Some Northern Michigan trips start with one question: Do we want to wake up on the water or wake up overlooking the golf course?

Bill Hanley Properties gives Cabintimers both choices in Hillman, Michigan. Edgewater on Long Lake puts you only a few feet from one of northeast Michigan’s favorite inland lakes. Elk Ridge at Thunder Bay places you among the hardwoods and fairways at Thunder Bay Golf Resort. Both sleep up to 10. Both welcome pets. Both come with a seven-person hot tub. Yet the two stays feel completely different.

That makes them worth knowing about whether you’re planning a summer lake week, a fall color trip, a golf weekend, a winter escape, or a few quiet days where nobody has to rush anywhere.

Edgewater on Long Lake: When Five Feet From the Water Sounds About Right

There are lake houses, and then there are places where the lake practically becomes part of the living room.

At Edgewater on Long Lake, the shoreline is about five feet from the house. Big windows keep Long Lake in view. The home faces west, so evening often ends with the sun dropping across the water while everyone decides whether to head for the hot tub, light the Solo Stove, or simply stay put and watch the sky change.

This four-bedroom, two-bath Hillman vacation rental sleeps up to 10 Cabintimers. The seven-person hot tub is an easy favorite, but the kitchen deserves equal attention. It was renovated with a six-burner Electrolux Icon professional-grade oven, a large Frigidaire Professional refrigerator and a floating quartz dining table. This is a kitchen built for the person in your group who actually enjoys making breakfast for everybody.

The primary bedroom adds another feature you do not see in every Michigan lake rental: a steam shower. There are floor-to-ceiling windows facing the lake too. Other bedrooms give families and groups some breathing room, including a lakefront queen room and a separate kids’ area with a trundle configuration, wet bar, refrigerator and microwave.

Outside is where Edgewater earns its name. Cabintimers can use two kayaks and two bicycles. There is a private dock and lake float gear. A Bennington pontoon may also be available to rent during the boating season. Bring the fishing rods because Long Lake is an all-sports lake covering roughly 5,652 acres. Michigan DNR lists walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and several other species among the fish found here. (Visit Alpena)

Pet owners get a few extras as well. Edgewater has a small fenced yard, along with dog beds, bowls and treats. That means the four-legged Cabintimer does not have to sit this trip out.

And while summer is an easy sell on Long Lake, this house makes a strong case for coming back when the temperatures drop. The gas fireplace, hot tub, steam shower, central heating and lake views change the pace of the place. Snow outside and warm water in the hot tub can be every bit as memorable as July on the dock.

Elk Ridge at Thunder Bay: Golf Outside, Hot Tub Waiting Back Home

A short change of scenery creates a completely different Northern Michigan cabin vacation.

Elk Ridge at Thunder Bay is a three-bedroom, two-bath chalet-style vacation home that sleeps up to 10. Instead of looking across open water, Cabintimers look through hardwoods toward the fairways at Thunder Bay Golf Resort. The house sits near the second and eighth fairways, giving golfers a particularly good reason to pour that first cup of coffee and head outside.

Inside, recent updates include flooring, appliances and an open kitchen. A split-rock gas fireplace gives the main living space that unmistakable northern-Michigan feel when evenings turn cool. Step outside and another seven-person hot tub waits under the trees. This is the kind of setup that makes the last nine holes feel a little easier on the knees.

There is more going on here than golf.

Thunder Bay Resort spreads across 350 acres and offers hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in addition to its 18-hole golf course. One of the resort’s best-known experiences is its elk viewing carriage or sleigh ride. Guests travel into elk country before continuing to a gourmet dinner and wine-tasting experience. For Cabintimers who have never seen Michigan elk up close, it can become the story everyone talks about long after the trip is over.

Elk Ridge also works well when part of your group loves golf and another part would rather explore. Spend the morning on the course. Head to Long Lake for an afternoon on the water. Come back for dinner, the fireplace and a late soak beneath the trees.

During warmer months, Bill Hanley Properties also offers access to Long Lake experiences from Elk Ridge, including seasonal pontoon opportunities. Current specials can change, so this is one of those questions worth asking Bill directly when you inquire.

Two Rentals, One Very Good Corner of Northern Michigan

Staying around Hillman opens up far more than the immediate property.

Cabintimers who like to hike can look toward the High Country Pathway, an 82-mile trail system passing through hardwood forests, meadows, wetlands and elk territory in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. You do not need to backpack the whole route. Pick a section and make it a half-day adventure. The pathway is also used for mountain biking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

Another road-trip-worthy stop is Ocqueoc Falls, the largest waterfall in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The surrounding area has roughly six miles of trails for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. In warmer weather, visitors can even cool off in the falls.

Then there is Alpena.

Drive east toward Lake Huron and the trip takes on a completely different personality. The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center sits along the Thunder Bay River and offers more than 10,000 square feet of exhibits. Cabintimers can walk the deck of a life-size schooner and learn about the shipwreck history beneath Lake Huron. Admission to the visitor center is free. (Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary)

Just offshore is Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a 4,300-square-mile protected area containing one of the country’s most significant collections of historic Great Lakes shipwrecks. NOAA reports around 100 discovered shipwrecks within the sanctuary, with many more believed to remain undiscovered. Glass-bottom boat tours offer a way to explore part of that story without putting on a wetsuit. (NOAA Sanctuaries)

Which Bill Hanley Property Should You Choose?

If your group talks about boating, fishing, sunsets and morning coffee near the dock, start with Edgewater on Long Lake. The waterfront setting drives the experience. Add the hot tub, chef-style kitchen and steam shower and you have a lake house that gives Cabintimers plenty to do without starting the car.

If golf is high on the agenda, or you want woods and wildlife rather than a waterfront setting, Elk Ridge at Thunder Bay is the stronger match. You can play a round, book the elk experience, explore the Hillman area and finish the night in your private hot tub.

The harder decision may be choosing only one.

Why Book Direct With Bill Hanley Properties?

This is where the It’s Cabin Time® way of traveling matters.

Booking direct connects Cabintimers with the property owner or local manager instead of putting a large booking platform in the middle. Bill has decades of hospitality experience and lives in the area. That local connection matters when you want to know where to launch a boat, which activity fits the weather, what to see around Hillman, or how to make the most of a few extra hours on vacation.

It also means no booking website service fees and no unnecessary middleman. RentMichiganCabins.com is built around connecting travelers directly with owners and managers. More of your vacation budget can stay where it belongs: on boat fuel, golf, dinner, bait, ice cream and whatever else makes your Northern Michigan trip yours.

Cabintimers can start by checking Edgewater on Long Lake and Elk Ridge at Thunder Bay. Look over the photos, current rates, seasonal specials and availability. Then reach out directly to Bill Hanley Properties and start planning the kind of Michigan cabin trip that feels different from the minute you arrive.

Because sometimes Cabin Time means a sunset off the dock. Sometimes it means an early tee time followed by elk in the woods. Around Hillman, you can have either one.

And if you come back next year and choose the other property, we certainly won’t argue.

It’s Cabin Time®.

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Cabintimer trip-planning map: Long Lake, Thunder Bay Resort, Alpena’s maritime center and Ocqueoc Falls make a good starting point for exploring the area.