Spider Lake

Spider Lake is about 20 minutes south of downtown Traverse City, a small town with big-city amenities. With a population of around 16,000, you can get to know a lot of the people who live here. Of course, the population varies with the season. Traverse City is a popular tourist destination and most of the economy is based on tourism. The area is simply beautiful in all seasons.

This page gives a very detailed overview of the homes, condominiums, land, and commercial property for sale on Spider Lake in  Michigan.

Real Estate Statistics

Average Price $751K
Lowest Price $625K
Highest Price $875K
Total Listings 5
Avg. Days On Market 66
Avg. Price/SQFT $607

Property Types (active listings)


Browse Spider Lake Homes for Sale

Spider Lake Homes for Sale

Come Home to Spider Lake, Michigan

Northern Michigan has lakes. Dozens of lakes. Maybe even hundreds of them. And that doesn't even count Lake Michigan. There are tiny lakes that you could probably call ponds. There are really big lakes. And then there is Spider Lake.

Spider Lake looks somewhat like a spider from the air (if you squint your eyes and look sidewise). There are dozens of little coves and bays and long and short arms. While the central area tends to be busy in the summer with sailboats and speedboats, there is always a quiet anchorage down one of the arms for a relaxing few hours of fishing or swimming.

Home Sales Prices
Properties for sale on the shoreline of Spider Lake are limited. The ones that are available can range from the mid-200s for a cabin to several million for a larger house and property. One recent ad offers 1 1/4 acre lot for $60,000. Further away from the water are homes and properties that sell for far less, yet are within walking distance of the shoreline. There is no marina on the lake although there is a public boat ramp.

Condominiums for Sale
Several condos are listed by real estate agencies, but none are on the lake. Most are located closer to downtown Traverse City. They range in price from nearly 300 up to the 500s.

Spider Lake is one of many lakes in the Traverse City area. Real estate is available and sometimes the prices are surprisingly good. There is no bad season for visiting or living in Traverse City. The forests bloom in the spring. Did I mention that Traverse City is the Cherry Capital of the world? The National Cherry Festival is held every year in early July. And there is a spring cherry blossom festival as well.

Summer is rarely more than warm and the fishing is wonderful. Fall is one of the most spectacular times of the year with maples and oaks and birches turning red and yellow and orange among the evergreen. Winter is a time of quiet, stark loveliness with bare trees and snow.

Each season is celebrated with festivals. People in Traverse City are friendly and welcoming. This is a small town and has been voted as one of the best places to retire in America. Yes, it's cold in the winter, but it's beautiful. This is one of the greatest places to live with nature. Your place is waiting. Come home to Spider Lake.

Spider Lake Community Highlights

Spider Lake is about 20 minutes south of downtown Traverse City, a small town with big-city amenities. With a population of around 16,000, you can get to know a lot of the people who live here.

Of course, the population varies with the season. Traverse City is a popular tourist destination and most of the economy is based on tourism. The area is simply beautiful in all seasons.

Traverse City is the biggest port on Grand Traverse Bay. The bay is 32 miles long and at least 600 feet deep and is formed by the Leelanau Peninsula, which sticks up into the waters of Lake Michigan in the far north. There are actually two bays, formed by Old Mission Peninsula, a long narrow strip of land that extends about halfway up the bay.

Nature is spectacular in this region. One of only three National Lakeshores lies on the western shore of the Leelanau Peninsula. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore runs 35 miles along the bay and covers 32,500 acres of forest, sand dunes, beaches, and ancient moraines. Good Morning America named the park "The Most Beautiful Place in America" in 2014. The Dune Climb is famous as a challenge for visitors.

The name of the park comes from a Chippewa legend of a mother bear and her two cubs. They were swimming across Lake Michigan to escape forest fires in Wisconsin. The mother bear made it to shore, but the cubs drowned. The mother lay down on the shore and fell into a deep sleep and the Great Spirit Manitou covered her with sand and formed the dunes. He also placed two islands, North and South Manitou Islands, just offshore to commemorate the two brave cubs.

Dozens of lakes dot the map with miles and miles of forest in between. The nearest community to Spider Lake is Mayfield Township with 1300 residents. Traverse City is the biggest city in the northern region of Michigan.

Traverse City
For such a small town, there's a lot to do in and around Traverse City. The area is known for growing some of the best Riesling and Pinot grapes in the country. The cold winters and relatively cool summers permit the development of acidity in the grapes while at the same time producing large amounts of sugar in the long summer days. The wine tours are very popular.

The Leelanau Peninsula has 25 wineries growing cool-climate grapes that produce Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and others. Black Star Farms is a winery, but every year, they hang bottles from pear trees, each with a pear developing in the bottle. When the pears are fully grown, pear brandy is poured in. Mawby Winery focuses on sparkling wines and you can get an excellent Gewurztraminer at Shady Lane.

Old Mission Peninsula has wine tours through old farms and orchards which offer pumpkins and cherries for sale. The nine wineries on Old Mission grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, and Riesling. At the northern tip of the peninsula is a decommissioned lighthouse. Hiking around the lighthouse is fun, but you can also become the lighthouse keeper for a week if you want. What more perfect setting for a week of relaxation and retreat?

During the summer, Traverse City Harbor is crowded with sloops, ketches, and schooners. You can take a cruise on a schooner, feel the rush of the wind, hear the slapping of the sails, and watch the water curl around the bow. Sportfishing charter boats will take you out on the bay for salmon, lake trout, and bass. Muskellunge up to four feet long have been caught (and released).

For the adventurous, you can go parasailing. For the really adventurous, try flyboarding. Of course, all the other water sports are available on the beaches and on the water. Jet skiing, water skiing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, or simply lying on the sand, soaking up rays, are a few of the ways to enjoy your time.

Shopping and Dining
In town, you will enjoy walking around and browsing in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Old buildings were renovated and turned into stores, salons, cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. Nearby is the Dennos Museum Center, an art museum noted for its collection of Inuit artistry.

Front Street is downtown, a place for shopping for both locals and tourists. Restaurants, art galleries, and antique stores add interest to the area. The City Opera House is a magnificent Victorian-era building located in the downtown area. It is a theater and music venue for musicals, plays, and concerts.

Parks and Attractions
Traverse City may have a small population, but it is spread out over a large area. Much of that area is devoted to parks. Many of the parks are beaches. Others are natural areas. Some are devoted to children and families.

You can take advantage of the Traverse Area Recreation Trails. These well-maintained paths run through Traverse City and up into Leelanau Peninsula where they wind around and through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The trails are used by hikers and bikers, joggers and runners in the summer and snowshoers in the winter.

The Hippie Trail is a path on the grounds of the old state hospital and leads to an old willow tree. The tree is huge but largely dead. For decades, people have been brightening up the tree by painting sections in brilliant colors. It is an extraordinary sight and a pleasant hike.

Another delightful path is the Fairy Trail, leading through the Northwoods Forest on the grounds of the Historic Barns Park. Over forty little houses have been designed by scouts and artists in the area and placed along the trail, making it a magical place.

Recreation
The lake is big, encompassing over 450 acres with a shoreline that extends about 29 miles. The water is relatively shallow, only 36 feet down at the deepest point. The area offers all summer water sports from fishing, paddle boating, and boating to swimming, water skiing, kayaking, and canoeing, as well as parasailing and windsurfing.

The fishing is great. Bluegills, perch, Northern pike, bass, and crappie abound. The clarity of the lake is excellent, making fishing, swimming, snorkeling all a lot more fun. And with all that shoreline, a private place to fish s just around the next headland.

But there is a lot to do onshore as well. The woods around Spider Lake are full of wildlife and hiking trails run all around the lake. The hikes are lovely from spring through fall and right into winter. Each season brings its own breathtaking beauty.

Horseback riding is another sport that allows you to enjoy the spectacular forests and lakes. Equestrian trails crisscross the woods. Birding while either on foot or horseback is also popular. In the winter snowmobiles run the trails and cross the lakes where allowed. Snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, and sledding provide plenty of exercise and fun.

From late spring to October, the boats will be out. Then comes to the cold weather and the ice fishermen can hardly wait until the lake freezes. Soon the little huts will be sprouting up all around and the residents around the lake will look out at the activity and shake their heads.

Schools near homes on Spide Lake in Michigan

The education system is quite good in the area. Five of the schools in Traverse City are ranked in the top 100 in Michigan. Two of these are ranked in the top 10% nationally. There are 11 elementary, 2 middle, and 3 high schools. In addition, there are 13 private institutions, several with high rankings

There are also two colleges in the city. Northwestern Michigan College has its campus in town. Western Michigan University has a branch there.

Continue Your Northern Michigan Real Estate Search. Explore homes and real estate in the Northern Michigan communities below or contact Brook Walsh to help you with your search. 

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