Clear Lake State Park

About nine miles north of Atlanta on M-33, tucked into the Mackinaw State Forest, Clear Lake State Park lives up to its name. The spring-fed lake at its heart is remarkably clear and deep, with a sandy beach and a shallow, gently sloping swimming area that’s easy on little kids. The park wraps around about two-thirds of the shoreline, so most of what you see from the water is woods, not cottages.

It’s a comfortable place to spend a weekend or a week. There’s a big modern campground shaded by oaks and pines, a few rustic cabins if you’d rather not tent it, a picnic pavilion, a disc golf course, and canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards to rent right at the park. The fishing is good — trout, splake, and smallmouth bass — and unlike most state parks, this one lets you ride an off-road vehicle straight from the campground onto the Atlanta-area ORV trails.

Best of all, you’re in the middle of elk country here. On a still spring or fall evening, it’s not unusual to hear a bull elk bugling somewhere off in the trees. For anyone thinking about settling up here, this stretch of Montmorency County offers quiet, wooded living with a gem of a lake just down the road. You can find camping and trail details at Michigan.gov/DNR.