Grand Portage celebrates completion of Hat Point Marina & Ferry Terminal, raises flag

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and community members gathered on Friday, Aug. 1, to celebrate the completion of the Hat Point Marina and Ferry Terminal in Grand Portage.

The marina and ferry terminal upgrades mark the culmination of nearly a decade of work led by the Grand Portage Band. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 15, 2023, marking the commencement of construction on the site.

“This was a big project for many, many years in the making,” said Bobby Deschampe, the Grand Portage Reservation Chairman, during the flag raising ceremony.

Hat Point Marina & Ferry Terminal | Photo by M Baxley

The project received support in September 2019, following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) had awarded a $3.2 million grant to the Grand Portage Reservation Tribal Council to help redevelop the Hat Point Marina and Ferry Terminal, which was matched with an additional $2 million in local investment. Furthermore, the project secured funding from the Ferry Boat Program (FBP) through the Federal Highway Administration.

The discovery of available funding for the project can be traced back to the co-owner of Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Lines, Capt. Don Szczech and Tim Cochrane, a now-retired National Park Service superintendent. 

Cochrane said they used a formula that analyzes the number of passengers and the distance traveled by the vessel. With the formula and necessary data from the Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Lines, Cochrane and Szczech found initial funding based on an annual appropriation from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

Video and audio of the Aug. 1 Hat Point Marina and Ferry Terminal flag raising ceremony are below.

Kalli Hawkins August 5, 2025