Welcome to the easy one — the loop around Gull Lake. First, let's get you pointed the right way, because there are no arrows out here. From the parking lot, walk EAST along the top of the lot — that's the end nearest the tennis courts, away from the lake — and where it meets the lane, turn RIGHT and follow it gently downhill. Within a couple of minutes the marina and the water appear ahead of you, and from there the rule is simple: **keep the lake on your RIGHT**, all the way around. It's a circle of about two miles, nearly flat, and it delivers you back to within a minute's walk of your car. If you ever feel lost, just find the water and keep it on your right.
Gull Lake is the smallest of the loop's four lakes — about sixty-four acres — and the locals' sentimental favorite. It's the one that feels owned by the town: the marina rents the same rowboats it seems to have rented forever, the campground fills with the same families the same week every summer, and the fishing is, pound for pound, some of the most reliable in the basin.
Boots optional, kids and grandparents welcome. Head for the marina — I'll meet you at the water.
Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0