Bay View Michigan

We spent several hours walking through Bay View, Michigan. Bay View is adjacent to Petoskey and includes over 400 cottages — if you can call the building pictured above a cottage — 30 community owned buildings, and a number of other facilities like a post office, park and a sail house.

From the Bay View Association website:

The Bay View Association of The United Methodist Church, a Chautauqua on Lake Michigan, is a National Historic Landmark community founded in 1875. It is situated on 337 beautiful, terraced acres in the northwest portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Bay View is home to more than 30 public buildings, nearly 450 cottages and two inns. Every summer we offer superb music, worship, lectures and seminars, all open to the public.

The community is a seasonal community which closes from November through April. All residences must be vacated during that time. There are hundreds of Victorian style cottages, with many of the owners representing third and fourth generation of families. The camp is listed as a National Historic Landmark district as one of the best-preserved examples of the Methodist Camp Meeting movement.

To own a cottage you must become a member of the Bay View Association. And membership is restricted to Christians only.

A beautiful place to walk. Here are a number of shots from our visit.