Charlevoix & Petoskey
Petoskey
A walkable bay town for stone hunting, shopping the Gaslight District and riding the Little Traverse Wheelway, with historic Bay View next door.
About 4 miles away (straight line)
Lake · Charlevoix & Petoskey
Round Lake (Emmet County)
A small, shallow all-sports lake behind the Petoskey State Park dunes, with a small DNR launch and a nature preserve with easy trails and a boardwalk.
Round Lake is a lake for an easy walk more than a big boat day. It is all-sports under state law, with no local limits, but it covers just 353 acres and is only 12 feet deep, so it suits small boats. The DNR stocked walleye here in 2018. Come for the nature preserve on its shore, where short trails lead to a boardwalk and an overlook on the marshy edge.
It lies less than a mile from Little Traverse Bay, behind the tall dunes of Petoskey State Park. The shallow DNR launch has room for only a few trailers.
Its water has an odd route. Before the dunes formed, about 4,000 years ago, the lake drained into the bay. Now it flows east instead, through the Inland Waterway lakes and rivers to Lake Huron.
The easiest way to see it is the Little Traverse Conservancy’s Round Lake Nature Preserve, off M-119 north of Petoskey. Short, easy trails lead through mixed forest and cedar swamp to the boardwalk and overlook. The preserve land was assembled starting with a 40-acre donation in 1980, and it is often used for school and environmental education programs.
On the water
Motorboats and rules
No special local watercraft controls apply on Round Lake, so standard state boating law is the rule. It is small and only about 12 feet deep at most.
Public access
The Little Traverse Conservancy's 58-acre Round Lake Nature Preserve, at 3264 Powell Road, has about 2,500 feet of frontage on the lake and almost a mile of easy trails, with a boardwalk and an overlook platform added in 2017.
Public boat launches
Round Lake boating access site
DNR launch with one hard-surfaced lane in shallow water, where larger boats may struggle, four trailer spaces and a vault toilet. Recreation Passport required.
Fishing, launching at a state site or parking at a state park? See licenses and passes for what you need before you go.
Anything not listed here is unverified. Do not assume public access across private shoreline. Check the Michigan DNR boating access listings and the current fishing regulations.
Location
Map of Round Lake (Emmet County)
2 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Places to stay near Round Lake (Emmet County)
Lakefront cottages and homes are listed by the local rental managers and booking sites below.
Hotels and inns
Upscale
Inn at Bay HarborAAA Three Diamond · Featured by the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau
Mid-range
Hotel PerryFeatured by the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau among historic hotels and inns
Budget
Holiday Inn Express and Suites PetoskeyAAA Three Diamond
Search all hotels in Petoskey: Booking.com · Expedia · Hotels.com · Google Hotels
We don’t take bookings or earn anything from these links. Rates, availability and any booking problems are handled by the booking site.
More places to stay in Petoskey
- Bay View Inn · A Victorian country inn from the 1880s in the Bay View Association, run for more than 60 years by Stafford Smith and his family before new owners took over.
- Terrace Inn · A historic hotel in the Bay View Association that opened on June 1, 1911, and still houses the 1911 Restaurant.
- Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau lodging · The visitors bureau's guide to hotels, historic inns, resorts, condos and vacation rentals around Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Bay Harbor.
Vacation rentals
- Holiday Vacation Rentals · holidayvacationrental.com
A Harbor Springs area rental manager with homes, condos and cottages around Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix and Boyne City.
- Northern Michigan Escapes · northernmichiganescapes.com
A Charlevoix-based vacation rental and property management company serving Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs and nearby areas.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances from the map point.
State park
Petoskey State Park
A mile of Lake Michigan beach on Little Traverse Bay between Petoskey and Harbor Springs, with wooded dunes and the climb up Old Baldy.
Under a mile away (straight line)
More lakes and rivers nearby
Lake · Charlevoix & Petoskey
Crooked Lake
A broad, shallow all-sports lake east of Petoskey that starts the Inland Waterway, with marinas and rentals in Oden and Alanson and slow channels at each end.
- All-sports
- Public launch
- Rentals
River · Charlevoix & Petoskey
Bear River
A short, fast river through Petoskey, with a quarter-mile whitewater course, a canoe livery for easy family floats and brook trout above the dam.
- Rentals
Lake · Charlevoix & Petoskey
Pickerel Lake
Crooked Lake's deeper all-sports neighbor east of Petoskey, with a free county park beach and a short channel onto the Inland Waterway.
- All-sports
- Swim beach