Eighty-three acres of spring-fed water in Brighton, Michigan — with no public launch, no marina and no way for anyone to put a boat on it unless they live here.
We live across the street from it. This is what we'd tell you if you asked us on the dock.
There is no public access to Fonda Lake. No DNR launch, no marina, no public beach, no ramp. If a boat is on this water, it belongs to somebody who lives on it.
That's a different thing from a no-motor lake, and worth being straight about: residents do run motorboats, so there's traffic on a summer afternoon. But there's no queue at a launch ramp on a Saturday morning and no strangers pulling up with a trailer. Early mornings are usually glass.
Sandy bottom, which is rarer than it sounds around here — plenty of Michigan lakes are silt and weed once you're past your ankles.
At the end of our dock it's about four feet deep. Standing depth for an adult, chest-deep on a ten-year-old. It shelves gently from the shore, so small children can paddle about near the edge with someone watching. It doesn't get properly deep until you're well out toward the middle, where it bottoms out around forty feet.
That's the question we get asked most by families, and most lake listings never answer it.
Life jackets are in the house. There's no lifeguard and nobody supervising the water, so swimming is at your own risk and children need an adult with them.
There's a sandbar across on the far side of the lake. At weekends in summer, people anchor up and stand about in the shallow water, and it becomes the social corner of the lake.
It's a decent paddle across in a kayak or on the paddleboard, and a good destination if you want somewhere to aim for rather than just going round in circles. If you'd rather have the water to yourself, it's also the bit to avoid on a Saturday afternoon.
The summer fishing here is genuinely good, and it's the thing guests are most surprised by.
You can fish from the dock, or take a kayak or the pedal boat out. Bring your own tackle. A Michigan fishing licence is required and you can buy one online in a few minutes before you travel.
The lake freezes solid most years, and a fair number of people fish it through the ice every winter. Shanties go out, holes get drilled, and the whole character of the place changes.
It's a completely different stay in January — quiet in a way summer never is, and the house has a gas fireplace on the front porch for exactly this. Rates are at their lowest through the winter, too.
Mt. Brighton is fifteen minutes away for skiing, boarding and snow tubing, and there's more on that and the rest of the area in our local favorites.
A word of caution. Ice conditions are nobody's to guarantee — not ours. If you're thinking of going out on it, judge it yourself, ask locally, and never take it on trust because you saw someone else out there. We don't provide ice fishing equipment and we're not able to advise on whether the ice is safe on any given day.
Two kayaks, a paddleboard and a pedal boat, along the front of the house. No charge, no need to ask, no roof rack and no rental shop. Life jackets, beach chairs and beach towels come with them.
We don't have a motorboat for guests and we're not set up for you to bring one.
It comes up most years — someone sitting on the dock on their last morning, asking what it's actually like to live here once the summer people go home.
It's a fair question to put to me, because I sell real estate in Livingston County when I'm not renting this place out. No pitch, and no hard feelings if you'd rather just enjoy the week. But if you're curious about the area, here's what Brighton looks like — or just ask me while you're here.
— Gary
The house is directly across the street from the dock. Send your dates and you'll hear back the same day, usually within the hour.
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