Homes for Rent in Paw Paw Lake, Paw Paw Lake

The community around Paw Paw Lake is home to permanent residents seeking a waterfront lifestyle as well as vacationers escaping the big city. “Paw Paw Lake has a lot of second homes,” says Sara Porter, head of youth programming and outreach services at Coloma Public Library. “We’re two hours from Chicago, so a lot of people who live in the city have a lake home here.” The area and its namesake lake are split between Coloma Charter Township and Watervliet Township in Berrien County. The 857-acre lake, about 5 miles from the shores of Lake Michigan, is the centerpiece of the community, along with the smaller Little Paw Paw Lake just north. “It’s not a private lake, so anyone can launch their boat,” Porter says. “It gets really busy during the summer, especially on Fourth of July.” Hundreds of houses surround the large lake. Most have docks for boat storage, and there are several with small, private beaches on the water. They come in various shapes and sizes, ranging from 1,200 square-foot homes for as low as $480,000 to upscale houses with nearly 5,000 square feet for $2.2 million. Some houses off the lake still have views of the water. They can range anywhere from $350,000 to