Crossing into southern Otsego County, I-75 continues northward through Northern Michigan forests. It passes to the east of the community of Waters and Otsego Lake. North of exit 279, I-75 proceeds by the Gaylord Regional Airport and crosses the 45th Parallel, the halfway mark between the Equator and the North Pole by latitude. The freeway then traverses the west side of Gaylord and continues through forests in the northern sections of the county. North of Vanderbilt, I-75 enters southern Cheboygan County, assuming the G. Mennen Williams Freeway name.