Houghton Lake’s “Honeymoon Village”: Hazensisle, 1960-1990s

Here’s a little oddity that is unknown to many people, forgotten by some, and remembered by a handful.....

It was called Hazensisle – as in “Hazen’s Isle” - located at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County.

Hazensisle was a tourist attraction that included a 60 foot lighthouse built by Hazen Randall as a ‘honeymoon village’ in 1960. The “isle” comes from the location, on a little jut of land that looks like an island on the northern tip of Houghton Lake...the isle is still there, but the attraction is long gone.

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Along with the lighthouse is a replica of a riverboat (others call it an ocean liner, but it looks like a riverboat to me).

What could you do here? Well, it was more of an inn than anything else. There was music so you could come dancing, swimming, and some rooms if you wanted to spend the night.

After around 30 years, Hazensisle was demolished sometime around the early 90s. It was quite the adventure if you were a tourist who happened upon this little roadside attraction. Now it’s a fond memory for some and an “I never knew that” for others.