What is Michigan's best inland lake? We put the Top 50 in a tournament

Brian Manzullo | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption An inflatable playground is opening on Lake Michigan The one-acre floating water park is set to open June 24 at Whihala Beach in Whiting, Indiana.

The official start of summer is this week. And you've already got your Up North vacations planned for the next few months.

With that in mind, we have a little challenge for you, the reader. We're trying to find Michigan's best - well, most popular - inland lake.

Of course, we know this is quite a challenge. Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes to choose from! But we were able to narrow the list down to 50 solid choices, based on reviews, Top 10 lists found around the internet and other Michigander recommendations. (We're sorry in advance if your favorite wasn't selected.)

This is how we're going to do it:

Each day for the next 10 days on the Detroit Free Press Facebook page (please give us a 'like'!), we're going to put five lakes up to a vote. You will use Facebook's reactions to place your vote for the lake that deserves to win. The two lakes with the most votes by noon the following day will move on to the next round.

After the initial 10 days of voting, we'll start the semifinal round of voting with the remaining 20 lakes (June 29-July 2). We'll re-seed those remaining lakes and separate them in 4 votes of 5.

The winning lake in each will move on to the "Final Four" vote on July 3 to determine our champion!

So are you ready? Voting is live; we'll update with to the other votes as the tournament progresses. Let the debate begin!

Michigan lakes tournament schedule

(Winners in bold.)

Monday, June 19

Torch Lake, Black Lake, Manistique Lake, Lake Cadillac, Gull Lake (View results)

Tuesday, June 20

Houghton Lake, Indian Lake, Cass Lake, Hubbard Lake, Grand Lake (View results)

Wednesday, June 21

Burt Lake, Pickerel Lake, Lake Orion, Chippewa Lake, Clear Lake (View results)

Thursday, June 22

Lake Charlevoix, Crooked Lake, Lake Macatawa, Orchard Lake, Bass Lake (View results)

Friday, June 23

Lake Leelanau, Gun Lake, White Lake, Lake Metamora, Clam Lake (View results)

Saturday, June 24

Higgins Lake, Elk Lake, Duck Lake, Lake Thumb, Lake Bellaire (View results)

Sunday, June 25

Mullett Lake, Glen Lake, Otsego Lake, Lake Missaukee, Lake Paradise (View results)

Monday, June 26

Lake Gogebic, Long Lake, Manistee Lake, Twin Lakes, Perch Lake (View results)

Tuesday, June 27

Portage Lake, Walloon Lake, Sanford Lake, Wixom Lake, Tawas Lake (View results)

Wednesday, June 28

Crystal Lake, Silver Lake, Muskegon Lake, Allegan Lake, Spider Lake (VOTE NOW)

Thursday, June 29

Semifinal round 1 (Reseeded lakes 1-5)

Friday, June 30

Semifinal round 2 (Reseeded lakes 6-10)

Saturday, July 1

Semifinal round 3 (Reseeded lakes 11-15)

Sunday, July 2

Semifinal round 4 (Reseeded lakes 16-20)

Monday, July 3

Final round (Vote on the final four lakes).

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