Saugatuck Lodges — Gay Motel (Saugatuck, Michigan, 1960s-1980s) Saugatuck Lodges was one of the early motels in the Saugatuck/Douglas area catering to gay guests—cabins and private lodging in a lakeside destination that quietly became known as a safe haven. By the late ’60s, it appears in gay guides and newsletters as a spot offering privacy and sanctuary near the private beach just north of Oval Beach. Nude sunbathing was the norm, and the motels and lodges there served as queer retreats when many places still forced closeting.
