PORT HURON, Mich. - Toledo attorney Alan Konop remembers taking his small boat from the residential neighborhoods in his childhood hometown down through the waterway into a vibrant downtown.

"At one time, they called it the Venice of the U.S.," he said of Port Huron, a Michigan city on the shores of Lake Huron. "It's a very picturesque downtown area with the river running through it and the beautiful downtown buildings."

Some of the businesses have closed in the city of 32,000 people since Mr. Konop left to go to college more than 50 years ago.

But what has remained intact in Port Huron are the extensive scenic opportunities along the St. Clair and Black rivers and lakefront as well as the city's emphasis on boats.

There are lots of boats.

Located halfway up the eastern coastline of Michigan's thumb, Port Huron is about a 120-mile drive from Toledo. It's often thought of as a pass-through to Canada, and the city's Blue Water Bridge is one of two places in southern Michigan, including Detroit, to enter Canada via bridge.

Yet Port Huron is also a destination.

Along the St. Clair River, just south of where the river meets Lake Huron, the once-industrial riverfront is becoming a place to boat-watch.

Visitors and locals alike go to the Great Lakes Maritime Center to have a cup of coffee, eat their favorite doughnut, and watch the massive freighters of the inland seas go by.

According to Frank Frisk, who spent years as a crew member on freighters of the Interlakes Steamship Co., Port Huron is the best place on the lakes to witness one of the area's oldest industries.

"I just think [people] are mesmerized by the size and the fact that they float," he said while seated near the center's windows, which overlook the swiftly moving river.

"On average, 900 to 1,100 ships go through here in a shipping season," he added. "A lot of people have their favorite ship and they follow it all summer long."

Port Huron really is a city of boats, agreed Mike Popelka, a retired Coast Guard seaman and site manager for the Bramble, a recently decommissioned Coast Guard cutter and buoy tender that now serves as a floating museum.

Stationed in Port Huron in its final days, the Bramble was replaced by the Hollyhock, a 225-foot ship now used by the Coast Guard to put out and retrieve buoys as well as respond to freighters in trouble.

Mr. Popelka watched from the front deck of the Bramble as a foreign freighter - the Spar Jade - rumbled by. He noted that because of the river's narrow width, watching freighters from Port Huron - or, conversely, from the shores of Canada's Sarnia - is thrilling even for those who don't think they're interested in boats.

Boats, both big and small, are only one of the reasons Linda White of Lapeer, Mich., and her mother, Lois White of Croswell, Mich., spend time in the port city.

Although watching boats, she admitted, has become somewhat of a tradition.

The two will grab a sack of White Castle hamburgers and spend an afternoon on the boardwalk lining the river watching the water traffic.

But Ms. White said she also comes to the city for the small shops, such as those specializing in sewing and embroidery, which is an interest for her and her mother.

"Port Huron is a lovely place to visit," Ms. White said. "As a child, my family camped at Lakeport State Park and our day trips were to the big city of Port Huron. We would go to see the big boats go by on the river."

Much of what Port Huron offers deals with boats.

There are opportunities to visit the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse; the Huron Lightship, a floating lighthouse anchored in areas too deep or impractical to build a lighthouse; the 1924 schooner Highlander Sea; and the Huron Lady II, a passenger boat that offers scenic tours of the river.

But locals insist there are activities for those more inclined to stay on land.

Visitors can ride the Blue Water Trolley to 44 local points of interest, visit the Knowlton Ice Museum to view a display of more than 3,000 items used by the ice industry years ago, or take a drive north to the small communities along the coast, including Lexington or Port Sanilac.

The city's main event comes annually in the form of hundreds of sailboats.

Port Huron once again will serve as the starting line in one of the lakes' most famous races.

The 84th Bayview Yacht Club Port Huron-to-Mackinac Race, which spans the length of Lake Huron, is the weekend of July 12-13. It draws thousands of visitors from across the region.

"It's relaxing and picturesque," said Mr. Konop, who visited Port Huron for his 50th high school reunion a few years ago.

"I think it's a great place to go."

Contact Erica Blake at:

eblake@theblade.com

or 419-213-2134.

First Published June 23, 2008, 1:28 p.m.