Little Crystal Lake

About Little Crystal Lake

Crystal Lake in northwest Michigan would not be the beautiful, sandy, and protected lake it is today without the tragedy of Crystal Lake. Originally the area was called Cap Lake and was settled by loggers who worked in the area, and originally it was called Cap Lake.

The small outlet that flowed into the Betsie River and had access to Lake Michigan was not large enough to provide the kind of shipping that the timber industry wanted. In 1873, enterprising loggers decided that they could earn much more money by enlarging the river so that steamships could reach Cap Lake. They started digging, building a steamship and the lake was just a few miles from the town of Crystal Lake, north of the city of Kalamazoo.

Men in horse-drawn carriages were digging when suddenly a huge roar filled the air and a stream of water tore through the rest of the earth into the Great Lake. The noise and water of the stream lasted for two weeks and then suddenly the sound of a steamship.

As the Cap of the Lake weakened, it was lowered and the stream slowed to a trickle, but today a small dam at Outlet Creek maintains the water level and provides a swimming hole for children in the area.

But there is a good side to this tragedy: where there was no beach in the past, the whole lake is surrounded by a 20-metre-long sandy beach. The beach has also attracted new owners who have built holiday homes, cottages and resorts. In the small lake that is now the village of Beulah, there is a public beach on the reclaimed land.

The first organization to buy the lakeside property was the Cleveland Conference of the Congregationalist Church, which set up the camp as a retreat there in 1901. The conference is still there and now has 1,800 hectares, including the lake, the beach and a small part of the campground. A restaurant at the campsite is open to the public, as is the hotel, restaurant and ice cream parlour.

The Michigan Christian Missionary Society acquired 73 acres in the 1930s for what is now Crystal Lake. The existing girls "camp was combined with a nearby boys" camp as an economic measure, but it was still operated until the land was sold and the girls "camp was rebuilt.

The lake was renamed Crystal Lake because of its extremely clean and clear water and filled a deep valley. There was a loss of 20 feet of depth, but the remaining depth reached as high as 175 feet, according to the National Park Service.

The only city as large as the lake itself is Beulah, and it is located in an extremely small catchment area that limits pollution. The lake accounts for 35% of all catchments in the region and is the only one of its size in Michigan.

Beulah, however, has its own village park, Crystal Lake Village Park, and often hosts free concerts in the summer. There is a majestic deciduous forest that almost completely shadows the village and the park and no village or park would be complete without a beautiful view of the lake.

The jetty is large and well maintained, and the Kristallsee offers from the shore a great view of the Kristallsee, as well as the lake itself. The village park also has a trailer park and campsites where reservations for nightly, weekly and seasonal places are accepted.

Built in 1858, the light bulb towers 52 feet above the lake and has a range of 27.5 miles, and a mile leads to the point of the Betsie Lighthouse. The Kristallsee is a popular destination for those who want to venture further into the historic surroundings. There are also fishing guides to improve the ability of anglers to catch small, medium and large fish as well as larger fish.

The landing point was known to the French as "Bec Scies" (which means "beak point" in Bec Scieres), which marks the point where sea schooners sailed from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park to the shore of the lake.

The Benzie County area is home to many recreational activities, including golf at several local golf courses. The Crystal Lake Art Center, which is dedicated to visual, performing and literary arts, often hosts concerts. A few miles north, visitors can visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, where you can climb dunes up to 200 feet, visit the lighthouse and take part in several ranger-led activities. Watching the sunset over the lake from Point Betsie Life Station is a great opportunity for visitors who should integrate well into their holiday programs, which include campfires and marshmallow roasts.

In 1938, the city hosted the national gliding championships in the Midwest, and Frankfurt was then the site of the Frankfurt Glider Construction Association. In Frankfurt there is a hang glider workshop, an airship repair shop and an aircraft repair shop.

The Betsie Valley Cycle Trail runs from Frankfurt to Thompsonville, including through the village of Beulah. Autumn foliage tours with gliders are particularly popular and quite sensible, as there are plenty of them in the area.

The Interlochen Camp was founded in 1928 and is one of the oldest summer camps in the USA and the only one in Michigan. The educational programme includes a wide range of educational activities such as music, dance, theatre and moving images. The Inter Lochen Center for the Arts offers a diverse program for children, adults and youth of all ages and abilities. This includes performing arts, music and dance courses, and experiential training for educators who want to improve their skills.

In summer, concerts and performances by world-class artists and musicians are held regularly and open to the public.

The proximity to Interlochen makes Crystal Lakebe a great destination for family trips, especially in the summer months. In fact, the airline can keep the whole family happy by flying to Traverse, 30 kilometres away.