Our Time At Torch Lake

If you’re anything like me, your Pinterest feed is full of dessert ideas, kid crafts, life hacks, and beautiful places you’d like to one day travel to. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll only make about 1% of those desserts, never attempt the crafts, just admire the life hacks but not put any of them to use, and you have big dreams but not a big enough budget or enough time to travel to all those beautiful places. Nevertheless, you pin those beautiful places anyways and keep dreaming. One day, I pinned Torch Lake, ‘Michigan’s own Caribbean’. And then I pinned it again. And again.

And boy, am I glad I did.

We decided to go! We started on a mission to find affordable lodging at a ‘decent’ time of year. That proved to be no easy task, especially bearing in mind that we had to house 15 people. After searching lo and wide, we finally found the perfect place in Anchor Cottage. It was very affordable and very family-friendly! Even sleeping 6 adults and 9 children, there is still room to sleep more people! The location is absolutely perfect, there is plenty to do, and the view is stunning. The sandbar is within walking distance, and the kids love the shallow beach area! The owner, Brandon, let us be but was always available when I had a question or needed to contact him for something.

The hammock was also a big hit!

Torch Lake is the little slice of heaven your life is missing. Imagine water so blue and so clear that for a minute, you forget you are in northern Michigan and feel as if you’re staring out into the Caribbean. Then you remember there are no sharks and no jellyfish and no ocean monsters coming from the deep abyss to swallow you up! (I’m only half kidding- I love the ocean!) All of that is a win-win to me!

We rented a boat from Northaire Resort and Pontoon Rental. The husbands picked up the tritoon and sailed it back to our cottage for the rest of us to join. The man we dealt with at Northaire was “the nicest, most friendly, super easy to work with ever” according to all the guys. They also were the most budget-friendly and still had boats available so late in the season (mid-September). We were impressed with our ‘toon and it packed quite a bit of horsepower as well!

We also rented a tube from Northaire. I know, I know- the water wasn’t very warm! I personally didn’t get on the tube, but everyone else that did had a blast!

It’s no wonder National Geographic voted Torch Lake the third most beautiful lake in the world. You will be in awe of the pristine, crystal clear waters and the different shades of blue. Torch Lake is nearly 2 miles wide, close to 300 feet deep, and surrounded by adorable tiny towns. It is well visited but not ‘touristy’.

The sandbar is where it’s at. In the summer, you will find tons of boats anchored down, hanging out and just having fun! The water is knee deep in some spots and only to your ankles in others. The kids had a blast!

The ducks loved us. With 9 kids, we had lots of crumbs to throw their way.

My girls and a few of the men tried their hand at fishing, but they just weren’t biting. We hear there are fish in Torch Lake, but you definitely don’t see very many!

We really did not spend very much time away from Anchor Cottage or the water. The blue hues are so gorgeous that you just don’t want to be anywhere else. I did manage to sneak away for a few minutes to find a chai tea latte at The Muffin Tin and buy a T-shirt and refrigerator magnet from Carter Candle Shop.

To save money (and because we had nine kids ranging in ages 1-10), we ate every meal in besides one. Each family took a day and prepared every meal that day for all 15 of us. It seemed to work out well and we were pretty well organized. There is a grocery store a half mile down the road that we had to run to about once a day for one thing or another, so that is pretty convenient! With our days spent out on the water, the Crock-Pot I brought was a lifesaver.

For our final vacation meal, we took a break from cooking and drove 15 minutes up the road to Pearl’s New Orleans Kitchen. The kids insisted on trying the alligator bites! The meal was a little pricey but very good. The kids loved the crazy Cajun decor and beaded necklaces they were given!

In all, Torch Lake is definitely a place we will travel back to. Not a single one of us was ready to go home and my kids said it was their favorite vacation ever. If you have been thinking about a trip to Torch Lake, just go!

If you have been to Torch Lake, let me know your thoughts!

Where do you like to vacation? With kids, without kids? What is your favorite vacation?