The Family Vacation You're Looking for on Birch Lake

We had so much fun!

This cottage is exactly as described and has everything you need for a northern Michigan trip. The sandy beach and shallow sandy water would be great for a family with smaller children. The cottage was clean and had a good amount of space. The property manager even stopped shortly after we checked in to make sure everything was good and to let us know his number was in the cottage if we should need anything while we were there. We had a great trip.

Another wonderful vacation at the Red Cottage. We were there for 3 weeks - late August and early September. The weather was unusually cold and wet but we made the most of the usable lake time. The cabin location allowed for impromptu trips to local small towns and new discoveries. We had warm and cozy game nights when campfires were not possible. There was plenty of room for everyone whether playing, watching movies or eating. I can’t wait until next year!

Been renting on Birch Lake for 12 years. As far as I'm concerned, if you're looking for a great "up north" location, this should be your destination. Birch Lake is small and perfect for families. It's beautifully clean, warm and children can walk out into the water a long way before getting in too deep. Over the years we've rented 3 different cottages. This particular rental had pros and cons over the others. There's a nice, large deck on the back that has a table large enough to accommodate at least 6 comfortably. The beach area is good sized and there's a long dock that we used for sunning, towels, coolers, etc..... The living room has been remodeled, quaint and has nice wood floors. I personally don't like carpeting because of odors and being this cottage allows pets, I worry about fleas, dog hair and so on. Allowing pets is "ify". I appreciated my family being able to bring their dog but worried about what the pets before us had left. There weren't any noticeable odors, messes or hair, so... The master bdrm. was good, comfy queen bed and the second bdrm. also an okay queen bed. The 3rd bdrm was good but for us the bunk beds were useless. No one but small children could have slept in them; adults aren't going to climb to the top and feel claustrophobic on the bottom. We split the beds immediately. However, they still didn't get slept on because both mattress's were on boards and too uncomfortable. One of my family members opted for the couch instead, which made me worry about the flea issue again. The bedroom would be much better with 2 twin size real beds or 1 full size. It is also big enough to somehow accommodate a stack-able or small washer/dryer. The only laundromat nearby is closed; the closest one is 20 miles away. One of the other cottages we get does have a washer/dryer. There is a dishwasher and some sort of water filter. We used the filtered water for coffee and ice and it was fine. However, within a couple of days the sinks, tub and toilets were brown from the water and it was "yucky" for lack of a better word. The dishwasher leaves the dishes looking filmy. This cottage has WiFi, (actually better than mine at home) and the other cottages don't but the cable sucks; couldn't even catch a Tiger game, maybe 6 channels, total. The bbq grill was charcoal and had one rusty leg that fell off a few times. All that being said, I still may choose this cottage again because of the deck, beach and dock. A few small improvements would make this perfect!