Destination Dowagiac 2026

By mid-century, Sister Lakes was in its heyday. Resorts were bustling and families returned year after year to the same cabins, forming traditions that felt as steady as the tides. As travel habits changed and families began to spread out, many of the classic resorts eventually faded away. Today, the Sister Lakes area is a welcoming blend of year-round residents, summer homeowners, and visitors discovering the lakes for the first time. What remains is the best part of Sister Lakes: clear water, friendly neighbors, and a strong sense of place shaped by decades of shared summers. Whether you’re returning with stories of Ramona, Driftwood and Ade’s Glass Tap or arriving with a paddleboard and a weekend plan, Sister Lakes continues to offer what it always has—simple pleasures, warm memories, and the kind of summer feeling that never really goes out of style.

Just a few miles from Dowagiac, the Sister Lakes area has been drawing people to the water for well over a century. What began as a quiet collection of inland lakes surrounded by woods and farmland slowly transformed into one of southwest Michigan’s favorite summertime escapes. In the early 1900s, families from Chicago, South Bend, and nearby Michigan towns discovered the simple magic of the Sister Lakes. Rail lines and improved roads made weekend getaways possible, and soon cottages, small resorts, and fishing camps popped up along the shores of Big Crooked, Little Crooked, Magician, Cable, Dewey, and Round Lakes. The nearby lakes of Indian and Keeler Lake are not sisters but they can certainly be considered cousins and are very popular as well. Life here revolved around swimming off wooden docks, lazy afternoons in rowboats, campfires at dusk, and the sound of laughter drifting across the water.

8 – SISTER LAKES