Muskellunge Lake

Sunrise hits the water best here, when the lake is still glass and the only sound is whatever's hatching. This stretch centers on a 134-acre all-sports lake where people actually fish and boat instead of just looking at brochures—sandy bottom, solid for swimming, northern pike and panfish if you know where to cast. Homes tend to be modest cottages and modest ranches, many with lake views or deeded access and dock rights; the village of Trufant sits right across the street, the kind of place where a public boat launch is a half-mile walk and in-ground pools sometimes show up in the same yard as lake frontage, because why choose. An hour northwest of Grand Rapids, with three parks within a mile and Woodbeck Lake practically at your doorstep, it's the sort of area where "getting away" doesn't require much distance—just the right lake.