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Affordable Family Vacation Rental with Lake Access
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Reviews
9.6 out of 10
Exceptional
1 bedroom 2 bathrooms Sleeps 8
Popular amenities
Explore the area

Big Bay, MI
- Northern Michigan University50 min drive
- Superior Dome51 min drive
- Presque Isle Park59 min drive
Rooms & beds
1 bedroom (sleeps 8)
2 bathrooms
Bathroom 1
Toilet · Shower only
Bathroom 2
Bathtub · Toilet
Spaces
Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Garden
Dining area
About this property
Affordable Family Vacation Rental with Lake Access
Looking for a nice quiet vacation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Well, come on up, we got just the place for you. This is an older two story house that sits about 300 feet back from Lake Independence (you can not see the lake) with a good driveway for you to walk down to get to the lake. The house is completely furnished and contains everything you'll need for your stay, you'll just need to bring your own food & toothbrush. As you walk into the house you are in a large screened in porch with a sofa, a couple of chairs and a table. Most folks like to sit here and read or do jigsaw puzzles, yup, folks still do those on quiet evening up here. Step into the living room and you'll see a sofa bed (queen sized) two recliner chairs and a TV and VCR/DVD, TV is limited to 2 or 3 channels (depends on the weather). From the living room you go back into the kitchen - dining area. Kitchen has a full sized electric stove and refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, toaster and other misc. electric
kitchen appliances. All the pots and pans and dishes are there that you'll need for a comfortable stay. Dining area sits 6 comfortably. Toward the back of the house is a large room that is mainly empty except for a washer and dryer and a few storage shelves, off this room is the downstairs bathroom which contains a shower. Adding to the rustic experience, you'll notice that the hardwood floors have a slight slope to them. This is due to the outside foundations having settled a few inches over the years.
The sleeping arrangements are what we like to call 'friendly'. Upstairs is one big room with a king size bed, queen size bed, and a set of trundle beds. Upstairs there is also a complete bathroom with a big old deep tub in it
On the grounds, you have a gas bar-b-q grill, a fire pit with a supply of wood, and about a half dozen bikes of various sizes for your use. As mentioned it is only a short walk to the lake where we have a dock available if you want to tie your boat up there (we do not supply a boat). The lake out front is great for swimming with a hard sand bottom and nice warm shallow water going out about 50 yards, perfect for small children. The lake is a good fishing spot. It contains walleyes, northern pike, smallmouth bass, jumbo perch and a few crappie. Smallmouth bass in the 20' size are common, northern pike up to about 35 pounds have been take from our lake and we even caught a Michigan Master Angler pike a few years ago (25 pounds).
Nearby there are nice hikes to wilderness waterfalls, stream fishing for native Brook Trout, a good boat ramp to Lake Superior and it's fishing, tours of the Big Bay Point Lighthouse, some great wild blueberry picking at the right times of the year, and viewing of Michigan's great wildlife. Within a mile of the the cabin our guests have seen deer, bear, moose, fox, wolves, eagles and osprey as well as lots of little woods creatures. You can often watch the deer in the yard from your screened in porch in the evening.
The cabin rents for $125.00 per day (minimum two days rental required) or $600.00 per week for up to 6 people. June, July & August, our rental weeks run from Saturday to Saturday. There is an extra charge of $15.00 per night or $50.00 per week for each additional guest. No more than eight guests are allowed. A $100.00 deposit is required to hold your reservation. If you have friends or family who wish to put a tent, pickup camper or travel trailer on the property while you are renting, you must get advance approval. There will be an additional charge of $25/night for campers.
Cabin is available for rental from May to November.
Deposit is fully refundable up to 30 days before date of reservation, non-refundable after that.
For more information and pictures we suggest you see our web site of or you may call show contact info
kitchen appliances. All the pots and pans and dishes are there that you'll need for a comfortable stay. Dining area sits 6 comfortably. Toward the back of the house is a large room that is mainly empty except for a washer and dryer and a few storage shelves, off this room is the downstairs bathroom which contains a shower. Adding to the rustic experience, you'll notice that the hardwood floors have a slight slope to them. This is due to the outside foundations having settled a few inches over the years.
The sleeping arrangements are what we like to call 'friendly'. Upstairs is one big room with a king size bed, queen size bed, and a set of trundle beds. Upstairs there is also a complete bathroom with a big old deep tub in it
On the grounds, you have a gas bar-b-q grill, a fire pit with a supply of wood, and about a half dozen bikes of various sizes for your use. As mentioned it is only a short walk to the lake where we have a dock available if you want to tie your boat up there (we do not supply a boat). The lake out front is great for swimming with a hard sand bottom and nice warm shallow water going out about 50 yards, perfect for small children. The lake is a good fishing spot. It contains walleyes, northern pike, smallmouth bass, jumbo perch and a few crappie. Smallmouth bass in the 20' size are common, northern pike up to about 35 pounds have been take from our lake and we even caught a Michigan Master Angler pike a few years ago (25 pounds).
Nearby there are nice hikes to wilderness waterfalls, stream fishing for native Brook Trout, a good boat ramp to Lake Superior and it's fishing, tours of the Big Bay Point Lighthouse, some great wild blueberry picking at the right times of the year, and viewing of Michigan's great wildlife. Within a mile of the the cabin our guests have seen deer, bear, moose, fox, wolves, eagles and osprey as well as lots of little woods creatures. You can often watch the deer in the yard from your screened in porch in the evening.
The cabin rents for $125.00 per day (minimum two days rental required) or $600.00 per week for up to 6 people. June, July & August, our rental weeks run from Saturday to Saturday. There is an extra charge of $15.00 per night or $50.00 per week for each additional guest. No more than eight guests are allowed. A $100.00 deposit is required to hold your reservation. If you have friends or family who wish to put a tent, pickup camper or travel trailer on the property while you are renting, you must get advance approval. There will be an additional charge of $25/night for campers.
Cabin is available for rental from May to November.
Deposit is fully refundable up to 30 days before date of reservation, non-refundable after that.
For more information and pictures we suggest you see our web site of or you may call show contact info
Add dates for prices
Amenities
Kitchen
Washing machine
Dryer
Pet-friendly
Outdoor space
Parking available
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Very comfortable house in the heart of Big Bay, with everything you need.
Very comfortable house in the heart of Big Bay, with everything you need.
- Kitchen
- Pet-friendly
- Air conditioning
- Outdoor space
10.0 out of 10, (26 reviews)
House Rules
Check in after 2:00 PM
Check out before 10:00 AM
Children
Children allowed: ages 0–17
Children welcome
Events
No events allowed
Pets
Pets allowed
Never leave your pet unattended in the cabin.
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted
Non smoking only
Important information
You need to know
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 not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher
This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios and terraces, which may not be suitable for children; if you have any concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm that they can accommodate you in a suitable room
We should mention
A car is required for transport to and from this property
About the area
Big Bay
Located in Big Bay, this holiday home is on a lake. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Lake Superior and Little Presque Isle Recreation Area. Make sure you get close to the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.

Big Bay, MI
What's nearby
- Northern Michigan University - 50 min drive - 55.0 km
- Superior Dome - 51 min drive - 56.1 km
- UP Health System - Marquette - 54 min drive - 57.9 km
- Marquette Harbor Light - 54 min drive - 58.0 km
- Presque Isle Park - 59 min drive - 58.3 km
Getting around
Restaurants
- Hungry Hollow - 5 min drive
- Lumberjack Tavern - 4 min drive
- Hungry Hollow Cafe - 5 min drive
Frequently asked questions
About the host
Hosted by Russell and Theresa Gust

I am a retired x-ray tech. and my wife is a retired school teacher of 30+ years. I was raised in lower Michigan (yes I am a Troll) and my wife has spent her entire life in the Upper Peninsula, she is a true Yooper. Now that we have the time we enjoy traveling during the spring and fall. We stay home to take care of the cabin and our gardens in the summer, also so I can try to catch all of the walleyes out of Lake Independence, that's the lake right out front. We really do enjoy meeting new folks as you come to stay for a week or two at our cabin.
Why they chose this property
We bought this property on Lake Independence many years ago when we were first thinking about retirement. We wanted a lake house for the summers and someplace warm for the winters. Lake Independence is a very desirable lake and we were just lucky to get a lot on the nice sandy north shore of the lake.
What makes this property unique
Our rental philosophy is to offer a vacation to young family who may not otherwise be able to afford one. We love to have young couples with their children in the cabin. A word or two about the cabin it has all the amenities but it is not fancy. It is a two story house that was moved to the property many years ago and set on 3 rows of wood pilings that had been driven into the ground. Well over the years the outside two rows have gotten wet and sunk a little, thus the floors on the ground floor slope a little. The sleeping arrangement is what we like to call 'friendly'. The upstairs is one big room with a king size bed, a queen size bed, and a set of trundle beds, there is also a full bathroom upstairs. To make your stay more comfortable, we keep a good supply of wood for the fire pit out in the yard, there is always a spare tank for the gas grill, we keep bikes of all sizes for everyone to ride. Down at the lake there is a nice dock for your watercraft. The lake itself is nice and shallow out in front, making it perfect for small children to play in.
As you may have noticed, we don't charge any cleaning fees. So most of our guests try to leave the cabin fairly clean. I guess they figure that for as low as the rent is, they can invest a little time cleaning before they leave. Oh sure, there is always some laundry and a little touchup for us to do, but we sure do appreciate the way most of our renters leave the cabin.
We sure hope you will give us a try. But if you want something fancy, try looking at some of the other places around the lake, Lake Independence is a lovely place to stay.
As you may have noticed, we don't charge any cleaning fees. So most of our guests try to leave the cabin fairly clean. I guess they figure that for as low as the rent is, they can invest a little time cleaning before they leave. Oh sure, there is always some laundry and a little touchup for us to do, but we sure do appreciate the way most of our renters leave the cabin.
We sure hope you will give us a try. But if you want something fancy, try looking at some of the other places around the lake, Lake Independence is a lovely place to stay.
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