Things To Do
Watervale Inn
Watervale is full of things to do and a beautiful place to relax. There are endless water activities on Lower Herring Lake and Lake Michigan. Take one of the kayaks, canoes or paddle boards provided by Watervale and paddle out the outlet of Lower Herring Lake onto Lake Michigan! You could spend a whole week here without leaving and be real happy about it :) Also, the Baldy Trailhead starts right on Watervale Road!
Arcadia Dunes: Baldy Trail
This is one of the Vanderhill family's favorite hikes! You can actually access a shortcut to it from Watervale up through the woods of the back of the dune, then run down the dune and walk the beach back to Watervale searching for Petoskey stones and beach glass. Just ask the folks at Watervale how to hike the Baldy trail and they will point you in the right direction!
Green Point Dunes Nature Preserve
This is another great trail just down the road from Watervale that weaves through beautiful forests and ends up on Lake Michigan!
Frankfort Pier
This is the closest town to Watervale that has lots of great little shops to wander, as well as a pier and lighthouse to walk out to. If you are going to the pier, be sure to walk past our favorite places in Frankfort including The Scoop Ice Cream Shop, Stormcloud Brewing Company, The Bookstore, and The Garden Theater.
The Garden Theater
This is a great activity for a rainy day (although hopefully we won't have any of those!!). Originally built in 1923 and renovated beginning in 2008, the Garden Theater shows first-run, independent and foreign films in a wonderfully setting!
The Bookstore
I love this little bookstore and always make a point to stop in. It's an adorable little store with a great selection. They also have a lot of interesting local reads, including a really amazing book about how Watervale Inn and the Land Conservancy preserved thousands of acres of land in Arcadia, called "Saving Arcadia"!
Stormcloud Brewing Company
Stormcloud Brewing Company opened June 2013 just two blocks from Lake Michigan in Frankfort. They specialize in brewing Belgian Inspired ales and the pub features 16 taps pouring Stormcloud's handcrafted beer, plus cider and wine. They also have tasty food, indoor and outdoor seating and some fun games too!
Gwen Frostic Prints
Gwen Frostic was a Michigan artist best known for her block prints of animals, plants and scenes of West Michigan. Her old print studio and shop is a lovely place to visit. You can see the old printing machinery in work, and purchase some cards or prints to take home.
Betsie Valley Trail
This 22 mile long bike trail is beautiful! There are many places to rent bikes along it in nearby Frankfort and Elberta.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
This is an amazing National Park with incredible views and is a great place to camp and hike. Beware if you run down this dune it will take you hours to climb back up! It was voted 'The Most Beautiful Place in America' by Good Morning America in 2011.
Point Betsie Lighthouse
This beautiful lighthouse was built in 1858 and is a wonderful spot to visit. You can tour the house on certain days during the season, or just enjoy the grounds and lakeshore.
Beulah, MI & Crystal Lake
Beulah is a charming up-north village with quaint shops, beautiful galleries, and small cozy eateries. It's right on Crystal Lake which has exceptionally clear waters.
Leland, MI
If you are looking to keep traveling north, check out Leeland! Northern Michigan's commercial fishing heritage remains alive today in Leland's Fishtown! Walk along the docks, amongst the weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses, racks of drying fishing nets, and fish tugs on the Leland River, and you can imagine what it would have been like in the early 1900s to live and work in this small fishing village, nestled along the shore of Lake Michigan. Fishtown still operates as one of the only working commercial fishing villages in the state of Michigan.