best lake in Southern Michigan?
 

We are in Indiana and looking for a lake house. What lake or lakes should we be looking at in Southern Michigan? Coldwater is only town we have ever been too and like the lake there just wondering where a local would say best lake is for riding and having a house on the lake.

Scott, you don't have to go all the way to Michigan if your looking for a lake house. Pine Lake in LaPorte is pretty decent and only about an hour and a half away from Kokomo. There are some really nice houses on the lake and even some townhouses and condos for a little less money / maintenance. I know a few people who have some for sale. If you have any questions, let me know.

If you go an hour and a half east you will be in oakland county, there are a ton of lakes!

How about Lake Placid? www.placidwaters.com Wake park on site.

Wow, I just re-read my post and I sound like a realtor. I'm not a realtor, nor do I know one. I just know alot of people on the lake and a few of them are putting their places up for sale. It would also be cool to have another wakeboat / riding partner on the lake.

i was just gonna reply "he's not a realtor he just wants a consistant 3rd"

try southern genesee county / northern livingston alot of nice lakes ane three major boat dealers real close. Mastercraft , Natique , MB

So many good riding lakes in kosciusko county in northern indiana. Dewart lake is the best! ;)

Thanks, yeah we are looking at Dewart lake!! That along with Manitou in Rochester Indiana, Lake Tippy and Lake Wester up north and Lake Freeman in Monticello. Just wondering if anyone knows of any good places up in Michigan. Also if anyone knows anyone in any of those lakes that has a house for sale let me know. Have seen everything a realtor has to offer at all the above lakes. For sale by owners are hard to find online or with a realtor. Thanks.

Oakland County Ohio?

Genesee County and Northern Livingston huh will try..... thanks alot!!

We ride on all the lakes you listed near Dewart on almost a daily basis! Dewart is definitely the quietest. So if you move to that area you will always have 10+ intermediate to advanced riders that are always down to ride!

Allen, yeah I heard Dewart has a bunch of good riders. I wish I was a good rider...lol Still learning. Started late in life, 34 and now 36 so this is only my 2nd summer really. Anyway, I met the guy that owns Delaware Prop and he said the same thing. Seemed like a really cool guy and said he and a bunch of people he knows stay in the trailers there. We have 4 small kids and want a house, we also have my brother in law and his family wanting to do a deal with us. So we would have 2 families in one big house. What are your thoughts on the lakes themselves up that way? Aside from Dewart are all the other rideable? Webster, Tippy, Chapman, Barbee?

Guess I am concerned about depth and just lakes that have alot of issues with stumps or things like that. Don't want any part of that stuff.

Dewart: i would call this the undiscovered lake in the area. Its usually the cleanest as well. Since it is quieter and not located right in town the property is not as much as say syracuse or wawasee which is a good thing. The lake is plenty deep. Ive grown up on the lake and never had a problem with the lake being too shallow. I know there is an X80 and a few 35 foot plus cruisers that dont have a problem with the depth at all.

I would stay away from Manitou because we ride there about once a week and it is extremely shallow! we kick up mud everywhere we go in a 22ssv

Webster:
Also a quiet lake. The only thing that you have to deal with on that lake is a tonnn of fishing boats. Its a very very very weedy lake so sometimes that can be a bit of a pain but also a good place to consider.

Tippy:
This lake is long and very deep so you wont have to worry about depth one bit. Its a bit more crowded and property prices are on the rise. Since it is long and the lake is not that wide it can seem kind of like a big traffic jam on the weekends.

Chapman and Barbee:
Not very familiar with this lakes but i know that they are both very quiet and would be good riding lakes depending on the depth.



I would be happy to try to look for some places up for sale.. and our group of riders would be stoked to have another guy to ride with! plus it looks like you have an epic and this weekend we were sitting around talking about how bad we wanted to check one out haha :)

oakland county michigan, about a half hour north of detroit

Yeah I have a 2012 Epic. It is very nice, we love it. Thanks for the heads up. We are renting a place on Manitou all next week. Aug 6th - 13th so if you are up there look for us. Black Epic ....lol don't think we will be hard to spot. We aren't pulling the boat out of the water so you should also see it at the house we are renting. Muddy at Manitou huh....interesting.

Yeah if you know or see anything on Dewart let us know, we thought about taking a trip up there next week while we are at Rochester. Take a day and go up there and put in and ride with the kids. So if you see us out there stop us.

look at palmer lake or long lake near colon. its between coldwater and sturgis. no sump issues there. klinger lake is real nice as well but a little bigger.

Barron Lake is a hidden gem. My buddy has one of three wakeboarding boats on the lake, and is the only one actually using it on a consistent basis. Usually its empty, but at most you have to deal with five or so boats. Decent depth, pretty clean, and quiet. If you want a party lake, its probably one of the worst; if you want a lake to enjoy watersports on, its a great option.

Matt and JV thanks. That is exactly the info I was lookin for. I will look at Palmer, Long, Klinger and Barron. Thanks a million. Where is Barron, have seen the other 3.

We spent several decades at Lake George which is south of Coldwater Lake and right off 69 with half the lake in Michigan and half in Indiana.
Coldwater Lake is shallow. You can go to the middle of many basins and still stand up. Don't know that stumps are an issue. There are several connected lakes with Coldwater so you can spend a day trip visiting all of them.

David
Earmark Marine

Wow just looked and barely anything at any of those lakes house wise that fits. Barron has a beautiful one at $400k, but that is a bit pricey. Thanks though for the imput.

David, will look into it. TY!!

Scott,
Keep looking because that industrial area, especially Michigan, is more depressed than the rest of the country in general. There has to be deals on a real estate market that hasn't recovered.

David
Earmark Marine

Yeah I know, seems like there are a few deals around Michigan. Indiana has taken a big hit as well. Which is why we are looking now instead of 4 years from now. Hoping it comes back but we buy now and buy low. Hard thing is I am sure there are tons for sale by owner but they are only found if you go up there or know someone. Which is why I am reaching out here. We have found a few places in Indiana to look at, one in Hamilton Lake in Indiana and one on Freeman, Rochester and a few on Webster. So we are on the hunt, just thought Michigan isn't any further than that so why not add a few more lakes to the mix.

We are hoping to buy late this year and start working on the house throughout the winter. We don't mind a bit of fixer upper.

Also check into home taxes beforehand as compared to Indiana. Michigan has a reputation as more expensive especially if the home is not your primary residence.

David
Earmark Marine

If your looking at Lake George i would also check out the Lake James Chain which is about five minutes from George. There are five lakes that you would have access to, James is the largest lake but gets busy on the weekends but Snow and Jimmerson stay relatively calm. The Otters are the other two lakes and are extremely deep but have a 10mph speed limit on them. Overall it is a great chain to be on and is worth a look.

And don't forget to eat at the Captain's Cabin.

Klinger Lake in Sturgis is nice. About 900 acres and really clean. Crowded on the weekends but they all are.

I live in Northern Indiana and go to several lakes in Southern Michigan...the ones in Southern Michigan near me that are fairly good are Diamond Lake, Shavehead and Corey Lake. Diamond is the largest at a little over 1000 acres. I know there is a house on one of the channels that is just a little over 200K right now. Shavehead is probably my favorite because of the depth and the shape plus it doesn't get really busy because it has piss poor public parking so most people dont go there BUT like I said the shape and depth are awesome. Its kinda in the shape of a U so by the time you make a pass on one side go to the other side and get back the water is flat again.....even with several boats out on the lake. Corey is nice and not busy either. Lots of younger riders that are pretty good go to Corey. You might also look up Paw Paw lake and Magician lake although I have never been to them I hear they are good. Also a friend just told me the other day he went to Torch lake which he said was awesome....dont know where it is at but he said the water there was beautiful. Hope that helps a little.

I have a place for sale right now on Lake James for $325,000. James does get busy in the afternoons, but to some people, that's a good thing. The sandbar rocks hard with lot's of good looking ladies and there are a couple of bar's and restaurants on the lake.
We foot every weekend at dawn on Snow and if you get out before noon, you can almost always find good water.

Crooked Lake is not quite as nice of a lake, it has weeds in the 1st basin, so cottages are a bit cheaper. But the 3rd basin in probably the best ski/boarding water of any large lake in northern Indiana.

George is a nice lake, but it has skiing hours and because of the shape, it's not that great for riding. Fairly good sailing.


Some people will be pissed that I posted this on the net, but here it goes. Fox Lake is a sleepy little fishing lake that has cheap real estate and limits ski hours, but it's frickin glass all the time! If all you care about is cheap and glass, then Fox is the place.

Michigan also has some nice lakes, one just like Fox, but my bud lives on it and he'd kill me if I gave it up on the net! Michigan does have higher taxes!

Here's my place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN-07n-M09o

never realized how many lakes are around, unless i go at 8am-10am i work nights... so its tough i cant get any good water after 11am... on ANY day.

the lake i used to live on 9miles long you could find good water all day till like 5pm... or on weekends.

Long Lake in Union, Michigan is great. It is only like 1.5 miles long but its protected from wind and a difficult public launch. Almost every weekday its glass almost all day and most weekends there is like five boats out max. come up and check it out sometime. And if you see a 2008 blue flake Mastercraft X14 pull us over and we will ride.

Or across the street from Long is Baldwin. It is a little wider and busier and gets really choppy quick but okay during the week.

And down the road from these two is Indiana lake. it is half in Indiana and half in Michigan it is short and wide but not that busy. Come and ride sometime.

I live on Snow Lake, part of the Lake James chain of lakes. We have a house in the main basin, and ride behind a white/navy MC X-2. We usually try to get out on the lake before 7:30 on the weekends because anything after 10 and the place starts getting busy. Another thing is the wind comes down the lake almost all the time, so the wind chop can get obnoxious sometimes as well. Lake James' sandbar is rocking, usually full of mildly good looking women and people looking to party. Holiday weekends are a riot, especially if you can get there early enough to walk your boat into the center area. James is not a watersports lake, way too open and almsot always crowded with weekend warriors who probably shouldn't be boating in the first place.

Are you a member of the pack of Natiques parked in the morning near the channel from James? I usually see a early 2000s Purple NTE and a Blue NTE out early.

We are on Klinger Lake in Sturgis. That's about 20 miles west of Coldwater on US 12. Clean and deep lake. It's almost 900 acres in size with a sandy bottom.

Check out the Irish Hills area near Brooklyn, MI. More lakes than anywhere I've ever been. Local dealers for most any major brand locally. The market is down, but starting to rebound. Around 45 minutes from Angola. Some of the lakes have great dining options and bars with live music.