I grew up by a river so I know first hand how fine living on a river can be. Rivers change constantly with the seasons and the weather. Eagles, Whip-poor-wills, bluebirds, sandhill cranes, and a wide variety of birds pass back and forth as you swim, paddle, or hike right in your back yard.

The river frontage is wonderful and so are the forests of maple, pine and birch, interspersed with fields and sunlight. There are mile long overlooks of the river valley and the Huron Mountains from high points above the river. The finely crafted timber frame home has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and handmade cherry cabinetry all lovingly built by the owner, a contractor, kayaker, and environmentalist.

A detached four car garage includes a large mostly finished room above, potential guest quarters for your friends and family, or space for an office, art studio, or woodworking shop. This land has changed hands just once in 95 years!

Here you really can have it all: privacy, beauty, and convenience. It’s 19 miles, a short 20-25 minute drive over Class A roads to Marquette for shopping, city services, and fine restaurants, or 5 minutes to Big Bay for quick supplies, more restaurants, and a launch site on big 2,000 acre, Lake Independence.

Another launch ramp at a harbor of refuge on Lake Superior is a mile north of town, the gateway to many miles of wild frontage and sand beaches. There’s dockage there well sheltered from the big lake for your boat. The Huron Islands, a national wildlife preserve, lie a few miles offshore. Lake Superior and Lake Independence offer a world of boating opportunities for your kayak, canoe, powerboat, or sailboat.

On the property the land feels wild and remote but the county road is paved and plowed, your power is underground, and there’s easy access to friends, neighbors, and the wonders of the U.P. It is rare to find such a large tract with 56.6 acres and three quarters of a mile of frontage (15 acres are on the far side), on one of the legendary rivers of the U.P.  And this one enjoys a well deserved reputation as a world class trout stream.

The two kickers are that it’s near Marquette, the largest city in the U.P., and located on the eastern edge of the largest tract of land without paved roads and power east of the Mississippi, a 1,000 square miles area known as the “Huron Mountains.” These mountains were once the size of the ones in Tibet. Glaciers and time have trimmed them down but they remain majestic and beautiful. This rugged land of granite outcrops, high ridges, and blue mountain lakes is not what you expect to find in Michigan. People who know, use it, love it, and protect it.

The owners tell me this land was originally purchased in 1922 by the Laurich family, who raised 11 children on the property. The Laurich’s cleared 8 acres for dairy and vegetable farming and occupied the property until 1978. Mike and Mary, the current owners, bought the property in 1992, built a road farther in to the current homesite, installed underground power, and built their home in 1998. Mike is a well known contractor in the area with 45 years of building experience. Everything has been done with the best materials and highest level of skill. This is the last home on the south side of the river with State land directly upstream and timber company land to the south. A short hike away on the property there are high, long views over many miles of the Yellow Dog River Valley.

The Yellow Dog flows out of Bulldog Lake 30 miles to the west in the 19,000 acre McCormick Wilderness Tract, a Federal Wilderness area of large lakes and stunning beauty. It’s first four miles are designated a Wild and Scenic River but truly it is wild and scenic along it’s entire 30 mile length with strong current over a rocky bed, interspersed with numerous cascades and waterfalls. One, Pinnacle Falls, which is owned by the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, is pictured here in the slide show. 85 miles of tributaries feed this river. You can fly fish for native brook trout and DNR stocked rainbows and browns, or swim, kayak, canoe or hike along the beautiful twists and turns of the river.

In addition to the home and outbuildings, Mike and Mary have improved the property by pruning the wild apple trees, clearing away brush and fallen trees from the river banks, and making trails along the river, for skiing and hiking. They often see bear, moose, wolf, and whitetail deer on the property.

Wallace Stegner, the great Western novelist, once told me that every great story begins with a journey. The river evokes a journey as it flows through the wilderness past this home, to Lake Independence. This land and this home can be a treasured part of your life’s journey, one that begins here. You should see it!

$525,000

River (upstream from property)

I grew up by a river so I know first hand how fine living on a river can be. Rivers change constantly with the seasons and the weather. Eagles, Whip-poor-wills, bluebirds, sandhill cranes, and a wide variety of birds pass back and forth as you swim, paddle, or hike right in your back yard.

The river frontage is wonderful and so are the forests of maple, pine and birch, interspersed with fields and sunlight, with mile long overlooks of the river valley and the Huron Mountains from high points above the river. The finely crafted timber frame home has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and handmade cherry cabinetry all lovingly built by the owner, a contractor, kayaker, and environmentalist.

A detached three car garage includes a large unfinished room above, potential guest quarters for your friends and family, or space for an office, art studio, or woodworking shop. This land has changed hands just once in 95 years!

Here you really can have it all: privacy, beauty, and convenience. It’s a short 30 minute drive over Class A roads to Marquette for shopping, city services, and fine restaurants, or 5 minutes to Big Bay for quick supplies, more restaurants, and a launch site on big 2,000 acre, Lake Independence.

Another launch ramp at a harbor of refuge on Lake Superior is a mile north of town, the gateway to many miles of wild frontage and sand beaches. There’s dockage there sheltered from the big lake for your boat. The Huron Islands, a national wildlife preserve, lie a few miles offshore. Lake Superior and Lake Independence offer a world of boating opportunities for your kayak, canoe, powerboat, or sailboat.

On the property the land feels wild and remote but the county road is paved and plowed, your power is underground, and there’s easy access to friends, neighbors, and the wonders of the U.P. It is rare to find such a large tract with 56.6 acres and three quarters of a mile of frontage (15 acres are on the far side), on one of the legendary rivers of the U.P. that enjoys a well deserved reputation as a world class trout stream.

The two kickers are that it’s also near Marquette, the largest city in the U.P., and it’s on the eastern edge of the largest tract of land without paved roads and power east of the Mississippi, a 1,000 square miles area known as the “Huron Mountains.” Once the size of the mountains in Tibet, glaciers and time have trimmed these mountains down but they remain majestic and beautiful. This rugged land of granite outcrops, high ridges, and blue mountain lakes is not what you expect to find in Michigan. People who know use it, love it, and protect it.

The owners tell me this land was originally purchased in 1922 by the Laurich family, who raised 11 children on the property. The Laurich’s cleared 8 acres for dairy and vegetable farming and occupied the property until 1978. Mike and Mary, the current owners, bought the property in 1992, built a road farther in to the current homesite, installed underground power, and built their home in 1998. Mike is a well known contractor in the area with 45 years of building experience. Everything has been done with the best materials and highest level of skill. This is the last home on the south side of the river with State land directly upstream and timber company land to the south. A short hike away on the property there are high, long views over many miles of the Yellow Dog River Valley.

K.I. Sawyer International Airport has two mile long runways and scheduled commercial service less than an hour from the property. To the west lie the Huron Mountains timberlands and the Yellow Dog Plains, a wild area of trails and scenic vistas to explore on snowshoes, snowmobiles, or 4-wheelers and, in season, pick blueberries. The plains has the best blueberry picking you have ever seen.

The Yellow Dog flows out of Bulldog Lake 30 miles to the west in the 19,000 acre McCormick Wilderness Tract, a Federal Wilderness area of large lakes and stunning beauty. It’s first four miles are designated a Wild and Scenic River but truly it is wild and scenic along it’s entire 30 mile length with strong current over a rocky bed Interspersed with numerous cascades and waterfalls. One, Pinnacle Falls which is owned by the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, is pictured here. 85 miles of tributaries feed this river. You can fly fish for native brook trout and DNR stocked rainbows and browns, or swim, kayak, canoe or hike along the beautiful twists and turns of the river.

In addition to the home and outbuildings, Mike and Mary have improved the property by pruning the wild apple trees, clearing away brush and fallen trees from the river banks, and making trails along the river, for skiing and hiking. They often see bear, moose, wolf, and whitetail deer on the property.

Wallace Stegner, the great Western novelist, once told me that every story begins with a journey. The river evokes a journey as it flows through the wilderness, past this home, to Lake Independence. This land and this home can be a treasured part of your life’s journey, one that begins here. You should see it!

River (upstream from property)