museum ship valley camp

A great place to catch up on Great Lakes shipwreck history, including the infamous Edmund Fitzgerald lifeboats. There is a lot to see and this is a nice place to spend a few hours when in town. Best for adults and older children.

A very cool experience for those who haven't been on a lake freighter. Basically you go at your own pace and explore the exhibits and ship on your own. It is a bit pricey but still a good visit for a unique experience.

It took us 1.5 hours to stroll through the various displays of this old freighter, and we could've spent more time than that (if we were to have stopped to read details on each display/exhibit). There are multiple levels to explore, with some GREAT panoramic views from the top deck. And this museum would appeal to all ages. Little girls might not enjoy it as much as boys, due to the masculine nature of ships and such. But we saw lots of families there. You can even see several aquariums of local fish on display. A must-visit while in Sault Saint Marie!

It was a nice self guided tour of a ship. It costs $12. A lot of interesting displays. If you like to see the inside of a ship looks like, this is a good place to go.

Interesting displays and tour of an iron carrying freighter. It's about half the size of the bigger ones used today. Lots of ship models. I enjoyed the upper deck crew quarters and officer's quarters. Worth the cost.

It was great being on a real freighter. Interesting seeing how life was on the ship. There is a lot of stairs and walking.

Very informative look at the insides of one of these big iron boats. Life on these ships wasn't easy and this real life ship gives a good look at all the jobs that had to be done and who did what. Worth the admission price.

Lot of fun. You actually get to walk and tour inside a Great Lake ship. Museum was very instructional for all ages of people. Exhibits were professionally done. Well worth the money and time.

We visited the Museum, figuring we would take about 2 hours to tour the ship. 3 hours later, we were still discussing what we had just seen! It is an extensive tour, but self paced. So you can take as long as you choose. We read a lot of the information and visited every nook and cranny that we were allowed to. It is extremely interesting, if you're curious about the Lake Freighters. This is all new to us. It is a pretty fascinating museum and you get a lot for what you pay.

I called ahead to ask about the tour being handicap accessible and have to admit I was shocked when they said yes. Everything but the pilot house. So we came to visit and it sure was. The information provided and the exhibits were very interesting. My son enjoyed it very much. There is a lot of information available to discover.One suggestion if the owners read these reviews. The scavenger hunt was a fantastic idea but the answers were very hard to find. I would put a number beside the display to read about to discover the answers. It would help it be more fun to do. We got frustrated and gave up but still had a blast!

Located adjacent to Dock #2 of the Soo Locks Boat Tours, the opportunity to explore the SS Valley Camp was a great experience. I have toured many ships in the past -- but never a freighter. The Valley Camp was launched near the end of WWI and last saw service on the Great Lakes in 1966. At 550 feet long, for many years it was among the largest freighters on the Great Lakes (mostly hauling iron ore, coal, and later, taconite). Museum guests enter through an opening in the hull on the port side of the ship, and most of the exhibits are below decks. Much of the engine room has been preserved, and going down into the massive holds is quite an experience. The steel plates on the floors of the holds are no longer flat because of the massive loads that they have endured. So watch your step! This part of the ship has an exhibit in remembrance of the sunken 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald. Two of "Big Fitz's" steel lifeboats are on display: one is relatively in tact (although there is significant damage to its bow); and the second is just half a boat. Amazingly, even though the hull looked like heavy gauge steel, the Lake Superior disaster sheared the boat in half -- and the other half was never found. Very little wreckage from "Big Fitz" ever surfaced since it sunk in more than 500 feet of water, so these are fairly rare artifacts. Touring the top deck of the Valley Camp and the crew's quarters is also very interesting. It's not hard to imagine how the crew lived while on board. And the cramped quarters -- coupled with the infamous storms (especially on Lake Superior) -- certainly makes one respect the Great Lakes Mariners. BTW, walking the steel-plated decks and holds can be hard on the feet. So wearing sturdy shoes is advised!

It's hard to explain this experience. This is a freighter that had sunk and raised bad is now a museum. A lot of history and background about the freighter. Neat being inside this large ship.

The Valley Camp is an old ore carrier that was converted into a floating museum, parked in the Saint Mary's River about a mile south of the Soo Locks. Not only is the ship itself and its fittings fascinating, but it includes a large number of nicely presented marine artifacts from other ships and boats.If you're a big antique technology or marine history buff and you're traveling with someone who isn't, plan to split apart for this museum - the rest of the party I was traveling with was done with this museum after 2-3 hours and I could have easily spent all day.

We had never been on a freighter before so we tried the Museum Ship Valley Camp. It was really interesting to see how the crew lived and worked on a freighter. It is not something one sees every day. I was amazed at the smallness of their quarters. It definitely was not luxury cruise ship conditions. It was interesting to see how they loaded the cargo onto the ship and how it was off loaded. The hull down below where the cargo was placed was huge. I am glad we toured it.

This museum inside the ship is very interesting. You are able to explore all over the inside of the ship and there are a lot of great exhibits. Don't miss it!