GLBBS is centrally located in the Les Cheneaux Islands, which embrace the northern shore of Lake Huron between the St. Ignace/Mackinac Island area and the mouth of the St. Mary’s River.
In the summer and the shoulder seasons, the School’s waterfront property and a nearby launching area give easy access for boating, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. There are two golf courses within five miles. Campgrounds abound throughout the Upper Peninsula…wonderful country for exploring, and for experiencing the three largest of the Great Lakes. Opening day for deer season is a holiday within itself, and winter weekends are easily filled with ice fishing, skating and ice hockey, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing. Nature lovers thrive here. The Nature Conservancy denoted Les Cheneaux as “one of the 200 best places on earth.”
The laid-back Les Cheneaux community of approximately 2,000 is warm and caring. Day to day living is very simple and relatively low-cost, with comfortable housing nearby at reasonable rates. There is no nightlife per se, other than at the local restaurants and taverns, where camaraderie and cribbage tournaments are the name of the game, but fun and colorful events take place throughout the year. All the churches of the area enthusiastically welcome the students and their families to their services and get-togethers.
For weekend escapes, there is a lot to experience in the Upper Peninsula but students find that when they aren’t taking advantage of the great outdoors, they choose to hang out in the school shop to work on personal projects, which they are privileged to do after-hours and during weekends.
The area’s heritage is steeped in woodworking and boatbuilding. Wherever a student goes and whomever he or she meets, one quickly finds communality.
