The Little Traverse Bay region is filled with beautiful coastal towns and limitless ideas for fun. Here are eight ideas to add to your list for a visit to Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Bay Harbor and the Little Traverse Bay area, including biking, art, shopping, raptor watching, and much more.
BIKE THE LITTLE TRAVERSE WHEELWAY
Pedal your bicycle 23 miles on the dedicated, mostly asphalt trail stretching between Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. 231-348-8280, TRAILSCOUNCIL.ORG.
SEE RAPTORS UP CLOSE
Flock to SEE-North’s Center for Outdoor Studies to look at and learn from live hawks, eagles, falcons and owls native to northern
Michigan. SEVEN MILES NORTH OF HARBOR SPRINGS, 231-348-9700, SEENORTH.ORG.
DOUBLE…OR TRIPLE…YOUR PLEASURE
Take 54 downhill runs, dogsled rides, X-C trails, a halfpipe and a hot outdoor pool. Add three peaks, 53 downhill runs, a superpipeand a killer terrain park across the street. You got? Neighbors: Boyne Highlands (800-GO-BOYNE, BOYNE.COM) and Nub’s Nob
(800-SKI-NUBS, NUBSNOB.COM). If it’s summer, it’s all about golf at Boyne USA. Check out their eight, yes, eight courses.
GET INSPIRED
Glorious Victorian church-turned-Crooked Tree Arts Center houses everchanging art gallery exhibits, theatre and live music. 231-347-4337, CROOKEDTREE.ORG.
TRANSPORT YOURSELF
Cherry-red Depression erabuilt Good Hart General Store is also a post office, deli, bakery and real estate office that lovers of nostalgia and chicken pot pies must not miss. M-119 IN GOOD HART, 231-526-7661, GOODHARTSTORE.COM.
GET SCHOOLED ON FISH
See brown and rainbow trout through underwater windows at the Oden Interpretive Center (ON U.S. 31, EAST OF CONWAY); learn how they hatch at the Oden State Fish Hatchery just up the road (NORTHWEST OF ODEN). 231-348-0998.
NAIL IT
104-year-old W.W. Fairbairn & Sons, Inc. hardware store is a poke-around paradise full of all the doohickeys and thingamajigs a person needs—and some you just plain want. ALANSON, 231-548-2244, WWFAIRBAIRN.COM.
More Links to Fun in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Bay Harbor and the Little Traverse Region!
- The Petoskey, Harbor Springs & Bay Harbor Vacation Directory: Listings to lodging, galleries, restaurants and more along with an interactive map.
- Petoskey, Harbor Springs & Bay Harbor Vacation Guide: Browse gorgeous articles connecting you to perfect beaches, Bayview Festivals, the Tunnel of Trees, ethnic eats and more.and click to hundreds of websites.
- Video: A Day in Petoskey
- The Complete Restaurant Guide for Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Bay Harbor: Just pop in the location where you’d like to eat and browse the wonderful array of restaurant choices.
- Plot your day in Petoskey/Harbor Springs using this Interactive Map: Choose an activity in "I’d like to find" and choose Petoskey, Harbor Springs or a nearby town for "in a town near." Then click away!
- Check out all the music, festivals, art and events of all kinds happening in Petoskey, Harbor Springs & Torch Lake!
- Rent a cottage in Petoskey, Harbor Springs & Bay Harbor: There hundreds of cottages to rent in Northern Michigan. Type the town you’re interested in into the Search box and plan your getaway Up North!