Life on Vacation: Beachfront beauty in the Midwest

Tag : crystal beauty

"We have so much to offer in such a concentrated region," says SuzyVoltz, president of Century 21 Sleeping Bear Realty. "Families fromsouthern Michigan who have been coming to their lakefront cottageson weekends for generations, folks from Florida who spend the wholesummer playing golf at Crystal Mountain resort. The towns, resortsand lakes are all so different, but all so close."
Because the east side of Lake Michigan has a granite-based geology,its beaches are sandy, unlike the crushed-seashell beaches on muchof the Great Lakes.
This has put towns like Frankfort on the tourism map. Frankfort,which comes alive in summer, sits just south of the Sleeping BearDunes National Lakeshore, a 35-mile expanse of sand dunes. Thecoastal resort town is also home to Crystal Downs, a classicAlister MacKenzie-designed private golf course that is theconsensus best in the Midwest.
But public golf here is also good. Arcadia Bluffs, on the shore ofLake Michigan, is considered one of the best public and BritishIsles-style links courses in the nation. Then there is theimmensely popular 36-hole Crystal Mountain.
Crystal Mountain began as a community ski resort in 1956. Today, itis a four-season resort with a ski area, two golf courses, waterpark, retail and dining village, tennis, fitness center, spa,sculpture garden with nature trails, and more than 30 miles ofcross-country skiing and mountain-biking trails. Second-homeoptions include town houses, single-family houses, cottages andfractional ownership.
Frankfort and Crystal Mountain, 16 miles apart, are both in BenzieCounty. Nearby are picturesque towns such as Elberta and Beulah.The county has more than 60 miles of Great Lakes coastline, 57other lakes, and the Betsie and Platte Rivers, popular withanglers, canoeists and kayakers, as well as a 22-mile bikeway andmore than 135 miles of snowmobile trails.
A look at three Benzie County neighborhoods
•Crystal Mountain The region's major full-service resort is family-owned and offersskiing, golf, biking, hiking, children's activities as well asrestaurants, shops and a spa. The four main neighborhoods are atthe base of the ski resort, the top of the mountain, in the woodsand around the golf lodge. All neighborhoods have detached houses,and some include alternatives such as condos and fractionalownership units. Most condo owners put their units in the rentalpool to generate income. Lots start at about $76,000 and homesabout $220,000.
•Frankfort. The county's largest lakefront town of 1,500 offers a festive,summer-resort atmosphere. Most houses have water views and are ashort walk to the beach and to shops and restaurants. "You canstill find something on a side street for $150,000," real estateagent Suzy Voltz says. "Those homes go up to about $500,000. Thenthere are a few right on the lake itself, and they go for $600,000to $800,000."
•Crystal Lake/Beulah. Just a mile inland from Lake Michigan, the deep, clear glaciallake with a sandy bottom offers one of the most desirablesecond-home locales. Cottages and houses with private lake frontagefetch $500,000 to $1 million; less expensive houses are set on thesurrounding steep hills, offering water views and shore access. Thesmall town of Beulah sits at the eastern end of the lake.
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