Walloon Lake Webcam – Camp Michigania Beach and Docks

The Walloon Lake Webcam looks out from Camp Michigania, the University of Michigan Alumni Association’s family camp in northern Michigan, across a wide mown lawn to the camp’s beach, its docks and the open water of Walloon Lake. A small dark-roofed beach building sits at the left end of the sand, with a row of small sailboats pulled up at the water’s edge, masts up. To the right, past a stand of tall trees, a longer dock holds a pontoon boat, and a flagpole and a gazebo stand on the lawn. Beyond them the lake stretches to low wooded hills on the far shore, green in summer and orange and red in fall, while the lake itself usually freezes over in winter. A stamp in the bottom-left corner gives the local date and time.

About Walloon Lake

Walloon Lake is a glacier-formed lake in Charlevoix and Emmet counties, near the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. It covers 17.3 square kilometers (4,270 acres), reaches a maximum depth of just over 30 meters (100 feet) and is fed mainly by groundwater. Locals place their cottages by arm, on the “west arm” or at the “foot”. The end of the west arm lies less than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from Lake Michigan, yet Walloon’s surface sits more than 30 meters (100 feet) higher. The Bear River drains the lake from Walloon Lake village at the east end and winds down to Lake Michigan at the south end of Petoskey.

Camp Michigania covers about 153 hectares (377 acres) of woods and rolling ground on the Charlevoix County side of the lake, off Camp Sherwood Road between Boyne City and Petoskey. The Alumni Association started its family camp in 1961 at Douglas Lake, where about 50 families spent a week in corrugated steel sheds at the U-M Biological Station. In December 1962 it bought Camp Huntington/Sherwood on Walloon Lake, and by 1963 the site had been renamed Camp Michigania. It is one of two active camps on the lake, along with Camp Daggett. Summer weeks revolve around sailing, swimming and kayaking, the stables, a ropes course and evening talks by U-M professors, and the camp also runs fall and winter getaways and hosts the Bear River Writers’ Conference.

The lake has a literary past as well. Windemere, on the north shore, was Ernest Hemingway’s childhood summer home, and the house is still owned by the Hemingway family. The Walloon Lake Inn began as Fern Cottage, a landing for the steamboats that once carried visitors to the hotels and cottages around the shore.

Weather and Climate at Walloon Lake

Winters are long and snowy. NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals for Petoskey, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) northeast of the camp, put January highs near 27 F (-3 C) and lows near 15 F (-9 C). Petoskey averages about 314 centimeters (124 inches) of snow a year, close to 100 centimeters (39 inches) of it in January alone. The lake freezes over, and the ice usually goes out in April, so in late winter the camera can look across white ice and snow rather than open water. April highs average only about 48 F (9 C).

Summer is mild. July highs average about 75 F (24 C) and lows about 59 F (15 C), and this is when the camp’s summer weeks bring swimmers, sailboats and kayaks to the waterfront in front of the camera. October highs fall to about 56 F (13 C) and lows to 41 F (5 C), and October is also Petoskey’s wettest month, with about 114 millimeters (4.5 inches) of precipitation. In the frame captured for this page on October 9, the hills on the far shore were already showing orange and red among the green, and the beach and docks were quiet.

Things to Do Near Walloon Lake

Walloon Lake village, at the foot of the lake about 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) east of the camp, is where the Bear River leaves the lake, and the Walloon Lake Inn there is a fine-dining restaurant with a French-style kitchen and a culinary school. Follow the river north to Petoskey and the Bear River Valley Recreation Area has a paved path of about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) in the heart of town. From Petoskey, the Little Traverse Wheelway, a paved trail for walkers and cyclists, follows Little Traverse Bay to Harbor Springs in one direction and Charlevoix in the other.

Boyne City, about 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) south of the camp, sits on Lake Charlevoix. Its Avalanche Preserve is a former ski hill with a stairway of more than 400 steps up to observation decks that look out over Lake Charlevoix. Families booked into Camp Michigania can take out the sailboats and kayaks seen on the beach, ride at the camp stables, or tackle the climbing wall on the ropes course.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More northern Michigan water views are a short drive from Walloon Lake:

• Bay Harbor Webcam
• Ironton Ferry Webcam
• Canada Creek Ranch Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Walloon Lake located?

Walloon Lake lies in Charlevoix and Emmet counties near the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, between Petoskey and Boyne City. Camp Michigania, home of this camera, is at 3006 Camp Sherwood Road on the Charlevoix County side, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Ann Arbor.

What can you see on the Walloon Lake Webcam?

The camera looks down a sloping lawn at Camp Michigania to its sandy beach, a beach building, small sailboats, two docks, a flagpole and a gazebo, with the lake stretching away to its wooded far shore beyond them.

Who operates the Walloon Lake Webcam?

The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, which owns and runs Camp Michigania, broadcasts it on its YouTube channel. The current stream has been running since May 2025.

What is the weather like at Walloon Lake?

Cold and snowy in winter, with January highs near 27 F (-3 C) at nearby Petoskey, and mild in summer, with July highs around 75 F (24 C). October is the wettest month.

How big and how deep is Walloon Lake?

The lake covers 17.3 square kilometers (4,270 acres) and is just over 30 meters (100 feet) deep at its deepest point.

When does the ice go out on Walloon Lake?

Usually in April. For a few months after the melt, the water is clear enough to see the bottom at depths of up to 9 meters (30 feet).

Did Ernest Hemingway spend summers on Walloon Lake?

Yes. Windemere, his family’s cottage on the north shore, was his childhood summer home. It is still owned by the Hemingway family and is a private house.

Who can stay at Camp Michigania?

Its summer family weeks and its fall and winter getaways are run for University of Michigan alumni and their families. The Alumni Association also books the camp for weddings, corporate retreats and family reunions.

Source: Alumni Association of the University of Michigan