Houghton Lake is Michigan’s largest inland lake with over 32 miles of beautiful shore line and 22,000 acres of sandy bottom water.

Enjoy spectacular fishing on Houghton Lake!  If you are lucky enough to catch Big Wally the Walleye or any of his friends (blue gill, pike, bass, crappie or perch) you could be eligible to win $50,000.00 in cash and a brand new Smoker Craft Boat package from Spicer’s Boat City. Each fisherman catching a tagged fish will receive a $50.00 gas card and earns a place in the finals for a chance at $50,000 and the boat package in April 2010. Big Wally IV and 29 of his closest friends have been released into Michigan’s Other Great Lakes – Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake and Lake St. Helen. These tagged fish are waiting for you to catch them.

Houghton Lake is also Home of Tip-Up Town USA, one of the country’s largest Winter Festivals since 1951.  Two local businessmen, Bob Sweet and Bob Carmen, conceived the idea of creating a little fun on the ice to relieve the long winter months, and by which they might attract more tourism to the area during the off season.

A Grand Parade opens the festival activities on the first Saturday of the festival at 10:00am. The Grand Parade travels east from the Houghton Lake Heights along M-55 and ends up at the TUT USA site, where clowns, games, contests, concessions, cavorting, demonstrations and aerial performances are part of the feverish activity.  A spectacular fireworks display over the ice in front of the TUT USA site begins at dusk on both Saturday evenings of the festival.
Tip-Up Town USA visitors can take the Polar Bear dip, watch snowmobile races, join a fishing tournament, watch pie eating contests, go ice skating, or just sip hot cocoa.  This large festival has something for all ages.  Tip-Up Town USA is held annually the last two weekends in January.

For more information or to plan a visit to Houghton Lake, please visit: www.visithoughtonlake.com or www.tip-up-townusa.com