You’ll be sure to love the Loon Cabin at the Wilderness Bay Lodge, located at Thousand Island Lake Road Watersmeet, Michigan. The one-bedroom cabin sleeps up to 4 people, with dogs allowed. The Loon Cabin is a cozy one-bedroom cabin with a great lake view. This cabin unit features a queen size bed in the bedroom and a double sleeper sofa. The cabin sleeps up to 4. Each kitchen includes a microwave, coffee maker, toaster, all dishes, pots and pans, and utensils. As a result, most guests find what they need, but don’t be afraid to ask if you can’t find something. Bedding is provided, but you supply your bath and kitchen towels.

The cabin is conveniently located on Thousand Island Lake in a private bay. Thousand Island Lake Road serves as a snowmobile trail with access to major trail systems in Michigan and Wisconsin. Snowmobilers will appreciate trailer parking on site, a heated garage for working on sleds, and fuel on-site for guests. One of the lesser-known gems you’ll find in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is the Cisco Chain of Lakes. This chain of interconnected lakes straddles the border between Michigan and Wisconsin, with the majority of the lakes within Gogebic County in Michigan, two shared with Vilas County, Wisconsin, and one completely in Vilas County.

The lakes were originally not connected with navigable streams until 19th-century loggers dammed the Cisco Lake outlet to the Cisco Branch of the Ontonagon River to facilitate floating logs out of the area. A permanent low dam was constructed in 1931 to store water for hydroelectric facilities downstream at Victoria Dam. This permanent dam raised the water levels between four and five feet, creating navigable channels between the lakes. This dam created the water sports paradise that the chain is known for today. The water levels vary only about six inches throughout the year, so the lakes are accessible to boating all summer long. Local sources say there are 15 lakes in the Cisco Chain of Lakes, the official state sources refer to 14 lakes. Both are most likely correct, as Clearwater Lake has no navigable channel connecting it to nearby Little African Lake, although a small creek meanders the few hundred yards between the two.

The commonly listed 14 lakes include Cisco Lake with 567 surface acres, Thousand Island Lake with 1,009 acres, Little African Lake with 31 acres, Big African Lake with 86 acres, Record Lake with 68 acres, Lindsley Lake with 156 acres, Fishhawk Lake with 77 acres, Morley Lake with 59 acres, Poor Lake with 106 acres, Indian Lake with 129 acres, East Bay Lake with 277 acres, all entirely within Michigan. Big Lake with 733 acres and West Bay Lake with 362 acres partially in both states, and Mamie Lake with 337 acres is entirely within Wisconsin. Together these lakes comprise a total of 3,987 acres. The state has not recorded the statistics for Clearwater Lake, but it is of reasonably good size and brings the total to over 4,000 acres of water.