 and 303.
The basinwide Lake Huron level on the homepage applies along the entire coast. The Sunrise Side faces east into open Lake Huron with substantial fetch exposure, and the wave climate is comparable to the Thumb coast but with more sheltered embayments at Tawas Bay, Thunder Bay (at Alpena), and Presque Isle Harbor. Sustained northeast and east wind drives the largest wave events of the year, typically during fall and early winter storm seasons, with measurable set-up at the protected bays.
The 2019 to 2020 high water cycle produced significant shoreline-erosion damage along the Sunrise Side, particularly along the bluff segments north and south of Alpena where Lake Huron meets the limestone bedrock coast. Beach narrowing and dock damage were widespread along the small-town waterfronts at Tawas, Oscoda, and Harrisville. The combination of high water and an active fall storm season tested shoreline infrastructure that had been designed against the previous 1986 high.
The Tawas Bay area at the south end of the sub-region includes Tawas City, East Tawas, the bay itself, and the Tawas Point State Park peninsula that creates the sheltered bay geometry. Tawas Bay is a substantial protected embayment with extensive recreational waterfront, vacation property, and small-craft harbors. The sheltered geometry produces a much calmer shoreline regime than the open-coast segments to the north and south.
The Oscoda and Au Sable area just north of Tawas Bay includes the mouth of the Au Sable River, the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base waterfront, and the resort and residential community at Oscoda. The Au Sable River is one of the most significant rivers entering Lake Huron and has its own coverage on the Michigan Trout Report.
The Harrisville and Black River area from Greenbush north through Harrisville to the small communities at Black River and Negwegon State Park is a mix of small-town waterfront, low-density seasonal property, and substantial state recreation land. Property density is moderate, and shoreline character is dominated by sand and small-cobble beach with bluff segments inland.
The Alpena and Thunder Bay area includes the city of Alpena, Thunder Bay (the embayment, not to be confused with the Ontario city of Thunder Bay on Lake Superior), and the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary that protects an exceptional concentration of shipwrecks offshore. Alpena is the largest community on the Sunrise Side and has substantial cement industry waterfront in addition to municipal and residential shoreline.
The Rogers City and Presque Isle area north of Alpena includes the city of Rogers City, the substantial limestone quarry and shipping operation at Calcite Plant, and the Presque Isle Harbor and lighthouse complex. The shoreline here is dominated by limestone bedrock with thin sand and cobble beach.
The Hammond Bay and Cheboygan transition at the north end of the sub-region marks the transition toward the Mackinac sub-region. Hammond Bay has the federal harbor and the Hammond Bay Biological Station (USGS) that conducts long-running sea lamprey and fishery research.
The Michigan OHWM at 581.5 feet IGLD85 applies along the entire coast under NREPA Section 32502. Shoreline-protection permitting through Michigan EGLE follows the standard NREPA framework, with the same considerations and the same recent debate that have shaped policy on the Thumb and southwest Michigan coasts. The Sunrise Side has a less politically organized property-owner advocacy presence than the Thumb or southwest Michigan, but the property-level concerns are similar.
The bluff-erosion regime is more variable along this coast than on the Thumb because the underlying geology shifts from glacial till bluffs at the south end through low cobble and sand shoreline in the middle to limestone bedrock north of Alpena. Property owners on bluff segments often face fundamentally different protection challenges than property owners on the sand and cobble segments, and the regulatory permitting reflects that variability.
For a current reading, see the live dashboard. For broader Lake Huron context, see Lake Huron. For neighboring Lake Huron sub-regions, see Thumb Coast, Saginaw Bay, and Mackinac. For the Au Sable River trout-fishing context, see the Michigan Trout Report.