The summer season is here yet again, and if you are dreaming of an island vacation but have budget limitations to visit popular tourist attractions, then head on over to Torch Lake in Northern Michigan!
Torch Lake is the second largest lake in Michigan, according to the state’s website. It is 29.3 square miles and places second to Houghton Lake, which is 31 square miles. Its turquoise waters look extremely inviting and closely mimics the tropical destinations found in the Caribbean.
Its maximum depth is 285 feet, which is a far cry from Houghton Lake’s 20 feet. Also, the lake boasts of 19 miles of shore, which makes it the perfect location to go on wake-boarding and water skiing trips. If you are into surfing, this lake would be the perfect place to go body surfing as the waves reach over four feet high, according to the Watershed Council.
Torch Lake is so ginormous, that it doesn’t even freeze in the winter as most lakes in the area do, says Michigan news website MLive. That’s because it stores a lot of heat in its vast volume. This stunning body of water was once part of Lake Michigan, until a sand bar developed across the mouth of the bay on the lake’s northwest portion, resulting in an inland lake.
Torch Lake can also get a little crowded during summer festivals – in fact, it has been dubbed as “Midwest Mardi Gras.”
A bit of trivia for Kid Rock fans: If you are familiar with his 2008 hit song, “All Summer Long”, it is reputed to be written about Torch Lake, according to an article from The Detroit News. The song lyrics seem to describe the lake, especially its popular south-end sandbar that was produced by glaciers and goes from calf deep to 300 feet deep.
Here is a snippet of the song’s lyrics: “Splashing through the sandbar, talking by the campfire, it’s the simple things in life like when and where. We didn’t have no internet …”
But its legendary sandbars are not only found on the south end of the lake. According to the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, there are also sandbars at its north end. Nearly the whole lake is surrounded by a shallow, sandy line that gives way to a steep drop-off. The lake possesses its jaw-dropping contrasting shades partly because of this trait.
The properties on the Waterfront part of Torch Lake are known to be expensive, typically costing millions. But the lake is highly-accessible to anyone, given that it has 48 public access points scattered along its long shoreline.
The lake also features The Dockside, a boat-to-dinner restaurant that sits at the mouth of Clam River. It has one of the best sunset-watching decks you could ever find. Boaters can pull right up to the restaurant and dock their boats to grab their meals.
Do you need more reasons to visit one of the popular tourist attractions in Michigan? Check out this beautiful drone and aerial footage of the Torch Lake from Love.Be.Create. It sure looks like a blast to be there!
With its incredibly clear blue-green waters and legendary sandbars, the Torch Lake is definitely the perfect place to be this summer!