Trails, docks, farms, markets.

The village beach, right where M-75 meets West Street — a gradual sandy swim area, bathhouse, historic footbridge, and the public boat ramp most Walloon Lake visitors use if they don't have a private launch. It's the most crowded stretch of shoreline on the lake by early July afternoon and the easiest one to find. Free parking, no permit required.

A Bear Creek Township park on the lake's northeast side, off Gruler Road — sandy beach, a boat launch calmer than the downtown ramp, a covered pavilion, and enough parking that it rarely fills the way Melrose does by ten. Kayaks and paddleboards launch easiest from here, and a buoyed swim area keeps younger kids contained. Fully wheelchair accessible, beach included.

A hiking preserve above the lake's north shore, hilly enough that the Walloon Lake Trust rates the terrain difficult rather than a stroll. Parking sits on North Shore Drive north of Whitfield Way; no beach, no launch, just trail and birding through forest that helps hold the watershed together. The quiet counterpart to the beaches down the hill.

Thirty-six acres along the Bear River through Petoskey, dedicated in 2011 — a 1.5-mile path from the Lake Street Bridge past a quarter-mile whitewater stretch where the river drops seventy-five feet through rapids and a small waterfall. Part of the North Country National Scenic Trail runs the unpaved southern leg. Walk it, bike it, or just watch the kayakers work the rapids on a summer afternoon.

A paved rail-trail running nearly 27 miles along Little Traverse Bay from Charlevoix through Petoskey to Harbor Springs, with a Bayfront Park trailhead connected to downtown Petoskey by tunnel. Flat, wide, and separated from traffic — the ride for anyone who wants Lake Michigan scenery without a boat. Part of US Bicycle Route 35, open and free year-round.

A 303-acre state park three miles northeast of downtown Petoskey, on Little Traverse Bay rather than Walloon Lake itself — a mile of sand, parabolic dunes, a climb up Old Baldy, and the beach where Michigan's official Petoskey stone actually turns up. A 178-site campground fills fast in July. Different lake, same trip; most Walloon renters make the twenty-minute drive at least once.

A Michigan Centennial Farm on US-131 south of Petoskey, worked by the same family since an 1874 homestead — organic produce, the region's largest mum grower, and a refurbished barn stocked with local provisions. The hillside sits above rolling farmland with a view back toward Walloon Lake. Open April through October, Monday to Saturday 9 to 6, Sunday noon to 4.

Downtown Petoskey shuts down part of Howard Street every Friday morning from late May through the start of October — local produce, bread, cheese, and flowers, 8:30 to 1. Recent construction has bounced the first few weeks of the season between the old News-Review lot and Howard Street itself; check the chamber's page before the season opens if the exact spot matters.

Boyne City's own market runs out of Veterans Memorial Park on the Lake Charlevoix waterfront, Wednesday and Saturday mornings from mid-May through mid-October, then Saturdays only through winter at the park pavilion. About fifteen minutes from Walloon Lake's south end. The Fourth of July week relocates to Old City Park — worth checking ahead if that's the week you're in town.

The full-service marina below Barrel Back, downtown Walloon Lake Village — bowriders, pontoons, jet skis, and wake boats by the day, plus a pro shop, fuel dock, and boat detailing. Formerly Tommy's, now Legacy, same location since before most of the current cottage owners bought in. Book ahead for a July weekend; walk-up rentals thin out fast once school lets out.

A quieter public launch than the downtown ramp, on the lake's west side off Sumner Road — no fanfare, no fuel dock, just a place to drop a trailer without the Melrose Park crowd. Locals use it more than visitors, mostly because it's easy to miss if you're not already looking for it.

Ernest Hemingway's family built this cottage on the north shore in 1900 for $400 and named it Windemere; he spent every summer here from age one through twenty-one, save one. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968, it's still privately owned by Hemingway's family and not open for tours — the literary pilgrimage here is a drive-by and a look across the water, not a ticketed visit.

The 1876 general store Hemingway rowed across the lake and walked four miles through the hills to reach as a boy, later writing it into "Up in Michigan" and "The Last Good Country." It's still a working store in a village that's barely more than a crossroads — the actual Nick Adams country, not a recreation of it. Worth the drive even without the literary reason.

A 32-room boutique hotel facing the village park, AAA Four Diamond, with heated marble bathroom floors and an all-season hot tub for after a day on the water or the ski trail. Complimentary scones and coffee in the lobby each morning, light appetizers each evening. Central enough that Petoskey, Boyne City, and Charlevoix all sit under a half-hour drive.

The Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians runs this casino and hotel complex on Lears Road outside Petoskey — table games, slots, four restaurants running from a taproom to a steakhouse, and a concert venue in Ovation Hall. The rainy-day and late-night answer this lake doesn't otherwise have. About fifteen minutes from Walloon Lake Village.

A Petoskey arts nonprofit since 1971 — free galleries, a performing arts series, and a School of Ballet that's trained dancers since 2003. The reliable rainy-day stop when the wineries and the beach both lose their appeal for an afternoon. Check the calendar before driving over; gallery hours and performance nights don't always overlap.

A Petoskey gift shop running since 1946 on East Lake Street, a reliable place to actually find a Petoskey stone if the beach hunt at the state park came up empty. Michigan-made goods, apparel, and home items fill two floors. Open late most nights — 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday — for anyone shopping after dinner downtown.