Carpe Summer on the Inland Waterway
It is now August in northern Michigan. Summer is soon to be a fond memory once again which is quite bittersweet. As we begin to transition into the colorful fall season and look forward to cooler evenings, cheering on our favorite football teams, and pumpkin spice lattes, we can’t help but ask ourselves, “wasn’t it just the 4th of July weekend?”. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have a month left to soak up the sun and swim and stay out late. So, this August, I am encouraging you to carpe summer. And what better way to seize the last full month of the season than to get out on or in one of the beautiful surrounding inland lakes.
Sure, Michigan is the Great Lakes State, and when outsiders think of Michigan, they think about the five large lakes that surround our state, but those of us in and around northern Michigan know that there are plenty of beautiful lakes within the boundary of those Great Lakes as well. Actually, many locals prefer these inland lakes for swimming, boating, fishing, and playing. Spanning several of these inland lakes is a route that has come to be known as the Inland Waterway. The Inland Waterway used to be one of northern Michigan’s best kept secrets. It is a 38.2-mile-long water trail (or waterway) that runs through Pickeral and Crooked Lakes, the Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River, Mullet Lake, the Cheboygan River, and finally into Lake Huron. You can enjoy any portion of this area, or you can cruise the entirety of it. It can best be enjoyed in a pontoon boat although one could also kayak, canoe, or stand up paddle board, among various other ways through this waterway. Don’t own a pontoon boat? No problem; there are several places along the waterway that you can rent one. A few of them are Windjammer Marina in Oden, Ryde Marine in Alanson, Howe Marine in Indian River, and Jack’s Mullet Lake Marina in Cheboygan. The Landings on Indian River not only has pontoons that you can use, they also have cabins for rent right along the river. Surrounding, adjacent to, and close by the waterway there are seven state parks, over twenty nature preserves, three rivers, three lakes, in addition to many campgrounds, marinas, and quaint small towns such as Alanson, Indian River, and Cheboygan where you can shop and dine. Whether you enjoy camping rustically, glamping, or staying in a hotel room, you have many options if you want a place to stay while enjoying your Inland Waterway adventure. There are also plenty of rest stops where you can refuel your boat or refuel yourself.
Summer is almost over. Get outside as much as you can. Grill out, catch a sunset over Lake Michigan, explore some rocky shores and do yourself a favor by gathering family and friends and renting a pontoon boat and traversing the Inland Waterway.
In doing my research for this blog, the following websites were very helpful. The Indian River Chamber of Commerce, Blue Magazine, and Michigan Water Trails
