Dreaming of afternoons spent on the water and evenings enjoying the sunset? Let these places show you what can be possible in your own real estate world.

Here are 9 Northern Michigan waterfront real estate dream-worthy homes, originally published in the April 2016 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine.

Red Pine Point

Mullet Lake, Red Pine Point

MLS 447143

$5,500,000 | 16,000 square feet | 10 bedrooms | 1,500 feet waterfront

With 14 acres and a commanding view of the storied resort waters of Mullet Lake, this elegant 16,000-square-foot villa with 10 bedrooms is fully prepared to wrap you and your whole family in the warm embrace of Up North summers and the snowy, freshness of winter. The elegant home channels a Euro-estate soul, with formal décor and rich bonus spaces like a wood-paneled pool parlor with finely crafted coffered ceiling. Stroll across the campus-like lawn to the 1,500 feet of waterfront and that sparkling H2O of the 10-mile-long Mullet Lake. Ten garage stalls for the car collectors among us. Kidd & Leavy, Patrick Leavy


 

Torch Lake

Torch Lake, Alden

MLS 1798096

$749,000 | 3,200 square feet | 5 bedrooms | 150 feet waterfront

This home lives somewhere in the dreams of us all, a dark-stained log original that speaks resonantly and authoritatively of things that can still be real. Built in 1936 on the shore of legendary Torch Lake and owned by one family since 1948, the well-kept interior reveals the care bestowed over the generations. Make your own family best-of-times outdoors on that aquamarine H2O that became world famous as the setting for the song “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock. Two stone fireplaces set the mood for snug evenings and family game nights. The aged all-wood interior will infuse your spirit with essential North. Real Estate One, Marlene Stellin


 

Cathead Bay, Northport

MLS 1808489

$595,000 | 1,900 square feet | 3 bedrooms | 100 feet waterfront

Beaches don’t come more beautiful than the beach at Cathead Bay, with its low dunes sculpted by wind and ice and veiled in gauzy dune grass. Inject that wild chi into your spirit from the vantage point of this home on the Lake Michigan shore. Spend splendid beach days all summer, and when weather turns, pull up a seat on the deck, or indoors beside the picture windows to take in the powerful drama of water and sky. (Bonus: handicap accessible with ramp, wide doorways, roll-in shower and boardwalk to beach.) Century 21 Northland, Kristine Shacklette


 

Lake Leelanau

Lake Leelanau, Lake Leelanau

MLS 1811389

$575,900 | Main: 1,245 square feet | Guest: 952 square feet | 4 bedrooms | 201 feet waterfront

What’s this? Not just one, but two homes and 201 feet of waterfront on trending-hot Lake Leelanau? Time to jump in! Spend summers etching wakes north and south along that 15-mile-long waterway, pulling your sweetie on a water ski or tapping into the renowned fishery that offers up walleye, smallmouth bass and multitudinous panfish. Dial up your fit factor by joining in the burgeoning sculling scene centered at nearby Fountain Point. Fresh-smoked brats in tiny Cedar, just over the ridge, can fuel sunny afternoons. Friends and fam can set up in the adjacent guest house, or rent it to help crack the mortgage. Century 21, Connie Kroll


 

Lake Huron

Lake Huron, Connors Point, Cedarville

$1,299,000 | 3,765 square feet | 6 bedrooms |  694 feet waterfront

Few places invoke the timeless Great Lakes resort spirit more potently than the realm of Les Cheneaux. Take it all in from this classic cottage set on a slender peninsula amid Les Cheneaux’s 36-island archipelago, an area that’s renowned for the hundreds of classic wooden boats that ply the waters. A lovely porch will entice you to morning reads and evening cocktails. The tricked-out kitchen will keep the family’s foodies happily busy. Park your own wooden classic in the two-story boathouse—the two bays stand ready to keep your craft snug and safe from the elements. And seriously, 694 feet of waterfront? Oh, yeah. Kidd & Leavy, Wally Kidd


 

Goose Lake

Goose Lake, Michigamme

$1,200,000 | 0 square feet | 571 acres with private lake, and more

No house stands on this kingdom of Upper Peninsula splendor, but with nearly 2.5 square miles of possibilities, there are plenty of choice sites for the cottage of your dreams. The land surrounds 107-acre Goose Lake (that’s a good-sized lake, fyi) and has additional frontage along the shore of Twin Lake. A portion of the land burned back in 1999, and regeneration of aspen, birch and spruce are producing good grouse habitat. Moose, black bear and eagle are also known to roam these parts. Escape to this classic and gorgeous boreal lake rimmed in red pine and white pine—talking plenty of fish. A half-hour east to the college town of Marquette for breaking up all that quietude. Huey Real Estate, Dick Huey


 

Lake Superior

Lake Superior and Saux Head, Marquette

$1,795,000 | 5,300 square feet |5 bedrooms | 1,000 feet waterfront

When jonesing for a big lake, stroll 500 feet of shore on the biggest lake on earth right out front. When you are in the mood for a small lake, you have 500 feet of shore on an enchanting intimate lake out back. And it’s all set against the backdrop of the Huron Mountains. That’s called living well, a concept you can ruminate on as you settle in beside a roaring fire in the massive stone fireplace in this 5,300-square-foot log beauty just north of Marquette. Sublime in the warm months, of course, and equally so come winter, with bounteous snowfall for snowmobiling and some of the Midwest’s premier XC-ski trails within easy striking distance. Huey Real Estate, Dick Huey


 

Pere Marquette River

Pere Marquette River, Baldwin

MLS 13046312

$1,100,000 | 2,736 square feet| 7 bedrooms | 82 acres, both sides of river

Sure, this rambling old inn has fixer-upper written all over it, but with its vintage 1909 aura and history as a legendary fishing lodge, the resurrection will reward the effort and investment. Rising on the bend of the famed Pere Marquette River, this place will serve as your trout basecamp for years— make that generations—to come. Find some friends, make a club, and even better, make memories. And with 82 acres to explore, well, there’s whitetail season, grouse season, rabbit season, morel season … Home Waters, Sean McDonald


 

Michigan waterfront real estate

North Shore, Walloon

MLS 446448

$1,845,000 | 2,779 square feet | 4 bedrooms|  105 feet waterfront

Poised on the northeastern rim of Walloon, and within walking distance of Walloon Village’s inspiring renaissance, this classic cottage with full-on resort-era vibe makes an ideal outpost for launching summery days on the lake where Ernest Hemingway did the same. Renovated, with top-notch workmanship and finishes throughout, means this ridge-top home is ready to serve, while you and crew sail, fish and powerboat through the legendary waters. Back at the cottage, kick back on your 105 feet of shore, take in sunsets from the airy screened porch or spacious dock. And when it all puts you in the mood to be creative, head to the artist studio. Kidd & Leavy, Wally Kidd

Want to see a more beautiful real estate? Here are 10 more Northern Michigan waterfront dream homes.


More Northern Michigan Home & Cottage

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Photo(s) by Huey Real Estate