Everything worth doing.Within 20 minutes.

A winery on M-68 east of downtown, dog-friendly, pouring its own Lake House wine alongside a sangria that gets more mentions in reviews than anything else on the list. It sits on the route out toward Cross in the Woods and the drive to Lake Huron, a reasonable stop before or after either. Open from 11 most days, until 9 on Thursdays, shorter hours on Sunday.

The dining room dates to 1938 as the Gypsy Tavern; John and Theresa Vivio bought it in 1952 and started serving the thin-crust pizza that's outlasted three ownership changes since, most recently in 2023. Three log-cabin rooms, a stone fireplace, taxidermy on the walls — order the Vivio's Special or the Margherita, and a Greek salad on the side. Dinner only, no lunch. Open daily from 4, Fridays run half an hour later.

Indian River's old train depot, remodeled into a family tavern pouring Michigan-made beer and spirits over scale pub food — wings, burgers, a fry basket that shows up at every table. The patio fills in summer; the snowmobile trail runs past the back door in winter, so the crowd just changes with the season. It sits on Main Street a short walk from Burt Lake State Park, close enough that a dinner reservation isn't really necessary before a swim.

Indian River's own brewery, pouring an ESB and a dark ale that show up in most local recommendations, with food trucks parked outside covering the kitchen the brewery doesn't have. Live music runs summer weekends; board games take over in winter. Kid- and dog-friendly on the patio. Closed Monday and Tuesday; open from 2 midweek, noon on Friday and Saturday.

Established in 1921 on the lake's southeast corner — 2,000 feet of sand beach so shallow it stays three feet deep a hundred yards out, which makes it the easier swim than the open lake past the drop-off. The campground spreads across several loops between the beach and the woods; ask for a water-view site if a boat's coming along. A separate dog beach sits on the park's south end. Boat launch on site; Recreation Passport required.

Local produce and crafts set up in the Citizens National Bank parking lot downtown, June through October — the closest thing Indian River has to a town square on a Saturday morning. A second, smaller session runs Wednesday afternoons for anyone who missed the weekend selection. Saturdays 8 to 1, Wednesdays 2 to 6, gone by November until the following spring.

A gas dock and pontoon fleet right on Burt Lake, at the mouth of the Indian River next to DeVoe Beach — the marina to use if the boat needs to launch from the lake itself rather than the connecting channel. Slips, service, sales, and a marine showroom round out the operation. Open 8:30 to 5:30 weekdays, a shorter Saturday, closed Sunday. Call ahead for a slip in July.

A six-hour guided trip on Burt Lake targeting walleye and northern pike with Captain Justin Sattory, one of the few standing charter operations working this lake specifically rather than the whole Inland Waterway. Burt's basin runs to 73 feet, deep enough to hold fish through the heat of August that the shallower bays lose by July. Book through the charter's own site; trips fill fastest on summer weekends.

Burt Lake is the third stop on the Inland Waterway — after Pickerel and Crooked Lakes, through a set of locks and Alanson's swing bridge, before the channel narrows at Indian River and continues to Mullett and the Cheboygan River. No single company runs the full 38 miles — boaters do it themselves, lake to river to lake, over a day or a slow weekend. Rent a pontoon at one of the town's marinas and cover a piece of it.