[Coldjensens]

I may have asked this before, but we are finally getting out to Silver Lake dunes for a short family camping event. As far as I can tell the nearby towns are Mears and Pentwater.

Other than the dunes, lighthouse, silver lake and lake Michigan, can anone suggest neat places to go things to see while we are there? Are there any really neat towns inteh area? We may spend most of ur time ffishing and playing ont he dunes or int eh lake, but it might be nice to visit a neat beach town or something while we are there. I love to explore different areas.

[Bydand]

If you are in Pentwater, you have to try "the Brown Bear" right downtown for some awesome burgers. Big, hearty, and delicious. On the North end of town there is a small walk-up ice cream place that is very good. A walk from there down to the state park right in town puts you at a great place for swimming and a short pier to walk out on. On the South end of town right where you make the turn to go back down to Silver Lake and Mears (West Longbridge Road) there is always people fishing by the bridge there. Any fish coming into the Pentwater river system through Pentwater Lake from Lake Michigan has to pass under that bridge.

Mears, there isn't a whole lot. Silver Lake itself is very touristy and over the top. Kind of reminds me of a very small scale Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Gaudy colors, and everything is aimed at the beach and the dunes. You can rent 4 wheelers, and dune buggies on the North end of town I know, but there are several places to rent stuff to run the dunes if you want. Be prepared for a VERY rowdy bunch on the week-ends and if the weather is nice, it is crazy on the dunes itself.

Hert is another small town in the area. It is on the East side of the freeway off the Polk Road exit. There are a couple places downtown to eat and a few decent shops for the ladies of the family to poke around in. The town is situated right on Hart Lake which is a decent fishing lake.

If you want to venture a bit further North, head north out of Pentwater and before you get to 31 North, take a left onto Lakeshore Drive. The turn is right across the road from a gas station/convenience store that also has a Farquarhts Frankfurters (I know I butchered the spelling but I haven't a clue how it is supposed to be, Think the short king on Shrek and you can't miss it.). It is a great drive and up the road about 3.5 miles is a fish place called Bortell's Fisheries. Their fish dinners are fantastic. Pick up some and then go across the street to the Summit township park (South 2 driveways) for a great place to eat fantastic fish dinners overlooking Lake Michigan. If you make it that far you might as well go a bit further North and see "The Project" as it was called when they were building it back in the early 70's. It is a giant reservoir that Consumers Energy built to fill with Lake water during the night when electric demand was low, and then release during the day during peak demand times to generate hydro power. You can take a shot hike up to an observation platform on the edge of it to really appreciate the size of it. Plus there are some fantastic views of Lake Michigan from there as well.

If you get up to the Ludington area, let me know and I'll buy you and the family a cup of coffee.

[Coldjensens]

Thanks Bydand;

You really know that area well.

We have a big family. That is a lot of coffee (or did you mean a cup of coffee that we can share?)

We probably will not be able to rent a dune buggy because we would need two or three of them and that would get expensive. I am not sure how many will be able to go yet, so maybe there will be few enough of us to try that.

THese all sound like great options we will probably try them all. However we may not get up to the project unless we go the first night (there is supposed to be a meteor shower and we could watch it from the platform if it is open at night).

Is Bortell's fesh local fish?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Thanks Bydand;

You really know that area well.

Fairly well. I can tell you where just about every back road in the area starts and ends. Grew up in this area and still go down to Pentwater a couple dozen times a year.

We have a big family. That is a lot of coffee (or did you mean a cup of coffee that we can share?)

LOL, everybody get a cup ot share. That would be funny to watch. Naw, I could spring so everybody could get a cup.

We probably will not be able to rent a dune buggy because we would need two or three of them and that would get expensive. I am not sure how many will be able to go yet, so maybe there will be few enough of us to try that.

You could also just take a ride on Mac Woods Dune rides. Don't know how expensive it might get though. It has been years since I went on one.

THese all sound like great options we will probably try them all. However we may not get up to the project unless we go the first night (there is supposed to be a meteor shower and we could watch it from the platform if it is open at night).

I honestly couldn't tell you if they are open at night. Might have to take a drive out there today and see if they have hours posted.

Is Bortell's fesh local fish?

They used to have their own fishing boats years ago, now they buy most of their fish from the Native American fishermen in the area. You can get fish that are shipped in, but most of it is fresh and local. They might not be open late, because they close when they sell out of the days catch. Suppertime is usually a safe bet. The Bortell family has been selling fresh fish out of that location for a LONG time.

[Coldjensens]

THank you for the information Bydand.


They are auctioning off a pretty nice looking Campground in Custer Michigan. It looks like it is pretty near Ludington. Why don't you go buy it? I thik that running a campground would be a pretty nice lifestyle. I wonder if you make a decent living.

[Bydand]

Custer is about 3 miles away from where I live right now. Haven't heard about a campground going under the gavel. Might have to check it out.

[Coldjensens]

Lot 3-96: CUSTER, MI ~ Whiskey Creek Campground ~ ONLINE REAL ESTATE AUCTION. After decades of being held in the same family, the owners of Whiskey Creek Campground have decided to retire from the campground business and sell this great campground at (http://www.lastbidrealestate.com/details.cfm?ID=162295 - broken link)

[Bydand]

I figured it was Whiskey Creek. Very nice facilities and it has been for sale for a LONG time now. It looks like they are breaking it up into smaller chunks now. Overall it is a huge place and I can see why nobody bought it as a whole. I believe they had been doing a decent business, but haven't been out there in years.

[Coldjensens]

Thank you for your suggestions. We really enjoyed the area. We have a nice time on the far end of Silve Lake right at the base of some giant dune(s). Some people set up a really long slip and slide down on of the dunes and brought a gasoline powered pump to run water up the hill. The kids had a gret time on the slip and slide. THe lake Michigan beahces were beautiful. Crystal clear warm water and nice big waves. One thing that I notices is that ocompared to the ocean, the lake waves do nto give you a break. They are constant. However they do nto have the power of ocean waves. Even though the waves were bg, they were less powerful. Maybe that is because it is shallow. Abosultely beautiful day in Lake Michgian. The kids liked it far better than the Southern California Beaches that we are used to. Less crowded, warmer water, cleaner (clear) water, more waves (no waiting for a good wave), shallower water, you can walk right out to the breakline, really neat singing sand. The only downside in their eyes was people smoking ont he beach (illegal in California).

We also visited Pentwater which has loads of nice shops and an antique store with surprisingly reasonable prices. Either they really want to move things, or they do not do their research. Maybe they just do not care. We pent part of an evening driving do different stores in Pentwater, then in Hert looking for some good quality sunburn ointment. No one had anything decent. : (

Walking on the dunes at sunset was spectacular. It was too cloudy during the metor shower, so we did nto get to see anything those nights, but when it was clear, the stars you can see whil out ont eh udnes are awesome.

we did nto get to the proejct, nor to Ludington. We were planing to go up to Ludington to go tubing on some river, but it got windy and too cold so we went canoeing instead. We ended up going south to the White River which was a mistake. THe canoeing there was terrible. The water was shallow and the river full of trees and logs. It was obstacle course canoeing and we were constantly getting stuck and zig zagging back and forth trying to dodge trees, branches, logs, sand bars, etc. It was not very fun. I wish that we had gone Canoeing near ludington instead. It certainly cannot have been any worse. We did see some absolutely huge turtles, a few tiny fish and some muskrats and unusual birds.