The Story of Hunter Lodge

Hunter Lodge is truly a magnificent property, a symphony of features unique on the south shore of Lake Superior, indeed in the world. And I can prove it.

There's roughly a mile of shoreline on crystal clear Lake Superior, an inland sea that forms the country's North Coast. Half is a great sand beach. The rest will enthrall you with granite outcrops and stone faces that throw spray 30 feet in the air when the wind is up. This rugged shore with its scattering of small rock islands and rock points, interspersed with wide sand beaches, is reminiscent to me of California's Big Sur. Pine-covered Saux Head Point reaches a hundred yards into the Great Lake, the world's largest body of fresh water. High views from its northern tip on high rock above the lake are simply stunning.

View Easterly

Inland there's a very different shoreline, nearly a mile of frontage on warm, quiet, Saux Head Lake, a large and scenic Huron Mountain lake that offers Golden Pond type family recreation. At its southern end the Big Garlic River enters the lake on Hunter property. Nearly a mile to the north the river leaves the lake and flows northeast across the property into Lake Superior, and you can paddle your kayak or canoe from lake to lake.

The property includes meadows, garden plots, a small orchard, mountain trails, and diverse hardwood and pine forests that support a wide variety of animals and birds. Hiking through wildflowers while searching for mushrooms in the spring; waterskiing, fishing and boating in summer; photographing the colors and change-of-seasons weather in fall; and diving into the snow on snowmobile, snowshoes or cross-country skis -- this land offers hour after hour of soul-restoring recreation. Pop's Mountain, the highest point on the property, has 360-degree views and is just one of many scenic vantage points you will discover, to which you will often return.

Hunter Lodge Great Room

Several structures and lots of history come with the property. S.R. Kaufman (brother to L.G. Kaufman who built Granot Loma 5 years later) founded the original lodge here in 1917.. Robert & Mary Hunter renovated the Lodge in 1959 and 49 years later 2009 his four sons have brought it up to date with an extensive renovation. The Lodge has new Birdseye maple floors to complement the ancient pine beams that span the big Great Room. Wide, durable decks under roof wrap around the building. The Lodge contains about 4,700 square feet of space on two floors with a new kitchen/bar, four bedrooms upstairs, 3 1/2 baths and a full basement. The owners took special pains to integrate art pieces throughout the remodeled lodge. A dramatic monoprint by Mary Lee Rybar graces the entry hall. Local artist Stella Larkin from RustiCo Furniture in Marquette made the driftwood mirror in the first floor bathroom; Robert LaLonde a coppersmith and professor at Northern Michigan University handcrafted the outdoor chandeliers and Tom Wolfe of Wolfe Designs in Marquette designed and built the kitchen bar stools from native materials.

Overlook House was built across the river, on the hill, for Robert & Mary Hunter's retirement in 1993 and was upgraded again in 2008. Overlook is about 1,600 square feet in size with two bedrooms, two baths, cedar siding and spectacular views of river where the Big Garlic meets Lake Superior. It has an attached garage and nearby in the woods, a tennis court.

You will also love the 1920's era boathouse on the river now mostly used as storage for canoes, kayaks, and equipment, awaiting further renovation and other uses. Just downstream near the Lodge the dam that once controlled the level of Saux Head Lake serves as the base of a walking bridge over the river. Steelhead trout fan in the current below, ready to test your skill. There is also an old pump house on the point and a small bunkhouse, neither of which have been much used in recent years. When you stand on the bunkhouse deck, framed by granite walls that plunge into the lake, and look west up that long arc of the beach, you'll understand why this structure has often served as the art studio for owner and guests. There is also a relatively new, working sauna next door.

Sand beach north from the Lodge

This property is close to Marquette, the largest city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Marquette area has received national publicity as one of the nation's "Most Livable Communities" and as one of the top small arts communities in the nation. It has great restaurants and shopping, an excellent regional hospital, a regional jet airport with a 12,366' , 2.32 mile runway that once launched B-52's, and a regional seaport with two good harbors for your boats, home port for your big-water boating on Superior. You can watch Division I sports (hockey) and Olympic competitions (speed skating) at Northern Michigan University, or hit the slopes on skis or snowboards at Marquette Mountain, one of the state's premier downhill ski facilities.

People find it difficult to choose between the serenity of an inland lake and the drama of Lake Superior. The Hunter property offers that rare fusion of both, with a river to boot! An inland lake and river for warm water swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing paired all with the stunning beauty and drama of Lake Superior is beyond rare and like a captivating work of art you need to have the experience and see the property to understand.

Hunter Lodge and all land and structures, furnished except for personal items and a few keepsakes, are offered for $11,600,000.

Read even more in Hunter Lodge: In Depth.

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