Big Bay Lodgings

Thunder Bay Inn
(906) 343-9220
One of Michigan's historic inns. this place was built by Henry Ford in the early 1940s as a place employees could stay while visiting the local Ford plant which made paneling for its vehicles. It is best known as a site for the 1959 filming of the legendary Anatomy of a Murder. After closing for a while, it has been brought back to life by the Peacock family, who also own and run the restaurant.

There are 10 rooms and one suite ($70-$120), nicely maintained in an old-fashioned manner (most rooms have hooks for clothes rather than closets; some share showers). The downstairs restaurant opens at 11 a.m. daily.

LITTLE TREE CABINS
(906) 345-9535
Two simple, tastefully furnished cabins are behind the Independence Lake home of Martha Bush and Ken Baker. Ken and Martha are extremely knowledgeable about the natural world. They offer a worthwhile backcountry guide service for families visiting the Big Bay area, with a family rate of $35, no matter how many. Now that their homeschooled children are going on to college, This little resort has a 200-foot stone & sand beach , a community fire circle and picnic area, nice hikes up the rocky, wooded hillsides across the road, and trout fishing in the nearby Yellow Dog River. Independence Lake fishing is excellent. Each cabin comes with a rowboat, picnic table, and fire ring. The cabins sleep 4 to 7; there's an extra charge for extra people, children and adult alike. Cabins have no water views. They rent by the week during summer ($475-$525), otherwise for $75-$105/day, depending on party size and season. 2-day winter minimum. Daily rates may be available, even in summer if a cabin is immediately available. Thie resort is geared to silent sports. It takes snowmobilers in winter but separates snowmobilers and skiers by booking in different weeks. The 3 ski trails here vary in difficulty and offer wonderful views.

PICTURE BAY MOTEL
(906) 345-9820
This very clean, trim older motel has rooms with knotty pine paneling. Birders, take note: a very pleasant seating area and the back yard look down on shallow McKenzie Bay of Lake Independence, an idyllic view. The bay is fed by an underground river and springs, which creates open water in winter. Waterfowl flock here for most of the year. Once a busy sawmill was on the bay.
    Two rooms have cooking facilities and two double beds. They are $80/night for a two-room suite, and $70 for one room. Two double beds are in each of the three sleeping rooms ($60/night). All have satellite TV. A phone is in the office. No air-conditioning; it's seldom necessary. Snowmobilers welcome; on trail. Owners Marcand Michelle Marrow are active snowmobilers, drawn to move up from below the bridge.

BIG BAY POINT LIGHTHOUSE B&B
(906) 345-9957

Photography Plus

This seven-room B&B is one lighthouse B&B of some 23 in the U.S., and only four in Michigan. Owner/ innkeepers Jeff and Linda Gamble do all the little things to make this unusual lodging a destination where guests like to stay on the premises. The cozy downstairs living room with fireplace, comfortably furnished, is well supplied with lots of games and books. Exposed brick walls set a casual note. The library VCR/DVD has good movies, including, of course, the locally filmed Anatomy of a Murder. Cookies, fruit, candy, and pretzels, and beverages can be grazed at the dining room buffet any time. The Gambles love to share lighthouse lore and stories at their nightly orientation talk and in their quarterly newsletter. It's most fun to be here in this north-facing waterfront location, they say, on those marvelous nights when the northern lights can be seen - November through March are the best bets - or when the sky is clear and the stars are out, or when the weather's really bad. Then you can sit in the tower room (a shared area) and watch storms and lightning out in the lake.
Linda bakes for the full breakfast. Perched partway down the bluff there's a hut with spa services (massages, masks and wraps) with one to two weeks' notice -all the more memorable because all that you hear is the lapping of waves. A perennial garden is by the door. The grounds offer good early-morning opportunities to see birds and wildlife. Guests can borrow snowshoes. Trails on the property go along the lake.
Three larger "keeper's rooms" with queen beds, fireplace, lake view are $209/night in season, May thru Oct., $192.50 otherwise. Two other rooms with queen beds, lake view are $170.50 in summer or $154 off-season. A small room with a double bed and woods view, available only in summer, is $137.50. Another woods-view room with queen-size bed is $148.50 in summer and $137.50 in winter. For good summer availability, reserve three months in advance; for non-holiday winter weekends, three weeks ahead. Public tours of common areas ($3) are given at 1:30, and 2:30 on Sunday and Wednesday, June through September. Grounds are open to visitors from 10 to 4 daily. -7/2010

Return to Big Bay

Best of the Best U.P. Maps

Incredibly Useful!
Hunt's Map Guide to the Upper Peninsula • Favorite hikes, beaches, restaurants, shops, lighthouses, scenic drives, waterfalls, & much more
• 13 detailed U.P. maps
• Full color, on sturdy, water-resistant paper
• Folds out to 12”x38”
• Only $6.95
To learn more & buy online, click here