Battle Creek, MI Real Estate, Homes For Sale, School & Area Information

One thing I love about Michigan and living in Battle Creek is the proximity to lakes! If you're like me and love being near the water, in the water, or on the water, Michigan is a great place to live! Located within a 15-mile radius of Battle Creek, there are about 20 beautiful lakes. In Calhoun County, there are almost 100. Go beyond that, and you are sure to come across lots more! From Goguac Lake, Beadle Lake, and Eagle Lake to Sherman Lake and Gull Lake, even to the shores of South Haven, which is approximately a little over an hour's drive - not too bad at all and one of my favorite places in Michigan! You can enjoy that lake life reasonably quickly with all of these options.

In Battle Creek you'll find the well cared for Binder Park Zoo, with upgrades over the recent years and the soon addition of a ride, Binder Park is a great place to spend the day! The animals are often times alert and interactive!

If you enjoy delicious food and a good environment, you have to stop by the recently remolded Smoke & Fire restaurant at Firekeepers Casino. With the perfect combination of class and relaxation I highly recommend it! The fried green tomatoes are a must; you'll thank me later!

For a business meeting, we stopped at Sakura Sushi Bar & Grill in Battle Creek, which is close to the Lakeview Mall and other shopping stores. I personally don't eat sushi so I ordered the chicken fried rice. It did not disappoint! The plate was overflowing in both portion and flavor. I will stop here again!

One Nation has a great atmosphere that's welcoming for that business meeting or even dinner with the family. With an in-house smoker, you can't go wrong with the food! I ordered the Turkey BLT and paired it with the Mac & Cheese Special; it was fantastic! I highly recommend stopping by when you are in the Battle Creek area! Fun fact: their building was a different restaurant years ago but has been nicely updated and looks completely different!!

Goguac Lake is a beautiful 352 acre all sport lake located in the middle of Battle Creek, Michigan. It is a sand-bottom lake, filled with great fishing, a couple of islands, and two channels. The Battle Creek Country Club is on the east shore - with stunning sunset views.

I had the pleasure of enjoying the Fourth of July on Goguac Lake this year. It was a barefoot, BBQ, laughter, and splashing kind of day. The kind you want to repeat all over again every year. Touring the lake on a friend's fishing boat, it was fun to see the red, white, and blue buntings, and flags proclaiming patriotic pride from the lake homes. Truly, the "front" of a lake house is facing lake side - and that is where homeowners go all out with the decorating.

The Boat Parade started at 5:00 pm with boats of every kind gathered at the H2O restaurant on the water. Then began the slow parade around the lake. Some threw candy to the spectators gathered on the docks and on the public beach. Some produced water guns. Some spectators threw water balloons at the boats. It was hilarious! Each boat was decorated in a theme - many with flags and loud stereo systems. One was disguised as an army vehicle and another was a Breast Cancer Awareness boat - all pink. The boats just kept coming with each more creative than the last. I'll be back - that's a promise!

Graham Lake is a secret gem located just south of Battle Creek in rural Leroy Township. This small, all-sport lake has public access. It provides fun, peace and quiet all in one bundle.

Most days I drive to work on autopilot...coffee in hand, music on, just thinking about the day as it unfolds. Once in awhile, Mother Nature throws us a curve ball and puts something really spectacular out there right in front of us, forcing us to stop and enjoy the moment. This morning was exactly that kind of a day for me.

As I drove through the downtown Battle Creek area, I was awestruck by the beautiful deep blue sky with zero clouds and unlimited sunshine. You see, here in Southwest Michigan the sun can be pretty evasive in the winter months. In fact, I had someone once tell me that this particular area of the country is the cloudiest on the entire planet!

I looked down at the temperature gauge in my car and saw that it registered a balmy 7 degrees outside. Hmmm...7 degrees on January 7th. Sounded like a special occasion to me. I swept through the downtown area, parked my car, and took a few pics of our landmark areas - the Federal Center, the Kellogg World Headquarters, and the Battle Creek Math and Science Center. You see, living in this area most of my life, I know that I have come to take many things for granted.

Battle Creek is surrounded by two beautiful rivers: the Battle Creek River and the Kalamazoo River. It has numerous lakes for swimming, boating, fishing and just enjoying. We have trails to hike and ride, parks to picnic and play, and a world class zoo at Binder Park. We have golf courses, ball diamonds and hockey rinks. We are the home of Kellogg's and the World Hot Air Balloon Festival. For me, the best part of Battle Creek is that it's home. Even on the days when it's the cloudiest place on the planet, I wouldn't trade it for all the Frosted Flakes in the world!

I have such warm childhood memories of going to Willard Beach on Goguac Lake with my mom and grandma during the lazy days of summer. Willard Beach is located on the east side of the lake and has been the meeting spot for many family reunions, cook outs, and lazy Sunday afternoons for decades. Great for swimming and picnics, Willard Beach is actually run by Battle Creek's Parks and Recreation Department and has a very nominal fee for entry. It's open to the public from Memorial through Labor Day.

As a child, it always seemed like a huge park - you could actually drive your car right down to the beach and then drive out on the north end and into Jennings Lane. They had diving boards, a bath house, concession stand, a sandy beach, and plenty of shade. My mom always opted for the shady area and my "waterbug" friends and I would swim all afternoon and enjoy our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the beach. This was such a great memory that I decided to share the experience with my own children and we spent many sunny afternoons at Willard Beach.

The park-like setting and ample parking makes this a perfect spot to enjoy summer afternoons with kids of all ages. I took a walk through the park just the other day and the memories came rushing back to me. Water, beach, trees, and sunshine...... ahhhhh, Summer just doesn't get much better than this!

Battle Creek is where I choose to live, work, and play. After all, what's not to love? Whether popping into downtown's very own Brownstone Cafe for a great cup of coffee and a laugh with the locals, or taking my lunch at Harper Creek's Bridge Park, I am constantly being reminded of the quality of life we enjoy here. I find that many professional 30-somethings (like myself) are drawn to the perfect mix. Battle Creek is small enough to be friendly, but large enough to be fun.

Did you know that Battle Creek is home to 90 world class companies? We have a growing community of many cultures and traditions, a rich heritage ... and a fabulous young professionals demographic that is rapidly taking the city by storm. Do we have everything? No, of course not. (Everything within a few miles would be boring, truth be told.) But Battle Creek is a great place to call home - and so close to other fabulous communities (i.e. Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Detroit) that we can absorb their excellence into our own repertoire while keeping housing costs at a reasonable level.

Goguac Lake is a 352 acre lake centrally located in Battle Creek. It has public access for boating, a public beach and the Battle Creek Country Club has frontage on the lake with its own private beach. Willard Beach is the public beach and is surrounded by a beautiful, wooded park. Annual events include a polar plunge in January, the Leroy Sparks Swim and the Cereal City Triathlon in the summer months. The lake is an all sports lake and I am told the fishing is great. I live on the southern channel of the lake.