Torch Lake?

The family and I have booked our vacation at Torch Lake Michigan next year. I haven't been there before, but it looks beautiful. The average depth is over 100ft and the deepest point is 315ft. Do any other members boat there?

My wife has wanted to go there forever. We just haven't been able to squeeze in a trip. I am looking forward to what everyone has to say about it.

We haven't had our boat there (yet) but the lake is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It does have a border of shallow water surrounding the deep water -- where we were (I can't recall exactly -- it's been a number of years ago), we could walk out what seemed like 100 yards and be knee or waist deep. Then the deep water started. There were boats on lifts around the perimeter, so the water is likely deep enough for a jet.

You'll love it. We want to go there too ... where did you find a place to stay (VRBO?)?

@David D It looks awesome, we will be trailering our boat up there. We used home and away to find the place we are going to stay at.

I grew up in Michigan and my folks have had a place on Torch Lake since I was a kid. The lake is very beautiful - water is very clear and blue. The main attraction during the weekends is the sand bar at the south end of the lake. On holiday weekends, it is quite the party. The water is chilly most of the year, but July 4th can be beautiful.

Been to Torch lake a few times on the water, its crystal clear like the ocean. The water is on the colder side, but that quickly goes away on a warm day. The sandbar near the south end is a great place to hang out. It can get quite crowded on hot summer weekends. You can order pizza from the local party store and they deliver right to your boat at the sand bar.

I be making the trip with our first jet boat this summer around July 4th and again in August.

@David Decker We will also be there the 2nd week of August

If anybody has questions on the area I live about 2 miles north of the sand bar on the west side of the lake. Right now the wind is howling and it's about 25 degrees. These pics were from about a month ago when we had nearly 70 degrees in front of the Dockside on Clam River. You can see the ice bergs floating into Torch Lake from Clam. Can wait till summer!

12 hour drive but I would love to check out Torch lake at some point.

The family and I our at Torch Lake now. It is beautiful, crystal clear water. I have seen a few Yamaha's and one Scarab jet boat. The sand bar on the south end of the lake is great for the kids to play in. However I've been told on the weekends and Holidays it can get a little crazy. I will post some pictures when we get home.

One more thing if any goes to the Dockside restaurant, I would recommend docking your boat on the docks on left side as you're looking at the restaurant. While we were eating outside some guy in a Pontoon rental ran into a boat docked along the side of the restaurant which is part of a narrow canal leading to Clam Lake.

Are there some nice but cheap resorts to stay at with nice protected docks? I haven't had time to research it yet.

mattschepker said:

Are there some nice but cheap resorts to stay at with nice protected docks? I haven't had time to research it yet.

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@mattschepker I'm not sure. We found the cottage we are staying at on Home and Away. We are not waterfront, we are less than a mile from the boat launch though. Which is waterfront enough for me considering we normally trailer any where from 30 - 80 miles to go boating when we are home

@Jacob Klein was that your Scarab I saw at the sand bar earlier today? Tied up with a Yamaha

I would to take a vacation here one day!

I will be there the last week of August for a week. I'm renting a cottage not far from the Dockside.

lddv1224 said:

@Jacob Klein was that your Scarab I saw at the sand bar earlier today? Tied up with a Yamaha

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Yes it was! sorry for seeing this so late, we left Torch on Wednesday for Mullett Lake. Just arrived back home. It was a great week to be out on the water, weather was great!!

mattschepker said:

Are there some nice but cheap resorts to stay at with nice protected docks? I haven't had time to research it yet.

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I've done some reasearch and there are not many places to stay with protected docks. You will either need to rent a home on the water, or stay at the motel near the south end of the lake across from the boat launch and rent a boat slip at the marina or Fabianos. We did this with friends a couple of years ago.

This past week we stayed in Alden, at the Inn at Torch Lake, http://inn-at-torchlake.com/ for a couple nights and docked our boat at the public access down the street. During the week the small town and public access is not very busy, but on the weekends it can get very crowded. The Inn is a great place to stay, Harvey the owner cooks breakfast, and the place is very clean and updated. Enough space to store a couple boat trailers and walking distance to the public access.