The list nobody Instagrams. Where to grocery-shop on a Saturday afternoon. Which gas station's open at 11. Where the pharmacy is at six on a Sunday. The closest urgent care if the kid hits the dock the wrong way.
We list the boring stuff so the vacation works.
Indian River's full grocery, just off I-75 — fresh produce, hand-cut meats, a deli counter, and donuts made from scratch every morning. Beer, wine, and liquor sell alongside the groceries, and a pharmacy counter covers prescriptions in the same building. Open 8 to 7 most days, a shorter Sunday. The provisioning stop before heading to any rental on either lake.
A downtown hardware store on S Straits Highway carrying lumber, tools, and building supplies — the fix for a broken dock board or a screen door that won't latch before a weekend guest arrives. Do It Best affiliated, so special orders come in fast even for a small-town shop. Open regular weekday hours; call ahead before a holiday weekend to confirm.
Beer, wine, liquor, groceries, and lottery tickets under one roof downtown, on S Straits Highway a block or two from most of the restaurants in town. Nearly 450 reviews and counting, which for a party store in a town this size says something about how often people actually use it. Call ahead for hours — small-town party stores keep their own schedule, holiday to holiday.
A Blarney Castle gas station on M-68 near the I-75 interchange with two ChargePoint chargers in the lot — one of the only public EV charging options in the Indian River area, worth knowing before assuming a rental's outlet will cover a full charge overnight. Standard convenience-store stock inside, plus a fuel pump lineup that gets long on a Friday afternoon heading north. Open long hours daily, the default fill-up on the way through.
Two Rivian Waypoint chargers sit in the state park's own lot — an unusual amenity for a Michigan state park, and useful to know if the drive up from downstate needs a top-off before the trip back. Rivian's waypoint network skews toward highway corridors and destination parks rather than everyday errands, and Burt Lake made the list. Confirm availability directly with Rivian before counting on a specific charger being open.
A McLaren Northern Michigan family medicine clinic on Cressy Street — not urgent care or an ER, but the option for anything that can wait for a weekday appointment rather than a drive to Petoskey. Telehealth is available for a quick follow-up. Monday through Friday, 8 to 6; closed weekends, when the nearest option becomes the Petoskey ER regardless of severity.
The region's 24-hour emergency room, about 35 minutes from Indian River on US-31 — the real answer for anything the Cressy Street clinic can't handle. Petoskey also holds the area's larger retail pharmacies and specialist offices, so a single trip down often covers more than the ER visit itself. Save the address before it's needed rather than searching mid-emergency.
A standalone downtown pharmacy on S Straits Highway, separate from the grocery-store counter across town near I-75 — the closer option if downtown is already the plan for the day. Monday through Friday 9 to 6, Saturday 9 to 4, closed Sunday. Fill anything that needs refilling before a week-long lake stay rather than scrambling for it mid-week.
A pharmacy counter built into the Ken's Village Market building near I-75 — pick up groceries and a prescription in the same stop rather than making two trips across town. Downtown's Modern Rx keeps different hours and a different location if this one doesn't line up with the schedule. Confirm insurance coverage; small independent pharmacies don't always carry every plan the way a chain does.