Gray Drake Lodge & Outfitters

It has taken me a while to gather my thoughts on this place. On one hand, it was great to get away and experience Michigan river life at a beautiful B&B. On the other, I felt that the couple that ran this place interfered with our family vacation.
My family had booked their lodge for a weekend getaway, but the weekend before we were to go lightening struck it and the power went out. As a substitute, management offered for us to stay at their neighboring B&B instead. I was looking forward to a fun family weekend spent relaxing and drinking vino, so when I arrived to this beautiful lodge I was excited. The B&B was big enough to fit our party comfortably (four couples and a single), and was gorgeous. There was a big deck with a fire pit and a hot tub (which was drained and out of operation when we stayed: big bummer!) for relaxing outside. A path leads from the deck to the river, which made for a few midnight dips!
I got the sense that this is management’s home, and they lived in the bottom part of the lodge. Due to this, the couple that ran this place was in and out a lot. I felt like I could never truly relax, because I did not know when they would come walking through. One night, the owner (Matt I believe) sat at the table and drank with us. I did not enjoy this, as I felt it was encroaching on my family time. I got up and left the table, and was promptly followed by a few other people. It’s not that I’m not social, but I wanted to catch up with family, not someone who bragged about fly fishing with celebrities.
This place offers some extras that I wasn’t so keen on. If you’re into fly fishing, this is a great place to go! Matt is knowledgeable, and led a few guys from our party on an afternoon fishing outing. They also offered a gourmet meal prepared for us, but please do not take this option. The woman they bring in to cook for you is nice enough, but she charges an arm and a leg to make lasagna! I think it was $ 40 per person for a salad, lasagna and microscopic piece of cheesecake. In addition, she sat in the kitchen chatting with the owner and eating within plain sight of us. It was nice to have someone cook for us, but the price is completely out of whack. We could have made that meal for all of us for the price of one person.
All in all: I would recommend this place for someone who is looking to fly fishing. I would have liked to see the owners less. I think if we would have been able to stay at he lodge they wouldn’t have been in and out.