Situated along the scenic shores of Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan is Traverse City, a perfect place to spend a long weekend. This medium sized city is surrounded by dozens of pristine lakes, sandy beaches, vineyards, orchards, historic lighthouses and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, one of the most spectacular natural features in the Midwest.
Northern Michigan is known for its sweet, delicious cherries, and Traverse City calls itself the Cherry Capital of the World. Throughout the region, roadside stands sell varieties of cherries, while local restaurants, breweries, and wineries incorporate them into everything from desserts to drinks. The annual cherry harvest is celebrated with the National Cherry Festival, held in early July, bringing thousands of visitors to the city.
I recently spent three days here as part of a trip to northern Michigan, which is the perfect duration to take advantage of all that the Traverse City area has to offer.
Downtown Traverse City
The best introduction to Traverse City begins downtown with a stop at the Traverse City Tourist Information Center. We spoke with a friendly assistant who provided us information about dog friendly wineries and other attractions in the area. We then strolled across the street to Clinch Park which stretches for two miles along the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. The ten-acre park contains large open spaces, trails, a marina, and wide beaches, and hosts numerous festivals throughout the year including the National Cherry Festival.
We then headed back to Front Street, the main commercial area which runs parallel to the waterfront. Visitors can easily explore on foot the many restaurants, cafés, boutiques, galleries and specialty shops. We ate lunch at Grand Traverse Pie Company which sells nearly 50 different types of pies, including savory pot pies, quiches, fruit and cream pies. I enjoyed a combo of a beef pot pie and salad, followed by a sweet cherry peach pie for dessert. All things cherry related can be found at Cherry Republic. The store sells a wide variety of cherry flavored snacks, jams, candies, pastries, wine, coffee and more. We sampled chocolate covered dried cherries and bought a jar of deliciously spicy cherry salsa to take home. Nearby is the State Theatre, a beautifully restored Art Deco movie palace theater dating to the silent-film era.
South of downtown, along Cass Road, sits a unique attraction, the world’s largest cherry pie pan, that held the world’s largest cherry pie as certified by the Guinness Book of World’s Records. On July 25, 1987, Chef Pierre Bakeries prepared a cherry pie weighing 28,350 pounds. The pie tin was 18 feet wide and 26 inches deep, and the pie itself fed an estimated 35,000 spectators during the Cherry Festival. Since then, a larger cherry pie was created in Canada.
The Old Mission Peninsula and Wineries
We spent our second day exploring the Old Mission Peninsula which juts north from the city like a long thin finger, separating the west and east arms of Grand Traverse Bay. The 18-mile long peninsula is known for its coastal views, cherry orchards, vineyards, and historic sites. Our drive along Highway M-37 meandered amongst rolling hills and coastal areas before reaching the peninsula’s northern tip.
Along the way, we stopped at two dog-friendly wineries. The Traverse City area has nearly 50 vineyards and wineries which take advantage of the cool climate along the 45th parallel. Mari Vineyards sits on a hill offering sweeping views toward the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. We drank our wine on the patio of the Mediterranean inspired stone villa while taking in the view. Our second winery was Chateau Chantal. The dog-friendly west patio offers a view toward the vineyards and beyond them, the bay and Power Island. The winery offers charcuteries, dinner options, private cellar tours, jazz at sunset, and bed and breakfast style lodging.
The peninsula has limited dining options, and we opted for a late lunch at Peninsula Grill where we enjoyed the Smokehouse Pork tacos covered with corn salsa, cabbage and a spicy bang bang sauce.
We continued north toward the tiny settlement of Old Mission, founded in 1839 and one of the oldest communities in northern Michigan. It was founded as a mission for native tribes like the Ojibwe and Odawa. Today, there are a few surviving structures, like the Dougherty Mission House museum, one of the oldest framed structures in northern Michigan and the former home of the Reverand Peter Dougherty, the first non-Indigenous settler in the region. He and his large family lived in the home which was also used for teaching native students and meetings with the Ojibwa leadership. Other structures remain in the village including a replica of the Old Mission Church, the Old Mission General Store, and the Old Mission Inn bed and breakfast.
At the northern tip of the peninsula is the Mission Point lighthouse, built in 1870 and used until 1933. Visitors can walk the grounds and adjacent beach for free, or pay a small fee to climb the tower to the lantern deck and tour the museum on the second floor where a 5th Order Fresnel lens is located.
We made a brief stop at the Harbor View Nursery and Lavender farm where we walked around the beautiful rows of the deep purple colored herb. The farm sells flowers, lavender products, such as oils and soaps and cherry products like cherry cookies.
Our last stop on the peninsula was a cherry orchard operated by Third Coast Fruit Company, where we picked our own cherries. We were provided plastic collection bags and split up. Signs lead to different types of cherries, and we collected both Rainier cherries and dark sweet cherries to eat as snacks on the way back to town.
The Leelanau Peninsula
West of Traverse City, the much larger Leelanau Peninsula offers additional orchards, more than 25 wineries and tasting rooms, numerous lakes, massive sand dunes, quaint small towns, and spectacular views of Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. We spent our third day driving the scenic M-22 corridor exploring these attractions.
The towns of Suttons Bay, Leland and Northport each offer a different version of small-town Northern Michigan. Leland’s historic Fishtown is particularly memorable. The former commercial fishing village preserves weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses, and waterfront buildings along the Leland River. While many of the buildings now house coffee shops, galleries or restaurants, commercial fisherman still use the docks and a few of the shanties.
Sleeping Bear Dunes
No visit to Traverse City is complete without spending time at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, also located on the Leelanau Peninsula. The park extends 35 miles along the eastern coast of Lake Michigan and is known for its massive sand dune formations, some towering up to 450 feet above the lake. The lakeshore is also abundant with forests, beaches, lighthouses and ancient glacial phenomena. The landscape was formed during the Last Glacial Period approximately 10,000 to 14,000 years ago. In 2011, it won the title of “The Most Beautiful Place in America” from Good Morning America. A few of the trails and beaches allow pets on leash.
Our first stop was the Pyramid Point Overlook, which is the furthest northern part of the lakeshore located on the mainland. After parking at the trailhead, we walked about a half mile through forest until we reached the overlook at the top of a large dune. It offered an amazing panorama of the multiple blue hues of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands.
We continued south along Highway M-22 until we came to the main dune climb, located near Glen Lake. We hiked up the steep 284 foot high wall of sand which led to a level area that introduced additional trails to Lake Michigan. The round trip to the lake and back is 3.5 miles. Further south, the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is a loop road that traverses through forest and dunes with additional spectacular overlooks. Our last stop was the Empire Bluff scenic overlook, located near the quaint town of Empire where the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center is located. The 1.5 mile round trip trail leads to several spectacular viewpoints overlooking both Lake Michigan and South Bar Lake.
Further south, we made additional stops at the Point Betsie lighthouse, and the picture perfect town of Frankfort, situated where the Betsie River leads to Lake Michigan. Here we had dinner at Stormcloud Brewing Company, a popular gathering spot and beer garden that serves a variety of craft beers, pizzas, sandwiches and salads.
Torch Lake
After checking out of Traverse City, we continued our vacation north to the Little Traverse Bay region. Along the way, we stopped for a swim at Torch Lake, one of northern Michigan’s most spectacular natural treasures. It is my favorite lake in Michigan and is known for its remarkably clear, turquoise-blue water that has earned it the nickname “Caribbean of the North.” Torch Lake is Michigan’s longest inland lake, stretching 19 miles, and offers multiple opportunities for swimming, boating, kayaking, fishing or just soaking up the view. The famous Torch Lake Sandbar is near the south end of the lake, and is a popular summer gathering spot for boaters and swimmers. Parking during the summer can be difficult, and we were lucky to find a spot at Birch Street Public Access Point where we laid out on the small beach and swam in the warm shallow water. In fact, you can wade nearly a quarter mile from shore and still be in waist deep water.
Getting To and Around Traverse City
By Air – The easiest way to reach Traverse City from outside Michigan is to fly into Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), located only about 10–15 minutes from downtown. The airport has multiple airlines providing nonstop service to 19 cities (Some routes are seasonal), including major hubs like Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Minneapolis. Rental cars are available at the airport.
By Car – Driving is the best way to experience the Traverse City area as many of the major attractions are outside the city, such as Sleeping Bear Dunes, Old Mission Peninsula, and Leelanau Peninsula. From Detroit, the drive is roughly four hours, mostly via I-75. Chicago is approximately five hours away by car,
Within town, Traverse City’s BATA public transportation system operates local bus service, including the Bayline and Link On-Demand services. Rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft are also available, although drivers can be harder to find outside the city.