Michigan / Lake Erie /

Hoffman Memorial

Hoffman Memorial is a public boat ramp on Lake Erie near Bolles Harbor, Michigan, run by the Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation.

Lake Erie off Michigan
Lake Erie, the water this launch is on. Lake Erie off Michigan Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Zebra mussels

Zebra mussels (latest report 2010) reported in Lake Erie 2.0 km from this launch (USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database). Clean, drain and dry your boat, trailer and gear before you leave, and do not move water, plants or live bait to another water.

USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · checked October 20, 2026

Status not reported No closure has been posted for this launch, but its agency does not publish open or closed status. Check with the managing agency before you tow.

At the launch

Type
Boat ramp
Managed by
Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation
Coordinates
41.87231, -83.38002

Directions (Google) Apple Maps

Channel depths in feet from the Army Corps' surveys (Detroit District; the one nearest this launch is of March 30, 2026). Not for navigation.

Conditions

Marine advisories

Advisories in effect load here; without them, see the NWS zone forecast below.

National Weather Service marine zone LEZ444, Michigan Waters of Lake Erie from Detroit River to North Cape MI. Zone forecast: winds, seas, warnings.

Channel survey

The Army Corps surveys the channels it maintains and posts every survey.

  • Bolles Harbor
    Condition survey of March 30, 2026 by the Detroit District. Least depth in the channel (Bolles Harbor Inner): 1.4 ft; project depth 6 ft. Survey sheet (PDF)

US Army Corps of Engineers hydrographic surveys, from eHydro. A survey shows the bottom on the day it was made; channels shoal after high water and change with dredging. Not for navigation.

On Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth-largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, covering about 9,910 square miles (roughly 6.3 million acres). Of that, 4,990 square miles lie on the American side. It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of 62 feet and a maximum depth of 210 feet. The western basin, which borders Michigan's Monroe and Wayne county shoreline, averages only about 25 feet deep. Most of the lake's inflow comes from the Detroit River, which carries water from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. The lake drains through the Niagara River toward Lake Ontario. More about Lake Erie.

Boating rules on Lake Erie

  • Vehicle and boat passes are required to park at the Lake Erie Metropark Marina (annual boat passes sold at Metropark toll booths or online) source

Community

Where people who use Lake Erie talk about it.

Nearby launches

Sources

Why it is listed as public: listed by Michigan DNR Boat Launches (DNR inventory layer). Something wrong, or is this launch private? Send a correction; it goes to a person.