Where Life Meets Lake

City born of a dream

There’s something special, though, about Boyne City that you’ll sense as you sit atop one of the many benches situated along the water’s edge, or occupy a waterside table at Cafe Santé and feast dreamily on European-style mussels and frites while looking out over a blazing patio bonfire. Even without the culinary magic, the surrounding hills create a valley feel, as if this spot is somehow removed from the rest of the world.

In 1856, New Yorker Harriet Miller got a picture of just such a place in a dream of a cabin located on the shore of a bear-shaped lake. The dream was so vivid that she set out with husband John to find the home she believed to be her destiny. On the north shore of Lake Charlevoix, she found a vacated cabin and settled in, and the town’s name came when they wandered past a small stream and christened it the Boyne River, after a similarly clear stream in John’s native country of Ireland.

The beloved couple wasn’t the only Charlevoix County leaders thought to be drawn by divine forces. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1848, Jesse James Strang helped to write one of the strangest chapters in Midwestern history when he claimed to have received a directive from God to form a Mormon colony on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, just off the coast of Charlevoix. He proclaimed himself King of Beaver Island and was eventually elected to the state legislature before being assassinated by disgruntled followers in 1856.

While the Beaver Island colony disbursed, Boyne City grew with the help of its many old-growth forests. At the town’s industrial peak, three sawmills were operating along the lakefront with a tannery and other industries. The population swelled to 7,000 — about double the town’s current size.

The area’s lumber boom was at its height when Dr. Clarence Hemingway and his wife, Grace, of Oak Park, Illinois, first came by train and steamship to nearby Walloon Lake, just a few miles north of Lake Charlevoix, and built Windemere Cottage as their summer home. They returned year after year, and the experiences their young son, Ernest, had amid the lumber camps, trout streams and Native American villages of that day would form the basis for his popular Nick Adams stories.

The infamous author was known for his escapades at an early age, or so you’ll learn in a visit to the Red Fox Inn, a Hemingway-themed bookstore located in the two-shop enclave of Horton Bay just northeast of Boyne City. Pay attention to the hand-painted sign on the porch suggesting you inquire about a “Last Good Country Tour.” The tour offers you a guided walk through the actual spots (and tales of the people) that inspired Hemingway’s stories. You’ll also hear a few inside bits from store owner Jim Hartwell, the grandson of original owner Vollie Fox — the man who taught Hemingway to fish. He’ll lead you to Ten Mile Point, where in “The End of Something,” Nick Adams dumps the not-fictional local girl Marjorie Bump and perhaps tell of the time young Ernest got up in the night, rang the school bell until all the lights in town were on, then went back to bed.

Year-round tourism from a chairlift

Year-round tourism grew dramatically when a young Studebaker dealer named Everett Kircher decided the state needed a ski resort and used elevation maps to pinpoint a promising spot just 7 miles from Boyne City. He bought the land for $1 from a farmer who believed in the vision and couldn’t grow anything on the steep slopes. Kircher then installed one of the earliest chairlifts ever built.

A pioneer in both lifts and snowmaking, Kircher grew Boyne Mountain into the largest ski resort between New England and the Rockies and expanded the season by laying out the first nine-hole golf course himself and hiring architects like Robert Trent Jones Jr. for further development.

Today, you can book a room at the Alpine-themed Mountain Grand Lodge and watch kids rejoice as the family heads to the attached Avalanche Bay, the state’s largest indoor water park. There are slopes for skiers and snowboarders of every level, but those who prefer alternate adventures are in luck, too, with horse-drawn sleigh rides, tubing parks, new fat tire winter bike rentals, and even a zipline adventure course. Spring brings segway tours and fly fishing instruction.

More public land with a view is located at Young State Park, just outside the Boyne City limits. Long stretches of sandy beach are perfect for quiet strolls and especially popular with boaters, as are the camp’s rental cabins. Those with more gracious lodging accommodations in mind will love the nestled-in-the-pines feel of Horton Creek Bed and Breakfast. There, rooms with woodsy names like Bear, Moose and Treetop fit well with the log cabin-like interiors. For world-class sunset views and the roominess of a condominium, the popular choice is Water Street Inn, right on Lake Charlevoix in Boyne City.

This charming condominium beachfront hotel offers one-bedroom condos within easy walking distance of shopping, dining and marina. All rooms include kitchenette, living room with fireplace, and patio or balcony overlooking their beach and beautiful Lake Charlevoix. Take advantage of their great offseason rates.

Shop SoBo

This is a town made for strolling, both for the open space along the waterfront and a vibrant business district that’s considered a model for others across the state. What started as a joke — the creation of an arts district called SoBo (South Boyne) — instead had a “Name it and they will come” effect. The colorful, modified Manhattan logo now graces a section of Lake Street that boasts a handful of galleries and other shops, including the light-filled Freshwater Studio. Here, visitors can shop under a classic boat that hangs from the ceiling for full-sized log beds or delicate jewelry — all made by Michigan artists.

Nestled in the beating heart of downtown Boyne City is a brand new marina and residential condo development being marketed and sold by Kidd & Leavy Real Estate. Dubbed The Marina at One Water Street and The Resort Cottages at One Water Street respectively, this upscale property situated at the west end of town is perfect for folks looking to plant some firm roots in the shadow of Lake Charlevoix.

The Marina at One Water Street is a 24-slip floating marina constructed by esteemed builder Flotation Dock Systems of Cedarville, Michigan. Slips (twelve 40-foot slips, seven 65-foot slips and five 80-foot slips) are currently available for lease or sale. Construction on The Resort Cottages is slated to begin in Spring 2014. The property includes 15 single family, detached condo residences, nine of which are located on the waterfront. For more information about the maria or cottages, contact Wally Kidd at 231-838-2700 or wkidd@kiddleavey.com.

Water Street’s appeal is the shopping and dining variety, as well as the history of buildings that sport ceilings of copper or tin. Sip a latte and peruse a new or used book at the Local Flavor Bookstore and Internet Café; pick up a travel tea press or cooperative game at Inspired Living; or try the Mayan fry bread tacos with a margarita at the Red Mesa Grill where, come summer, you’ll always find a line.

Across the street, Boyne’s Beyond Borders invites you to think outside the norm with its unusual selection of jewelry and crafts from around the world. But owner Jon Bautel says he mostly wants shop visitors to feel at home and like friends. Good friends.