I want to retire on a lake. Where should I go?

By Samanda Dorger

Retirees who want to live on or close to a lake can look at these locales

If you love being on the water, your vision of a retirement day-in-the-life might start with sipping your morning coffee in a lounge chair gazing at the calm waters of a pristine blue lake. Later, you step outside to your dock, row across the quiet blue expanse, and enjoy some fishing and swimming.

Sure, you can spend millions for a home on the shores of Lake Tahoe or Lake Champlain. But for most retirees, the average U.S. median home sale price of $420,800 is already high - and lakeside homes at that price are hard to come by.

Living on a lake isn't always ideal - many of the prettiest lakes are in the mountains or northern parts of the country where winters are cold. Recreational lakes may be busy with vacationers on weekends and in the summer, and waterfront homes may be exposed to harsh elements, which can lead to higher maintenance costs.

Whether you want to retire right on a lake or at least be close enough to the water to enjoy it daily, here are a few spots around the U.S. worth considering.

Traverse City, Mich.

Traverse City, which sits at the southern tip of Lake Michigan's Traverse Bay, is a popular retirement spot for active adults in northern Michigan, thanks to its arts and music scenes as well as golf, skiing and other outdoor activities, according to John Brady of Topretirements.com, who spends his days going through feedback from readers about the charms and benefits of communities across the country.

Winters are chilly here, with January lows around 16 degrees F, but Realtor.com, which ranked Traverse City as the best affordable place for retirees in 2022, says that from June to late October, the area has near-perfect weather for enjoying boating, swimming, paddleboarding and other activities. Traverse City has several senior centers, some right on the waterfront.

Read: The hot new hangout for retirees: senior centers

The community also enjoys nationally recognized healthcare at Munson Medical Center, according to Livability. Tourism and agriculture are big in Traverse City, so there are plenty of things to do: breweries, a distillery, farmers markets, a botanic garden and an opera house. The cost of living is a little below the national average.

Traverse City, Mich.:

Pop.: 15,702Median home sale price: $300,000 (Redfin RDFN, March 2024)Rent, two-bedroom average: $892 per monthCost of living: 4.2% lower than the U.S. averageClimate risks: The biggest risk is storms, with a ClimateCheck score of 71/100 (with 100 being the highest risk)

Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho

In northern Idaho's panhandle, there are two large lakes, Lake Coeur d'Alene and Lake Pend Oreille. The town of Sandpoint, which sits on Pend Oreille, was named the No. 1 best place in the state to retire by SmartAsset, which notes that active retirees will find many opportunities for biking, boating and skiing.

About 46 miles south is the city of Coeur D'Alene, which attracts retirees and tourists who seek its natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities, according to TopRetirements. It's bigger than Sandpoint, and more expensive. Surrounded by mountains and perched on the shore of the 25-mile long lake of the same name, Coeur D'Alene is a popular resort town and sees its share of celebrities, which could account for its higher prices. The cost of living is about 16% higher than the national average.

The city provides a range of services for seniors, including discounts on attractions, healthcare, pharmacies and recreation centers, according to Persinger Group, a real-estate broker in northern Idaho. Coeur D'Alene has several museums and cultural sites, many focused on the indigenous peoples of the area.

Coeur D'Alene is about 30 miles east of Spokane, Wash., which Forbes says has a good ratio of physicians per capita. Sandpoint is 76 miles from Spokane. Idaho was ranked third of the 50 states for quality and cost of healthcare for retirees by Bankrate.

Sandpoint, Idaho:

Pop.: 9,777Median home sale price: $469,500 (Redfin, March 2024)Rent, two-bedroom average: $768 per monthCost of living: 7.4% higher than U.S. averageClimate risks: The highest risk is storms, with a score of 63/100

Couer d'Alene, Idaho:

Pop.: 56,733Median home sale price: $616,000, (Redfin, March 2024) Rent, two-bedroom average: $875 per monthCost of living: 15.9% higher than the U.S. averageClimate risks: The highest risk is storms, with a score of 51/100

Hot Springs Village, Ark.

Where to Retire magazine named Hot Springs Village one of the 50 best master-planned communities in the country in 2019, and Southern Living magazine included it on its list of best retirement towns in the South in its July 2019 issue. MarketWatch Picks recommended it in 2021 for its affordable lakeside homes.

This resort community in Arkansas's Ouachita Mountains, near Lake Ouachita State Park, is the largest gated community in the U.S., encompassing over 40 square miles. It has nine golf courses, 15 tennis courts and several recreational lakes for fishing, boating, waterskiing and swimming, plus over 20 miles of walking trails. There is a wide choice of lakeside homes.

Just 13 miles away is Arkansas's largest lake, Lake Ouachita, and the state park of the same name. The 40,000-acre lake is surrounded by the scenic Ouachita National Forest and offers swimming, skiing, scuba diving, boating, kayaking and fishing. Bream, crappie, catfish, striped bass and largemouth bass can be caught in open waters and quiet coves.

Hot Springs Village is about 53 miles from Little Rock to the east and about 18 miles south of Hot Springs, which is on the Ouachita River.

Hot Springs Village, Ark.:

Pop.: 16,843 Median home sale price: $287,500 (Redfin, March 2024)Rent, two-bedroom average: $843 per monthCost of living: 16.5% lower than the U.S. averageClimate risks: heat and storms are the highest risks here, at 92/100 and 91/100, respectively

Upstate South Carolina

There are several lakes in the northwest corner of South Carolina, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Lake Keowee is a manmade reservoir created to serve the needs of a local power company and for recreational activities such as boating, waterskiing, wakeboarding, fishing and swimming. The lake is about 26 miles long. Most of the lake is in Oconee County, where the median home price in March was $340,250, according to Redfin. Nearly 25% of the residents of the county are over age 65.

There are homes all around the lake, many of them retirement or vacation homes, but the area is somewhat rural, so there is not a lot of cultural activities such as restaurants, according to TopRetirements.

For a little more in the way of activities, Keowee Key is a gated retirement community with waterfront homes, where the median home sale price was $540,000 in March, according to Redfin. Keowee Key offers residents art classes, movies, dancing, dining and wine clubs, fitness and game centers, plus tennis, pickleball, lawn bowling and more. Some 80% of Keowee Key owners live there full time, according to the website.

Nearby Seneca is a small town of about 8,000 at the southern end of Lake Keowee. The March 2024 median home price there was $474,056.

South of Lake Keowee is Lake Hartwell, another manmade reservoir and one of the largest recreational lakes in the southeastern U.S.

Lake Hartwell is close to cities like Clemson, home to Clemson University, and Greenville Thanks to the college, Clemson has lots of sports and cultural activities, and South Carolina residents who are at least 60 years of age may qualify for free tuition at the university.

Read more: 9 places to retire where you can go back to college practically free

Lake Hartwell State Park is great for fishing, hiking and birdwatching.

Oconee County, S.C. (Keowee Lake)

Pop.: 80,160Median home sale price: $340,250 (Redfin, March 2024)Rent, two-bedroom average: $840 per monthCost of living: 14.4% lower than the U.S. averageClimate risks: The highest risks are storms (100/100), heat (87/100), and drought (84/100)

Clemson, S.C.

Pop.: 17,843Median home sale price: $429,000 (Redfin, March 2024)Rent, two-bedroom average: $870 per monthCost of living: 11.8% lower than U.S. averageClimate risks: The highest risks are storms (97/100 ), heat (90/100) and drought (87/100)

Populations are from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2022. Rent averages and cost of living are from Sperlings Best Places. Climate risks are from ClimateCheck.com.

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05-25-24 1137ET

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