Manitou Passage is a navigable waterway on Lake Michigan between the Michigan mainland and North and South Manitou islands. Long used by deep-draft lake freighters, it has been an important channel along the lake’s eastern side. The passage also forms part of the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve, connecting it to the broader maritime history of this coast. Its name gained wider recognition when President John F. Kennedy’s yacht, S/Y Manitou, took its name from the passage.