Relaxing Year-Round Lakefront Retreat!

Entire home in Central Lake, Michigan

  1. 12 guests
  2. 4 bedrooms
  3. 9 beds
  4. 2 baths
Hosted by The Flying Fish
  1. Superhost
  2. 10 years hosting

Listing highlights

Top 5% of homes

This home is highly ranked based on ratings, reviews, and reliability.

In Central Lake, right on the water

Walk to restaurants, a grocery store, and Mammoth Distilling in the town of Central Lake

Lake gear included with a private dock

Kayaks, paddle boards, and a boat slip at the dock for exploring the Upper Chain of Lakes

A place guests keep coming back to

Guests return year after year, praising the spacious layout, comfortable beds, and lake views
The Flying Fish is a family friendly, fully equipped 4 bedroom, 2 bath home on the hidden gem, all sports, Intermediate Lake. Great place to relax or for a change of scenery for virtual work! Dock your boat at the house and access the entire Upper Chain of lakes or head to nearby Schuss/Shanty or Boyne Mountain for winter fun! Tons to do both inside & out all year long. Plenty of nearby fun and central up north location is ideal for day trips as well! Kitchen newly remodeled in spring 2024!

The space
We have thought of everything. In the summer, bring your boat and dock it right at the house or rent a boat down the street and dock it at the house. We also provide kayaks and 2 stand-up paddle boards (1 kid sized) to enjoy the lake, beach toys, yard games, and fire pit outside.

In the winter or on rainy days, there is plenty of indoor fun included too! Foosball table and a whole closet of board games and puzzles. Video games galore (wii, Game Cube, PS3 and XBox 360), cable TV, Netflix, Amazon Firestick, and wifi. Fully stocked kitchen, new pots and pans and even some gourmet items including Kitchen Aid mixer, blenders, etc. If we don't have something you would like, please let us know. We are continually trying to improve the home and the amenities!

Need a change of scenery during the work week? Take advantage of the strong WiFi, desk, printer, and several other available work spaces for all your virtual work and school needs.

Located within walking distance to grocery, restaurants, bar, and boat rental. Explore the Upper Chain of Lakes from the front yard or travel down the street for Torch Lake and the entire Lower Chain of Lakes. Central Lake is located approximately 30 minutes from Charlevoix and 45 minutes from Traverse City and Petoskey. A week at the Flying Fish offers plenty of relaxation and fun at the beach and on the lake, as well as a chance to explore all that northern Michigan has to offer. Spend a long weekend in the fall for great color tours, apple picking (King Orchards has what seems like miles of Honey Crisp trees!), or touring local vineyards. In the winter, we are located 15 minutes from Shanty Creek and 1/2 an hour from Schuss Mountain and Boyne Mountain! Plenty of cross-country, hiking, and mountain bike trails nearby as well.

Mammoth Distilling is within walking distance, Torch Lake Cellars, Shorts Brewery, Bee Well Meadery, and Hello Vino wine bar are each about 15 minutes away and all are fabulous places to spend a couple hours! There is also a new Torch Lake Tour of local wineries, distilleries, breweries, and meaderies with transportation available (search for Torch Lake Tour for further information).

Guest access
Guests can choose a 4-8 digit code for door entry using the Nest door lock. They will have access with this code throughout their stay.

Other things to note
We are happy to host guests who do not have previous reviews, so please feel free to send a message to request to book. We only allow instant book for those with previous positive reviews.

We have 2 pack-and-plays, a strap to the chair high chair, and many toys for young children because we remember what a pain it was to bring all that when traveling with infants and toddlers! There is plenty to do for older kids (and adults!) too with the foosball table, game closet, beach toys, fishing poles, child-sized and adult-sized Stand-Up Paddleboards, kayaks, and video games. We strive to be very family oriented, and offer plenty for adults of the family to do too :-)

We have hosted small family birthday parties, bridal showers, ladies' weekends etc at the house, but do not think it is suited for events like weddings. Please inquire about parties prior to booking.

Where you’ll sleep

1 of 2 pages

What this place offers

Lake view
Beach access
Kitchen
Fast wifi – 103 Mbps
Dedicated workspace

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Rated 4.97 out of 5 from 150 reviews.

Guest favorite
This home is in the top 5% of eligible listings based on ratings, reviews, and reliability

Overall rating

  1. 5 stars, 97% of reviews
  2. 4 stars, 3% of reviews
  3. 3 stars, 0% of reviews
  4. 2 stars, 0% of reviews
  5. 1 stars, 0% of reviews

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for cleanliness

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for accuracy

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for check-in

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for communication

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for location

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for value

Guest reviews mention

Where you’ll be

Central Lake, Michigan, United States
This listing's location is verified and the exact location will be provided after booking.

Neighborhood highlights

The Flying Fish is within walking distance to a park with playground and the town of Central Lake. Central Lake is home to several restaurants, a corner store, grocery store, several shops, and a boat and bike rental. Mammoth Distilling recently opened a tasting room right in Central Lake and has a great atmosphere, friendly owners, and great drinks. The home is approximately 10 minutes from Bellaire, home to Shorts Brewery, Bee Well Meadery, Hello Vino wine bar, several other stores and Shanty Creek Resort. Torch Lake Cellars, a local winery and cider brewery, is also about 15 minutes from the home and Cellar 1914, part of Shooks Farm, just opened summer 2019 right down the street. Elk Rapids, Boyne City and several other quaint northern Michigan towns are nearby. Traverse City and Petoskey are each a 45 minute drive and Charlevoix is only 30 minutes away. For a slightly longer drive, you can also explore the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Mackinac Island. There are many local bike, hiking, cross-country ski trails. We are also close to golf in the summer and skiing in the winter!

Meet your host

Superhost
150 reviews
4.97 out of 5 average rating
10 years of hosting
Born in the 70s
Where I went to school: University of Michigan and Wayne State
We are a family of 4 (parents and 2 girls, ages 16 and 12). We love northern Michigan and vacationing on the lake in the summer and skiing in the winter. We have stayed in many vacation rentals over the years and we have tried to include everything we have enjoyed in those rentals in our own home, plus a few extras like staples needed for young kids. We hope that you will be able to enjoy The Flying Fish as much as we do!

The Flying Fish is a Superhost

Superhosts are experienced, highly rated hosts who are committed to providing great stays for guests.

Host details

Response rate: 100%
Responds within an hour
To help protect your payment, always use Airbnb to send money and communicate with hosts.

Things to know

Cancellation policy
House rules
Check-in after 4:00 PM
Checkout before 11:00 AM
12 guests maximum
Safety & property
Exterior security cameras on property
Nearby lake, river, other body of water
Carbon monoxide alarm