Whole private lakes properties where you own the entire lake and all the land around it, are hard to find nationally. After a diligent search of the Internet you will discover there are few available and the only place you will find them offered in such a variety of size and price is right here, on this website. This property, Trout Lake, stands up to any whole private lake you can get for the price anywhere. If you find a better lake you should buy it.

It offers features and benefits that are rare for a Huron Mountain wilderness lake: Easy access off M28/US41 directly onto the property year round, UPS/FedEx delivery, U.S. Mail and garbage pickup at the gate, buried electric power in conduit, available cellular high speed Internet, a large storage building on the property, and a caretaker who lives next to it. He will plow the road and keep the property in top shape.

In spite of such easy access off the major northern U.P. highway, the lake is virtually free of road noise, completely protected by a 120-foot high rock ridge and thick forest between the highway and the lake. Trout Lake is large for a natural lake in the U.P. with 43.5 acres of surface water, so you have plenty of room for fishing, sailing, water skiing, kayaking and canoeing.

It is an amazing warm water fishery. Largemouth bass, sunfish, bluegills, rock bass, crappie and perch grow large here. Trout has a large natural supply of golden shiners and white suckers, a perfect food supply for the panfish, northern pike and tiger musky that produces large fish. Like most lakes west of Marquette or in Canada, the water is stained dark with tannin, but is very pure.

Trout Lake is about 15 feet deep, with excellent flow-through from three streams that feed the lake year round, providing aerated water high in dissolved oxygen. That is critical in late winter when the snow is deep and the ice is thick. One stream has a small waterfall a short distance upstream from the lake. Because of the moving water this may also be an excellent lake for wild rice.

The parcel totals 322 acres, more than half a square mile. It includes three quarters of a mile of frontage on M-28/US-41, the best highway in the northern U.P., connecting all the larger U.P. towns. Few of us have a good concept of how large 322 acres really is, but this is more than half a square mile. For perspective on the privacy and opportunities that represents, that is one-third the size of Central Park in NYC, or the same size as 243 standard NFL football fields. That is plenty. You will not feel crowded.

All around this lake you will find rough topography with high hills and steep slopes. It makes for spectacular views. From one point above the lake you can see six lakes. Trout has the points and bays that make a lake so much more interesting and more fun when paddling the shore in kayak or canoe in soft evening light. My personal favorite is to be on the water in full dark under an August Milky Way or the Northern Lights. At any time of day this is some of the best scenery I have seen in the Huron Mountains. Some lakes have character. Trout Lake is one of these.

The half-mile of highway frontage across from the entry gate is owned by the State of Michigan. That keeps views on both sides wild as you approach this property. The State land runs all the way south to Beaufort Lake. Follow the largest river that flows into Trout upstream and you will quickly reach Middle and Coon lakes. Both are State owned and good fishing. Middle Lake is only 900 feet or so from the property, an easy hike. It has the huge nest of a bald eagle, pictured below.

The old cabin has been removed, ready for you to build. The site has official written approval by local zoning for a 32×38 foot cabin and you may enlarge it on the back by as much as 40 feet if you like. Underground power lines are already installed, in conduit. A 4-inch well provides excellent water without conditioning, free of odor, unpleasant flavor, or iron. This is an ideal site on the lake for your cabin or home with easy access year round, utilities, and both a sunrise and sunset view, but there are other building sites too.

This could be your Camp, used year round. Up here “Camp” describes a state of mind more than a type of structure. It is a place to unwind, a place for family and friends to gather. The proper state of mind is relaxed! Up here everyone has a camp ranging from a basic structure on a small lot to something upscale and complete on big land. The common thread is that a camp is a private, informal place without schedules or demands.

It could be your first home. I look forward from one season to the next in the U.P. Spring can be fabulous in May and yes, buggy in June, but I’ve rediscovered fly fishing on the streams of the U.P. June is when it’s best. Michigan summers-at-the-lake in this naturally air-conditioned country stand up to anything anywhere. Flaming fall colors in the trees and the blue skies, warm days and cold nights of fall are as spectacular as the best of New England. I came for a year and here I am, 22 years later.

I love the U.P. winter, which was a surprise. We get more sun and the air is drier here than it is downstate where I grew up. We have some of the best downhill skiing in Michigan in Marquette and the western U.P., and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular for good reason: they are good exercise and great fun. Snowmobilers say the trails here are the best anywhere, well groomed, with the most dependable snow. This area gets 300 inches per year. Trail 8, which runs east/west the length of the U.P., adjoins the property on the north just beyond a series of hills. That connects to an extensive trail system through the 6,983-acre Craig Lake Wilderness Area just to the east. You have direct access to Trail 8 right from your property.

A large, 36×52 pole barn with 14×16 door has electric power, is plumbed for an interior bathroom, and has a septic system and well. This is so handy for large recreational equipment, seasonal storage, or an RV. It is out of sight on the west edge of the property. The caretaker lives next door.

Marquette, the U.P.’s largest city with a regional hospital, jet service, Northern Michigan University, libraries and galleries, a summer stock playhouse, excellent restaurants, city goods and services, is just 45 minutes to the east over excellent roads.

Just west is the village of Three Lakes. Three miles to the east is the village of Michigamme. Both are populated with caring people, good friends and neighbors to have. People wave as they pass on back roads. If you have a problem, they help. In many ways it’s old time, rural America at its best. Few locations anywhere match this unparalleled access to wilderness from lakeshore communities with year round conveniences.

Head north from Trout Lake and you’ll find the wild U.P., land that is rugged and magical to me. These are the Huron Mountains, a 1000 square mile area with varied topography ranging from an ancient mountain range to remote plains. The roads are unpaved two-tracks, snowmobile and 4-wheeler trails. It is a wonderland of high rock faces, stone outcroppings, sugar maple forests, monarch white pine, sparkling streams and blue high country lakes.

The Huron Mountains are the remains of an ancient mountain range, once as high as the mountains of Tibet, now eroded and scarred by glaciers and time, still majestic, wild and beautiful. Whitetail deer, moose, martin, fisher, and gray wolves call these mountains home. Hardwoods cover most of the land. Streams and waterfalls are plentiful. Hunters, hikers, and lovers of beauty will find it unique in the Midwest.

Beyond Craig Lake to the northeast, the McCormick Wilderness Tract contains 27 square miles of lakes and forest in Federal ownership that many feel is Michigan’s finest wilderness land with more fabulous lakes. Access is by foot only. It is extraordinary to explore. Nearby Craig Lake State Forest also has lovely, big lakes. You must carry your canoe or kayak the last quarter mile so the scenery and catch and release fishing in these lakes for trophy northerns, muskies, walleye and bass, is wonderful.

Drive 30 miles north and west and you are at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula with its spectacular scenery. Another 20 miles and you are in Houghton, home to another great university, Michigan Tech, and lots of history, shops, restaurants and interesting places to explore.

For a family, a group of guys or gals, friends or business associates who want to hunt, snowmobile, fish, canoe, swim, hike, play cards and enjoy peace and privacy, this private and beautiful location on on M-28 is as good as it gets. It’s a place to entertain friends and family and sometimes when, in the words of Robert Frost, “the woods are lovely, dark, and deep” it’s a place for being in the woods or on the lake or in the cabin, just by yourself.

Mile after mile of public and corporate lands in CFR are open to the public for hunting and fishing. This is the perfect base of operations for those who love nature, the out-of-doors, the opportunities for year round outdoor recreation, and the quiet peace and community of the north woods.

You’ll watch and learn to recognize the eagles and osprey as I do at my camp. You will enjoy storms, sun, flight ducks low over the water, the veil of mist in August when the water is warm and the nights crisp, and you’ll learn to treasure what Ansel Adams called soft light, the time within an hour or two of sunrise and sunset.

Trout Lake has the fresh, pine scented feel of the North Country but it is within a day’s drive for anyone in the Midwest, which is to say 60% of the U.S. population. Come check it out. Sooner’s better. 🙂