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Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids

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Park wherever. Beach goers will likely park there if left unoccupied.
Three season front porch with table for two, and an electric fireplace.
Back bathroom with corner shower
Game table
Back bathroom with corner shower

Reviews

10 out of 10
Exceptional
2 bedrooms2 bathroomsSleeps 5

Popular amenities

  • Onsite parking available
  • Kitchen
  • Washing machine
  • Air-conditioning
  • Barbecue grill
  • Garden

Explore the area

View in a map
Elk Rapids, MI
  • Place, Veterans Memorial Park
    ‪1 min walk‬
  • Place, Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Place, Elk Rapids District Library
    ‪5 min walk‬
  • Airport, Traverse City, MI (TVC-Cherry Capital)
    ‪24 min drive‬

Rooms & beds

2 bedrooms (sleeps 5)

Eastroom

1 Queen Bed

Westroom

1 Queen Bed and 1 Single Bed

2 bathrooms

Main

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Second Bath

Toilet · Shower only

Spaces

Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Outdoor play area
Garden
Dining area

About this property

Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids

Please enjoy our quaint crooked little 1885 cottage that was the carriage house for the historic house across the road. Updating completed Fall 2019 with new flooring, cabinets, appliances, windows and bathroom fixtures. We are 100 yards from the beach, river and park. Two blocks to great eateries, Shorts Brewery, and quaint shopping downtown. 10 miles to Flintfields Equestrian Park in Williamsburg, or our many inland lakes, and 18 miles to Traverse City.

Location, location, location is what the Crooked Cottage is all about! Close enough to walk to the beach, marina, dinner, theater, and quaint shopping. Centrally located for fun trips to Traverse City, Frankfort, Suttons Bay, Northport, Leland, Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, Bellaire, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Boyne City, Harbor Springs, Mackinac Island, State Parks and the many beaches along the way. So whether you want to just stay and enjoy, or pack in as much sightseeing as you can, this is the spot!

Decorated to inspire with great art and happy colors, the decor is an eclectic mix of styles using old painted furniture and mid century modern. Everything (except the beds and bedding) have come from REclecTia, an upscale consignment store in Traverse City, . There is a huge yard so bring your fun yard toys. The front porch is great in any weather, there is even an electric fireplace to take the chill off if need be. For those who love to cook, the kitchen is well equipped and the gas grill on the back deck could cook up that lake trout or salmon you caught on your charter trip. Equipped with all the comforts to relax and get away! There is a TV, but it is our hope that you will come away from that, and enjoy spending your down time with friends and family and everything our area has to offer.

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House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 21
Check out before 11:00 AM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17
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Events

No events allowed
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Pets

No pets allowed
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Check-out instructions

The host requires you to complete the following before checking out:
Load and start the dishwasher
Strip any used beds and gather used towels
Remove personal items, remove leftover food and drinks and take out the rubbish
Turn off the lights, lock the doors and return the keys
As a helpful addition, please start a load of towels! Thank you!
Failure to complete these may result in a negative review from the host.

Important information

You need to know

Property Registration Number STRB20-030
Property # 1781530vb
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit

About the area

Elk Rapids

Located in Elk Rapids, this holiday home is on a lake. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Lake Michigan and Torch Lake. Guntzviller's Spirit of the Woods Museum and Music House Museum are also worth visiting. Enjoy the area's slopes with cross-country skiing and snowboarding, and don't miss out on the snowmobiling and ice skating.
View more Holiday homes in Elk RapidsOpens in a new window
Map
Elk Rapids, MI

What's nearby

  • Veterans Memorial Park - 1 min walk - 0.1 km
  • Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall - 2 min walk - 0.2 km
  • Elk Rapids District Library - 5 min walk - 0.5 km
  • Rotary Park - 8 min walk - 0.7 km
  • Elk Lake - 3 min drive - 2.6 km

Getting around

  • Traverse City, MI (TVC-Cherry Capital) - 26 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Masala Magic by Anita - ‬16 min walk
  • ‪Oasis Tavern - ‬7 min drive
  • ‪Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪Johnny's Torch Riviera - ‬16 min drive
  • ‪Short’s Brewing Company Production Facility - ‬19 min walk

Frequently asked questions

Is Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much does it cost to stay at Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids?

As of 10 May, 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids on 11 May, 2026 start from S$528, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.

How much is parking at Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids?

On-site parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids?

Checkout is at 11:00 AM.

Where is Steps to Lake Michigan & Downtown Elk Rapids located?

Situated on a lake, this holiday home is within a 5-minute walk of Veterans Memorial Park and Lake Michigan. Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall and Elk Rapids District Library are also within 5 minutes.

Reviews

10

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 27 out of 28 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 1 out of 28 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 28 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 28 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 28 reviews

10/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

10/10

Location

10/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

Verified

10/10 Excellent

Terri K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Love this place
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Terri K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Love this place! Great location
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Tim C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Wonderful time and great location.
Stayed 9 nights in Jun 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kristen G.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Can't beat the location. The screened in porch was so beautiful and relaxing at night after the kids went to bed! we loved our stay :)
Stayed 10 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Terri K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excellent property

This is our fifth year renting. Love this place.
Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kelley M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Perfect location where you can play on the beach every day. Cottage is full of everything you need, outdoor play equipment and kitchen items. Comfy beds and plentiful beach towels.
Stayed 17 nights in Aug 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Terri K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Relaxing vacation

Great home in downtown close to beaches. Already rebooked another stay for next year.
Stayed 14 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Will P.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Location

This cottage is in a wonderful location. Very close to the beach and easy access to everything in town. Easy check-in and communication was great. Will definitely consider staying here again.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Meagan S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Crooked Cottage

We loved the house & it was close to many things. Perfect ranch style cottage & home away from home. Would stay again or recommend it to friends & family.
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Terri K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great find

Quaint, clean and near beaches and downtown. Nicely decorated. This is our third year and will stay again.
Stayed 14 nights in Jul 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 5 Aug, 2024
Thank you Terri. We truly appreciate guests like you who treat our humble cottage as your own. Happy to have you all return. Janet & Ron
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Bob S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Year 45 enjoying Elk Rapids and year 4 staying at the Crooked Cottage. As always it didn’t disappoint. They have everything you need and everything you forgot you would need. Great location too. Can’t wait until next year.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Bob S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Home Away from Home

This was our 3rd year staying at the Crooked Cottage and have already booked it for next year. Great location in a beautiful destination. Love the eclectic decor. We always look forward to finding new pieces that have been added.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 5 Aug, 2024
Bob, Thank you for that great review! We are happy to welcome you back a 4th time. You might hold the record! Janet
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Steph M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great spot in Elk Rapids

This place is a real gem. The interior is well designed and thoughtfully decorated. The kitchen is super well equipped and the location is perfect for exploring the gorgeous little town as well as quick treks to Traverse and the surrounding areas. Will definitely return!
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Erin C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect spot in beautiful Elk Rapids

We had a perfect stay at the Crooked Cottage! It is a spacious and well-designed layout for our group. And is the perfect location for exploring Elk Rapids - just one block to the beach and a few to downtown. Can’t wait to visit again. Thank you!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Bob S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

We’ll be back!

This was our second year staying here and we have already booked for next year. Centrally located for downtown dinning and shopping, as well as the beach. Everything you need is provided, except a cheese grater, but no worries we brought a brand new one with us this year and added it to the drawer for future guests. Looking forward to staying here again next year.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

mary f.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

fantastic!!!

WE LOVED This property. The decor was beautiful. The beds were comfortable. We actually purchased the sheets from the beds as soon as we got home because we loved them. The kitchen had everything you could need! The property owners were thoughtful and left flowers and wine and snacks. WE will be back!!!!
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2020
Response from VrboOwner on 7 Jul, 2020
Mary, Thank you so much for the great review! We would be happy to have you stay again! Stay well. Janet
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kimberly D.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect getaway!

This little cottage was perfect for our family of 4. Amazing location right across the street from a gorgeous beach perfect for walks and taking in the view. Walking distance from restaurants and the friendly town of Elk Rapids. The house itself is homey and comfortable. It had everything we needed and then some! Beautifully decorated with comfy furniture and plenty of spaces for meals and family time. Our host, Janet, made sure we were well taken care of and checked in via messages to make sure we had a care-free and amazing stay. I would 100% stay here again and can't recommend this host and experience enough! Thank you :)
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Shirley S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Loved the electric furnishings and being next to the beach and town.

Rental atmosphere was relaxing and uplifting in design. Had all that we needed and then some. We will definitely be back with our inflatable.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2022
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Brittany A.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Allen MI Trip

This was our first time to MI and we fell in love. The crooked cottage is in a perfect location. It was clean and well decorated. We definitely hope to travel back.
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2022
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Frank K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Elm St

A great location to explore from!
Stayed 5 nights in May 2022
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great memorial weekend stay!

Booking was simple, very close to the beach! Everything worked great! The beds were comfie, clean and lots of pillows which were also comfie and clean! The house was bigger then we thought. Did bring a full size air mattress for one of our friends staying with us and set it up in the living room and still had plenty of room!
Stayed 3 nights in May 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 31 May, 2022
Thank you for the review! Kudos to you all for running the Bayshore! Quite an accomplishment! Hope you can return next year. You all were very respectful to our humble cottage and left it in great shape. Appreciatively, Janet
Verified

8/10 Good

Mike B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Visit

This was a good base camp for exploring not only Elk Rapids but the entire NW MI area. Sleeping Bear, Traverse City, Old Mission Point, Charlevoix, Petosky and Tunnel of Trees are all within a short drive. Having the beach and the sunset a block away was incredible and the whole town is easily walkable. This quirky cottage is well decorated and well located.
Stayed 6 nights in Oct 2021
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kris F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Loved this cottage

Janet was super responsive. Everything was super clean and the location was perfect. Would definitely stay here again!
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2021
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Cherstin B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Adorable cottage in a quaint town

We loved our time in Elk Rapids. The house is a quirky old building that is so bright, cheery, spacious and comfy. There was more space than we expected. And the decor is fantastic. The front porch, living room and kitchen were all great spaces to relax. I appreciated the comfy beds, plentiful soft blankets, bedding and towels, a/c units that kept all the spaces a good temp, and the back laundry area. The beach and park is so close and was never too busy. The downtown area is really nice and also close. We definitely hope to return.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2021
Verified

10/10 Excellent

will s.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excellent!

The house is very clean and in a great location! We are already picking dates for next year!
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2020
Response from VrboOwner on 28 Jul, 2020
Thank you Will, and we would love to have you back anytime!

About the host

Hosted by Janet Ramoie

Host profile image
My husband Ron was born and raised in Traverse City, I was born in Detroit, moved to Onaway and came to Traverse City for college and never left. Ron has been all over the US when he biked, but I have not been West of Chicago. It is in our plans when we start semi-retirement soon, however we have always owned our own businesses, REclecTia Consignment for me, and a lawn & snow management company for Ron, so it is hard to get away. Not to mention our two children and five local grandkids that keep us grounded. Our decision to turn this property into a vacation rental was based on the fact that it was sitting empty after our long term renter moved out. Ron spent every spare moment of his time in 2019 remodeling it into a place that is so comfortable. We are happy to share it with anyone coming to the area on vacation. I had fun decorating it with unique pieces that flowed through my shop. It is a very happy place! We hope you can relax and enjoy it as much as we do!

Why they chose this property

This home was purchased to bring my parents closer to me in their later years. My Mother loved water and swimming and she enjoyed it until she had to move to assisted living. There was a fabulous view for many years until the neighbors trees grew up! We believed at the time, that we may eventually retire there, and we still might. It is the most friendly village to live in, with no need to travel far for anything if you don't want to.

What makes this property unique

This place is perfect for so many. The area with all of its magnificent lakes and rivers make for a great summer. Nearby festivals are a year round occurrence and there is more than one to suit anybody. Wine tasting and renowned restaurants draw foodies. Downhill and cross country skiing, fat tire biking and ice skating are the past time in the winter.

Languages:

English

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