Patios that put out a water bowl without being asked. Trails that don't require leashes when nobody's looking. Breweries with a yard. Beaches off-season.
The production side of Short's operation, purchased and renovated in 2008 to scale batches past what the Bellaire pub could handle — now brewing roughly 30,000 barrels a year. The Pull Barn taproom started as a summer beer garden in 2017 and went year-round and indoor in 2021, with lake views and twenty beers on tap, all brewed on site. Worth the short detour south of the Chain of Lakes for the completists.
A 1,502-acre preserve on the Alden Highway between Alden and Bellaire, with seven miles of trail including a mile and a half of boardwalk over a northern fen and cedar wetland. Kayaking covers the Grass River, Lake Bellaire, and Clam Lake from the same put-in. The nature center runs daily 10 to 4 May through October, weekends only the rest of the year, and a natural playground for ages two to five opened in 2025.