Lake-facing patios, west-shore tasting rooms, the dock at the right time of year. Bring a sweater after seven, even in July.
A hillside tasting room on Clam Lake Road that the owners built themselves — mosaic floors, a rustic wood staircase, and a 25-foot cupola looking down over Lake Bellaire toward Torch Lake. Estate wines and hard ciders come with a rotating spread of local cheese and artisan food. Open until 9 p.m. most nights, later than most tasting rooms in the area — the deck is the seat to ask for at sunset.
A shallow shelf running nearly two miles at the south end of the lake near the Torch River Bridge, where the water reads Caribbean-turquoise over a white marl bottom. Hundreds of boats raft together here on a July Saturday or the Fourth of July, music and coolers included. No boat needed to see it — the Lake Street public access point in Rapid City gets you there on foot in five to ten minutes, water waist-deep most of the way.