Boyne City

Boyne City sits at the east end of Lake Charlevoix, and it’s the county’s largest city. It’s a lively, walkable lakefront town with a real downtown of shops, restaurants, and breweries. There’s a marina too, plus a riverwalk along the Boyne River. Its motto, “Where Life Meets Lake,” fits: the waterfront and the lake are the center of life here.

A century ago this was the lumber capital of the area. Sawmills lined the lakefront, and the town held thousands more people than today. When the timber ran out, it reinvented itself around the lake and tourism. Boyne City is probably best known now for the National Morel Mushroom Festival, held each May. Thousands of people come to comb the spring woods for prized morel mushrooms and celebrate downtown. Boyne Mountain, one of Michigan’s big ski-and-golf resorts, is just a few miles away.

For buyers, Boyne City offers a bit more year-round, working-town life than the smaller resort villages. You still get lake access and a busy events calendar. It draws both families putting down roots and second-home owners, so the market stays active across price ranges.