Find Time To
Unwind On
Sparkling Waters
Sparkling Waters
With salt- and shark-free freshwaters, unspoiled beaches, and laid-back boat tours, you'll love dipping into what's most refreshing here.
Enjoy Our Freshwater Paradise
Whether you’ll dip your toes into tranquil waters for some paddleboard yoga at sunrise on the Saginaw River, or go tall ship sailing under starry night skies on Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay — this region flows with a cool, blue calm and all-but-infinite ways you can soak it in.
On guided boat tours and unspoiled beaches, sightseeing river cruises or wine sampling ones — even walleye fishing excursions — these freshwaters are a warm, inviting bath of goodness worth diving into!
Outdoors
Refreshing & cool, salt-free & scenic: the Great Lakes Bay is hands-down and all-in the place to be for affordable waterfront vacationing in Michigan!
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Saginaw River in Bay City | @mi_playground
Kayaking on the Bay City Waterfront
Bavarian Belle Riverboat
Bay City Waterfront
Bay City State Park | @shineonsunfish
Go Great
There’s real satisfaction in providing your own power, amid a rich soundscape of paddles splashes and birdsong. You seem to float out of your own world and worries and into a wider, maybe even wiser, one. That’s Great Lakes Bay Region paddling.
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Go Great
Sailing Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay on a breathtaking tall ship schooner or wine tasting on a Frankenmuth river cruise — salt-free waters and summer days are calling you to Pure Michigan's freshwater coastline!
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Go Great
Read on to meet the fleet of boats and find adventures you can enjoy on the waves of the Great Lakes Bay.
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Go Great
Whatever your kind of summer outing, the Great Lakes Bay serves it up: with boat tours and beaches, forests and fishing, beer gardens and trolley bikes where you can coast with a cold session ale in-hand.
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Go Great
When they're splashing at spray parks, ziplining, and zoo-going — even building sky-high castles on sandy beaches — that's when you'll know you've picked the perfect Pure Michigan summer getaway.
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Boating + Sailing
You don’t need your own private yacht — a pontoon, a fishing boat, or even a kayak — to experience the full depth of beauty that’s out on these breathtaking freshwaters.
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Beaches
These Great Lakes Bay beaches boast their own little salt- and shark-free version of paradise.
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Paddling
Each dip of the paddle here brings the promise of endless, pristine freshwaters — and plenty of places to soak up all the cool, blue calm you can.
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Saginaw Bay Walleye Fishing
The Great Lakes Bay boasts one of the top walleye fisheries in Michigan, the Midwest, and well-beyond: Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay.
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Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay
Curious why we’re called the Great Lakes Bay? This region’s rich with infinite freshwaters, and perfectly situated along a bay on one of five Great Lakes.
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Rivers + Lakes
Inland lakes, placid rivers, gentle streams: this region’s a roadmap of clear, cool freshwaters, and one that isn’t capped where the wide-open blue of Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay washes onto beachfront.
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