Kathie, the resort’s activities director, manages events such as the Nude Olympics. Electricity and propane are sold separately.Īmenities include pickleball, indoor and outdoor swimming, miniature golf, horseshoes, paddleboats, volleyball, a hiking trail, and live music from the house band, Cheeks The Band. Some members live permanently at the resort on spaces leased for $3,200 a year. RV site and communal lodge rental rates range from $60 a day to $480 a week. There’s a rustic area for camping with the purchase of a daily membership ($38). In the summer, he employs around a dozen people. Hammond has invested nearly $1.5 million in in-frastructure improvements, including a water system, ground maintenance, and snow removal. When we came in, we assured everyone that this is now a business. “They didn’t treat the resort like a business,” Hammond explains. “They both got in trouble financially because it was their little toy. Turtle Lake’s previous owners were more mom and pop. “I was just in a bad mood that day,” he says with a smile. Get in your car and get off my property now.’” He looked at me and said, ‘That was my phone.’ I said, ‘You got part of that right. After throwing a visitor’s phone in the lagoon for breaking the rule, people got the message. Pictures are strictly prohibited, unless you receive special permission (we did). The CEO is more Boss Hogg than boardroom. Hammond’s shirt is open and blowing in the wind as he sips a Bud Light. We arrive at the Tiki Bar by the outside pool for a burger. Hammond and three partners took over Turtle Lake in 2003. “That situation happily resolved itself … there was no longer a need for ACNC.” Such was the case for the Apple Cider Nature Club, which was formed in the early 2000s, when the future of Turtle Lake was in doubt, says Bob Blackburn of the now-defunct club, by email. Its success meant smaller clubs could close shop and direct their members there. Turtle Lake is the only resort open year-round in Michigan. The clothing-optional business isn’t really that competitive. They’re just not going to do it on my property.”ĭennis Bevis, the owner of Cherry Lane, declined to comment. “We do not associate with lifestyle clubs,” explains Gary Moore of Whispering Oaks. “I’m not a moralist. But the outlier is Cherry Lane - what most nudists call an “alternative lifestyle” club for swingers. On paper, Turtle Lake, Spruce Hollow Campground in Mesick, Whispering Oaks Nudist Resort in Oxford, Forest Hills Club in Saranac (slogan: “Give Nudism a Try: Come See Us.”), and Cherry Lane Nudist Resort in North Adams, south of Jackson, seem to have only skin-deep differences. I mention the motorcycle rider, and he explains that a balance of the sexes is one way Turtle Lake, and other clothing-optional resorts, maintains its family-friendly atmosphere. Families with children are a regular presence here. The Lansing native speaks with a Midwestern twang that’s more western than mid. “This is a family-friendly resort that caters to couples,” Hammond says, waving to a naked couple passing by. … I just work here.”Īfter being put up in the lodge for the night, I meet Turtle Lake’s owner, Mark Hammond, for a golf cart tour of the grounds. She explains that the quota for singles has been met. Getting “in” is a matter of passing a flimsy security gate blocking the path to the grounds. “How about a day pass? I just want to use your pool and your hot tub,” he almost pleads. “I can give you a map and some informational things, but I can’t let you in,” the receptionist, a woman in her mid-50s, tells him. I arrived late afternoon at the front office behind a leather-clad man who rode a chopper. They would worship the sun, pray to the moon, and welcome me with open, toned arms. My mind raced with thoughts of ethereal beings: silky-haired, shapely women frolicking with tall, brawny men. I supposed the rest would be a walk in the park, though I wondered how true that would be. “The hardest thing you’ll do is take your clothes off,” I’m told when I made Memorial Day weekend reservations. You pass summer homes ensconced by aromatic woodlands. The woods give way to farmlands, where lots are measured in acres. After reaching a certain distance on Union City’s roads, it’s obvious to most locals that you’re on your way to Turtle Lake Resort.
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