The boat launch with the deepest channel. The trail to the gorge. The farm stand that takes Venmo. The icon you've heard of and the one you haven't.
The state park on Mullett Lake's northeast shore, with 285 campsites, two beaches, and a boat basin cut into a protected harbor rather than open water. Waterfront sites book up to six months out for a summer weekend. The pier doubles as the sunset spot once the day-trippers clear the beach. Full hookups run the south loop, for anyone pulling something bigger than a tent.
Crushed limestone from Waters to Mackinaw City, 75 miles total, but the stretch that matters here runs from Indian River across the Indian River spreads into Topinabee — 5.4 miles, ending at a beach right at the Topinabee trailhead — then another 12 miles north, directly along Mullett Lake's shore, before the trail cuts inland through farmland toward Cheboygan. Flat riding the whole way; bring your own bike.
A family orchard the Crusoe family has run since 2002, growing eleven apple varieties from Honeycrisp to Northern Spy. The pumpkin patch opens for u-pick the last weekend of September, and through the summer the orchard sells at the Cheboygan Farmers Market on Saturdays before its own on-site season starts around Labor Day. Call ahead in early fall — picking hours shift with the crop.
Festival Square, downtown Cheboygan — Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8 to 1, May through October, with live entertainment at the Saturday market from 11 to 1. Golden River Orchard sells here before its own farm stand opens for the season. The Wednesday market runs thinner than Saturday's — go Saturday if the point is the full spread, not just produce.
The marina at the north end of the Inland Waterway, where 40 miles of connected lakes and rivers meet Lake Huron. Slips run through a reservation system with the harbormaster, plus gas, pump-out service, and a public put-in. Open mid-May through October. The last stop with fuel and a working dock before a boat coming down from Mullett Lake clears the locks into open water.
Marina and boat storage on the N Straits Highway corridor connecting Topinabee to Cheboygan, roughly midway along Mullett Lake's western shore. More a slip-and-storage operation than an hourly rental counter — the call for a season-long spot rather than a single afternoon on the water. Call ahead for current slip availability before assuming there's room.
Launching from Cheboygan, Captains Jon Kennedy and Nick Laurie run a 23-foot Grady White with live-scope sonar after Mullett Lake's walleye, pike, and perch, best late summer into fall, from $650 for a half-day covering up to six anglers. All gear is provided. The same operation also runs Lake Huron trout and salmon trips if the inland bite goes quiet.
A full-service marina and marine dealer that's worked this stretch of the Cheboygan River since 1987, handling seasonal storage and transient dockage for boats running the Inland Waterway. Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. The practical stop for a repair or a part before heading back up to Mullett Lake, not a rental counter for a single afternoon on the water.
A public 9-hole course Tom Bendelow laid out in 1921, still played the way he drew it, with a clubhouse on the hill above that looks straight down at the lake. Walking 18 (twice around) runs $35; twilight rates after 5 drop to $17. The clubhouse hosts weddings and private events for up to 300 — worth knowing if a rental week turns into a reception.
The outfit running the water end of a Cheboygan visit, from a glass-bottom shipwreck tour to the Landlubbers Lock Tour through the Cheboygan Lock, where the Inland Waterway drops into Lake Huron. The Mullett Lake Fireworks Cruise runs July 4th; the full Inland Waterway Expedition covers all 38 miles in a single 12-hour day for $200 a person. Everything departs from their own dock downtown.
A restored 19th-century performance hall downtown that still runs a full season of theater, music, and community events under the Cheboygan Area Arts Council. It's the rainy-day answer once the lake isn't cooperating and the History Center down the block has already been seen. Check the season calendar before a trip — touring acts and local productions don't run on a fixed weekly schedule.
Three buildings holding close to 9,000 artifacts: the Spies Heritage Hall's general collection, a Victorian-era sheriff's house and jail, and a log cabin built to show how Northern Michigan's Native communities lived in the late 1800s. Open Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 4, last tour at 3. A slower stop than the marina, and a way to place Topinabee's own Chief Topinabee namesake in context.