A Late Winter Trip to Big Bass Lake for The Marion Boys Club

The kids of the Marion Boys Club took the opportunity over an early spring break to visit Big Bass Lake in what amounted to the end of winter. We took as our base of operation the resort on Seaman’s Lake a mere mile from Big Bass Lake. Winter was still upon the area as a light coat of snow covered the ground and Seaman Lake was still iced over but only with a thin coat. I say that because in about two feet of water it caved in under the weight of both Calvin Little and Kevin Hansel. Only their feet got wet but both were frozen as they entered the cottage to change clothes and shoes.

Fortunately the cottage was just up a hill from where they went in. And despite warnings to the contrary about the dangers of ice told them continuously on the way there, they just had to experiment. They wrapped themselves in two Indian blankets that kept them quite warm to the point that they didn’t want to leave them for over an hour.

Our second day there saw the temperature rise into the low 50’s and the snow cover was gone by mid-day. I took the boys over to our property on Big Bass Lake and I parked the car just off Noreika Road where we usually parked for summer trips. To both the boys and my surprise, the area we usually camped at was under two feet of water! The lake extended all the way to the swamp behind our camping area.

So we opted instead to take a hike on the logging trail all the way to Matson Road. The kids marveled at how “naked” the woods appeared without leaves and how far they could actually see across our property. We ate our lunch near the creek by the phone lines before heading back to the car. Our next stop was at the Big Bass Lake store where the kids purchased some snacks for the night ahead.

We were only at the area for four days over a brief school break. On this trip we took no night hikes as the weather was still kind of brisk and the nightly wind went right through you. The next to last day there we took a trip to Driftwood Valley and the boys were taken aback as to just how desolate that area was at this time of year. There was no talk about wading in the Little Manistee River that day as the temperature was only in the mid 40’s with a stiff wind.

All in all the boys really enjoyed the trip and especially the nights in our heated cottage. Instead of campfires we rallied around the old heat burning stove. Graham crackers with strawberry jelly really hit the spot on those nights. The following day we left the resort for home and the boys looked forward to our summer trips there where tents would be the order of the day at Big Bass Lake.

Seaman, Loon, Heart, and Alice Lakes

How about this overview of not only Seaman Lake, which I discussed this morning, but also Loon, Heart, and Alice Lakes which are all in close proximity to the others. In fact, Big Bass Lake is just to their north. Alice Lake, which Ed Hawks has a cottage on, is just a hoot and a hollar from Heart Lake which will be featured here soon.

Loon Lake, of course, once hosted the Loon Lake Pavillion, which was a roller skating rink par excellence for this area. If there are residents of any of these lakes that would care to comment about their particular lake, please do so by way of a comment. Ed Hawks has given us some infomration about Alice Lake but what about Heart Lake?

Seaman Lake Boating

Seaman Lake is about a mile and a half from Big Bass Lake. Yet I have some friends that frequented Seaman Lake often and enjoyed safe rowboating there. Sometimes on Big Bass Lake, the lake is so full of speedboats that rowboating can tend to be less safe. It stands to reason then why Seaman Lake can well attract those that love to rowboat on more tranquil waters.

I myself have been on Seaman Lake on a rowboat as I also once stayed at the Leisure Resort. The lake is fun to row and explore even though it lacks any islands. I would recommend the resort to anyone wanting to vacation in this area.  You can find a link to the Leisure Resort on our Blogroll on the sidebar.

Swimming at Seaman Lake Has Options

The Leisure Resort on Seaman Lake in Lake County, Michigan, offers you the choice of using the swimming pool or lake for swimming. I found the lake somewhat murky for swimming but that was back in the 1970′s when the resort had no swimming pool. I would think that today the swimming pool is doing more business than the lake in regard to swimming.

Still the younsters seen in this photograph don’t seem to be begrudging the lake any. In fact they look quite content in swimming in Seaman Lake. The lake, better known for its fishing, can be used for swimming too. But its good to know that one currently has options as to where they choose to swim. The best scenerio is to swim BOTH in the pool and in the lake and from that determine which is best for you.

By the way, the lake is also great for row boats in the event that you wanted to know.

I do wonder, though, if the pool was constructed due to any algae problems in the lake.  I know of several small lakes where this is an ongoing problem so maybe the pool was added for this reason?  Is swimming still allowed in Seaman Lake?

The Frog Monsters of Seaman Lake

On a spring break camping trip to the Big Bass Lake area we stayed at a place on Seaman Lake because it was still too cold to camp out on our beachfront property. At least that was what I thought until we arrived there to find it flooded over as well. So we stayed at a cabin on Seaman Lake which is about two miles away.

Even in mid spring frogs could be heard croaking away in the evening and one night on our glassed in porch I told of the legend of the frog monsters of Seaman Lake to my Marion Boys Club kids. Legend had it that the frog monsters would jump up the hill to take captive kids that weren’t doing all their chores.

That porch was lighted only by two candles that evening and the kids could hear frogs croaking in the distance even as I spun that yarn. With each passing moment they huddled closer together especially as one frog in particular seemed to be getting louder.

At just the right moment I sneaked my arm behind one of the boys and rapidly knocked upon the glass window pane which sent them all flying every which way. Of course in a few moments they were all boasting how they knew it was a fake all the time. Maybe they did, but what about those frogs in Seaman Lake?

By the way, I wouldn’t recommend a rowboat filled with water as a good escape route for when those frog monsters come to call!

Rowboat Activity on Seaman Lake

These are the old red rowboats from the Seaman Lake Resort in the 1970′s. Since then the camp has been modernized including adding a swimming pool. Darlene and I have stayed at this resort twice. I often wondered why have a swimming pool with a lake ready to use? We stayed in a log cabin there and had a great time.

Now they have added paddleboats to the mix but we preferred using rowboats. You can basically view the entire lake from the boat docks as this is not a large lake. Yet we still had fun with romantic old me singing some love songs to my wife as I rowed. Truth to tell, she loved every minute of it but for some reason the fish weren’t biting that day. I wonder if my singing scared them all away?

If you’re ever in the area stop by this resort as it has been upgraded quite a bit since the time this picture was taken.

Geese, Not Kids, Enjoying Seaman Lake

Just look at that ideal float sitting all by itself out there in Seaman Lake! Yet at this moment, instead of kids frolicking in the lake, there are just a few geese enjoying that pursuit. I can almost imagine this same scene in the winter with sleds cascading down that hill onto the ice covered lake. I wonder how far across the lake a sled could go down from that hill?

What a scene to behold! It makes me want to run down there, onto that pier, and dive headfirst into the lake making for that raft. Or perhaps just sitting on that pier and dangling my feet into the lake while fishing. Yes, this scene conjures up a lot of imagination activity for the just about any summer. And even a few revolving around a sled or saucer.

Rowboating at Seaman Lake

Rowboating on Seaman Lake at Leisure Resort offers many possibilities. Either take a leisurely row or toss a fishing line into Seaman Lake. I would recommend a hearty rowboat race. Its great exercise and a whole lot of fun.

However our rowboaters here seem to be enjoying the leisurely row taking their time to explore the view. As you can see, families that row together, stay together. A good challenge is to row to the opposite side of Seaman Lake and then back again. That’s competition which I would favor.

I’d also be cautious if this family plans to swim from the middle of the lake unless they are wearing life preservors. That’s a state law in Michigan anyway regardless of whether you’re going to swim or not. Is this family wearing them?

Also this family seems to be enjoying inner tubes as well on Seaman Lake and now this resort offers another option, that being a swimming pool for those that do not care for lake swimming.

A Quiet Pier on Seaman Lake

Seaman Lake is about a mile and a half south of Big Bass Lake and has a resort on this small lake. I remember that resort as being somewhat smaller in the years I was going up to our lake on a regular basis. Our boys club even used that resort a time or two when the weather was slightly cooler.

Those small lake piers were much in use in those days. The kids could fish right off the pier or use it as a launching platform for various dives while swimming. Of course a rowboat was always tied up to those piers for use for general rowing or even some fishing. Or at times that pier might have been used by the kids to just dangle their feet over the side while chatting with each other.

I remember some “pier time stories” after dark. At those times the kids weren’t as eager to dangle their feet in the water after a story about the frog monster of Seaman Lake. Yes, a simple pier can have a lot of uses when one uses their imaginations in that regard. Do I hear a croak in response?

A Distant Relative

Sometimes you just never know where you might meet some distant relatives. My Marion Boys Club kids had just that type of occurrence on a time we opted to stay at the Seaman Lake Resort over that of our wooded beach. Pictured here is Lloyd, Steve, and myself along with some relatives I had never met on my Grandmother Noreika’s side of the family.

Little Corrie was the standout for as I recall she was most in puppy love with Keith (not pictured) at a time when Keith was not interested in girls. Thus, for Keith, this trip was like one from hell. Several times he begged me to return to our wooded beach and camp out there. But, after a little counsel, he chose to make the best of it.

Corrie seemd to have a crush on Keith and followed him nearly everywhere. She also had a more silent crush on Steve (pictured just before me) but he was much too old for her. When Keith found that out he tried to fan those flames in every way possible. Of all the trips Keith had been on to Michigan this was his least favorite.

It was also the second time that we opted to use Seaman Resort, the other time being on a trip to the area in very early Spring over spring vacation in Marion