The adventures of MR5 as she cruises America's Great Loop
Lake Michigan coast: Boyne City and Charlevoix
August 22, 2026 through August 24, 2026
One of the most interesting things about cruising the Michigan coastline is the sheer number of lakes, bays, and inlets—and within each one, an impressive number of places to dock or drop anchor. In other words, there’s no shortage of opportunities to find a beautiful spot to park the boat and enjoy the scenery.
From Petoskey, we set off on our trek to Lake Charlevoix. At first, Lake Michigan was calm and comfortable, and we were feeling pretty good about our decision to head out. But, midway through the trip, Mother Nature apparently decided we were having entirely too much fun. She turned the lake into a giant washing machine, and suddenly our relaxing cruise became an amusement park ride.
Thankfully, we eventually made it into Lake Charlevoix and headed east toward Boyne City. Once again, we promptly disembarked from the boat, unloaded our e-bikes, and set off on a road ride. And once again, we found ourselves struggling to keep up with Matt and Jean as they led us on a 22-mile round trip to Boyne Mountain.
At this point, we began to wonder about the decision to purchase these electric bikes that seemed to require an astonishing amount of work. Fortunately, Matt came to the rescue. He scoured Facebook Marketplace and located two high-quality traditional bikes. And just like that, within a day, we had purchased a new set of bikes and were happily pedaling alongside our friends.
Of course, there is one small catch: now all the pedal power is on us. No more blaming the battery, the motor, or the technology. Wish us luck—we (or perhaps Chris) may need it!
Boyne City, MI
Charlevoix Municipal Marina as we gratefully enter this harbor of refuge. Mother Nature was not having a good day and she displayed her feelings boldly. Note the dark brow.A photo-worthy lovely home on Lake Charlevoix overflowing with flowersNo, we’re not in Switzerland. This is Boyne Mountain Ski Resort in Boyne Falls, MI. It may not be very large but it produced at least one gold medalist: Kaila Kuhn. We were hoping to get in a couple of ski runs while there, but, alas, they didn’t have any snow.Not sure what this is. Perhaps some cross breeding? Hmmm? Is it a swoose?A parting shot of the resort…just before the long ride back.For Sale: Two adorable but dreadfully slow e-bikesThe Boyne City Marina was one of the smallest yet, but the flowers were some of the most colorful.Oh, how we love our sunsets! This is of the marina lighthouse.This one was even more colorful.On the first day with our new bicycles, we rode a 12-mile round trip to Horton Bay. It was much easier…for me, anyway.Boyne City won the prestigious national Great American Main Street Award in 2020 and placed in the top ten in 2011 and 2019.An ode to the exceptional fishing interestsA novel idea for a bike rackThe seas were rough and wild that day. It gave this beach more of a Caribbean look.“Oh, wow! We are not going boating today.”Our tour guides, Matt and Jean, are preparing to take us on a tour of the mushroom houses in Charlevoix.The mushroom houses , are a collection of 28 whimsical stone buildings built by self-taught local builder Earl Young between 1919 and the the 1970’s.Some common elements in his buildings included melting snow on the chimney or rooftop, diamond shaped windows, and large stones.This is one way to trim your lawn. But, it may take a few days. (Does that cut come with free goat cheese?)Another common element included flowers growing out of stone walls.We marveled at how the builders were able to manually move these extremely large stones into place in the early years of the building. A view of the lake from one of the mushroom housesCharlevoix Municipal Marina is a very modern and clean facility.
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