Like to sail? Walloon Lake will give you a real challenge. It's a glacial lake with very steep ridges all the way 'round. The wind swirls off the tops of these ridges, making for a very "puffy" sailing experience.
The shape of the lake is very cool -- like a giant "V," with a few little muddy inlets to keep you on your toes. Wouldn't want to run aground!
Yeah, there are some monster cottages owned by people who are too busy earning the money to pay for them to visit much. But mostly, there are still small, cute summer cottages owned by families for generations.
The traffic on the lake is usually pretty quiet. You don't get jet-skis much except on summer weekends. During the winter, we're usually the only ones up here -- to ski!
The lake got invaded by zebra mussels years back. For a while, you could not walk barefoot into the lake. But the mussels ate up what little food there was, the lake is clearer than ever, and the mussel level has gotten a bit more tolerable. You still might want rock socks if you plan to do much wading and swimming.
There are public access points. My favorite is off Camp Sherwood Road. A nice little park, though the wood deck walkway sometimes get run down looking, and then they fix it up again. Nice and shallow, for wading. The soil is soupy there, with native wildflowers including Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia). I used to take my dog there all the time, and she loved to fetch sticks that I threw out into the water. It is a boat launch, too, so dogs are OK at a boat launch when they would not be welcome at other public beaches.
The other public access I go to is on the SE corner, at "the foot," with the marina (Triton Marine, run by Mike) and the rest of the cute little village. There is a park with swing sets across the street from the foot of the lake, and a little sandwich shop. Very quaint little village. read more
