Kalkaska, the Trout Capital

Kalkaska is the heart of the county — its only incorporated village and the county seat — sitting where US-131 meets M-72, halfway between Traverse City and the Au Sable country. It grew up as a railroad and lumber town in the 1870s and today calls itself the Trout Capital of Michigan, a nod to the blue-ribbon trout streams that surround it.

You can’t miss the town’s mascot: a giant brook trout sculpture, some seventeen feet long, sits in a fountain right along US-131 in front of the old railroad depot, now the county historical museum. Every year on the last weekend of April, Kalkaska throws the National Trout Festival — a tradition since the 1930s — to mark the opening of trout season, with a parade, carnival, fishing contest, and fireworks. Downtown along Cedar Street you’ll find shops, restaurants, and that small-town northern-Michigan feel.

For buyers, Kalkaska village offers in-town homes on municipal water and sewer, a walkable downtown, and an easy commute to Traverse City. The surrounding township and county are more rural, with wells and septic the rule (see the well-and-septic note).