We love coming to W Michigan every summer, renting a house for a week. Even more so now w 2 babies. This house was a clean, rustic, quiet spot. In a private community that’s isolated from the main tow, right behind the lakeside dunes. The stair access to the lake was washed away, but only about a 1/4-1/3 mile walk (partially thru the woods) to get to private, isolated, quiet beach. The HOA beach was, honestly, nicer than going to the public ones, no crowds, at most only 1 other family down there, and was a doable walk for our 2 year old.
The neighbors in the association were pretty welcoming, the next door neighbors were also from Chicago (and apparently had the cabin in their family for ~100 yrs).
The house itself was what we’re looking for. A simple cottage for the babies and us. Quiet at night. Short walk to the beach because with a 2 month old infant, we’d need to ensure we could easily shuttle b/w the beach and home for an emergency. Big gas grill which we used most nights. A lovely firepit which we didn’t use because we honestly had no time b/c of the babies, but if they were older we definitely would’ve set up for s’mores a couple of nights.
A nice part is the backside of the private community is a big, privately owned lagoon (Norton Sand Co) that separates you from the main town. So it’s quiet. But just a 5 minute drive to get into town and only 7-10 minutes to Pere Marquette beach and the restaurants there. Downtown Muskegon had a bunch of nice shops, vendors, and restos. The town is trying hard to make it a social district where you bring out your family on a weekend day or evening (sand volleyball, cornhole, picnic tables, open containers, lots of food vendors).
And Kim was VERY accommodating w our pooch. We made sure to keep up w cleaning/vacuuming during the week for his shedding, the house has all the cleaning supplies you need, and check in/out was very easy.
Definitely will come back w the babies.