Central and Western North LP. (Cheboygan, Gaylord: renting, home, beach)
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I really liked Port Austin. It’s away from all the busy touristy areas in Michigan like Mackinaw and Traverse city, and a neat little town. I went there recently to see the point Aux barques lighthouse .
Port Austin is probably going to be our next camping trip. I keep planning to go there and we end up going to Oscoda area instead.
I want to go out to turnip rock, however it was strongly advised we rent sea kayaks rather than using out canoe and little bathtub kayak. That gets expensive.
We may wait until next year since it is getting cool already. Fall camping may be down to Hocking HIlls Ohio for slightly warmer weather (hopefully).
We just got back from our first trip to Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Traverse City and had a great time.
Petoskey was bigger and had way more amenities than I expected, more like a small city than the cute tourist town that I expected. Still very beautiful, clean, and interesting. I didn't expect such a hipster vibe in the downtown area but it wasn't bad, just different than what I expected. I think I'm so used to the cute, small "girls' shopping day" towns near me like Tecumseh and Saline and they don't have that vibe at all.
Charlevoix...beautiful, clean, friendly, and I could definitely live there, although I can see where one would find themselves running to Petoskey or Traverse City quite often for things that Charlevoix doesn't have. Still, to me it is wonderful.
We didn't see any traffic issues to speak of in Petoskey or Charlevoix, but then we were there after Labor Day and during the first week of school for most kids so I'm sure the summer crowds were mostly gone.
Traverse City...our first impression was driving in from Charlevoix on the Hwy 31 strip on the east bay, so we were not immediately impressed. Traffic was heavy but manageable, it just reminded us too much of places like Myrtle Beach or Virginia Beach, and that's we had hoped to avoid. We drove into downtown expecting more "cute" than "city", which was our own fault, I guess, for not researching better and picturing a quaint vacation town. We stayed at the Grand Beach Resort on the east bay which was a great hotel, but the first night we were thinking we picked the wrong city to visit. The one thing that we really did enjoy on that day was driving up the Leelanau Peninsula and seeing some of the nice towns and scenery there, but Hubby still wasn't sold on TC itself.
TC day two...completely different experience, thankfully! We explored downtown on foot and it was completely uncrowded and charming, comparable to and better than some much larger cities. The tunnel underneath Hwy 31 to the park on the west bay was a great idea and the park/marina was just beautiful. We really enjoyed just walking, having coffee, shopping, and taking lots of pictures. We had lunch at a waterfront restaurant called the Apache Trout Grill (not downtown but just a short drive) that was fabulous, I would highly recommend it. We then did a sailing charter on the west bay which was so much fun and so beautiful, followed by a drive up the Old Mission Peninsula past all of the gorgeous farms and wineries to the Old Mission Lighthouse. ! Day two completely changed our impression of TC. We will be back!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Did you get to leland?
Sailing charter sounds like fun. Did oyu have people running the boat for you, or did you sail it?
Sailing charter sounds like fun. Did oyu have people running the boat for you, or did you sail it?
Thanks!
No, we didn't make it to Leland, just up through Suttons Bay and then down the other side of the Leelanau Peninsula, and somehow we missed Leland. We'll have to hit it the next time.
We booked the sailing charter through the Traverse Tall Ship Company.
We didn't sail the boat, we are total novices with any kind of boating. We went out on a 38 ft. sailboat called The Scout with a wonderful captain named Caleb who really knew his stuff. He has sailed ships from Traverse City all the way to Massachusetts and Texas. It was so much fun, I highly recommend it!
On our list for the next time we're in that area is to see more of the Leelanau Peninsula and more of Harbor Springs. We barely saw any of that beautiful town and drove down Beach Drive which we thought was the location of the Gilded Age "cottages" of the rich and famous but discovered later was not, so now we have to go back and see them. The houses in Beach Drive were gorgeous too, but apparently not THE most gorgeous houses in town. Our sailing captain Caleb told us that some of the people who own those "cottages" in Harbor Springs only visit them for a week or two out of the year. $10 million+ "cottages". Must be nice!
Yes, I also second the recommendation on the Traverse Tall Ships. My wife and I did a trip 2 summers ago, we were given it as a gift, and a great gift idea for an experience. We did an evening dinner/sunset sail. By dinner, it was a box lunch, but they had beer/wine available for sale. We sailed around West Bay for about two hours. The crew was awesome and entertaining.
People got to "help" sail, basically had some kids and adults take turns steering the wheel and pulling a few lines here and there. A great way to experience time out on the water. I'd do it again.
Yeah, if you do get up to Petoskey / Harbor Spring area, and have an interesting in exploring the history of the area you have to see some of the old resort communities and their cottages.
Bayview, Wequetonsing, and Harbor Point are the old-money resorter communities that were started back when passengers arrived to by train and steamship to summer up north from Chicago. Harbor Point is not open to the public though, and no cars are allowed out on the point. Many of the families that own homes out there are descendants of all the big name super wealthy families from the early 1900s in Chicago, that literally have buildings/companies/stadiums/convention centers named after them in Chicago.
Lots of these old multi-million dollar cottages are in trusts and come down through the family. They only open them up for a few months in the summer a year, some family members spend all summer up there, and the grandkids each get a week or two for summer. Many fly up on private jets. There is stupid amounts of money up there.
Plus all the new build mega-cottages tucked away outside of Harbor Springs up along Lower Shore Drive and on Walloon Lake & Lake Charlevoix.
I was up north for the past week and a half and man, the weather sure turned fast. It was warm the first part of Labor Day weekend, but since then its felt more like fall.
The crowds (and traffic), as they usually do all are mostly gone now after Labor Day.
The Tuesday after Labor Day we went to go spend the day hiking at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, wander around Glen Arbor, and come back to have dinner in Traverse City. We wouldn't go near any of these places in peak summer, especially this year.
Last Saturday night, we went into Petoskey for dinner, and the town was absolutely deserted. Granted it had been a rainy day and it was mid-50s out.
We played a bunch of golf too with the cooler temps. Every course said they've had a busy summer, and rounds are up 20-30%.
The leaves were already starting to begin to turn in a few places, especially away from the lake areas inland from Harbor Springs and over toward Gaylord. I think fall colors are going to be early this year. I am thinking early-Oct is going to be near peak this year.
Crazy sunset last night with the smoky haze from the forest fires out west.
My husband felt as if our hotel points were burning a hole in his pocket, and trying to get the most bang for his buck, so to speak, chose Gaylord. I've never been, except likely through. Any suggestions what we should do in and around there this weekend? We'll likely hit up Traverse City sometime, too, but we're more familiar with that area. We have two sons (7 and 10) that are more interested in gaming than anything else, to try to entertain as well. Thought about Mackinac Island, but the forecast is too cold for my liking to get on a ferry.
Obviously being up north most of things are going to be outdoor or resort oriented.
Some things to do around the Gaylord area, off the top of my head, that may be suitable or interesting to kids of that age:
(*Disclaimer, no idea of the current status of things this year in the COVID-era and/or also what things are open as its going into fall shoulder season for many of the summer attractions/amenities)
Hartwick Pines State Park (south, near Grayling) - wander around hiking and check out the big old-growth trees
Deadman's Hill Overlook / Jordan River Valley Pathway (west off of US-131) - hiking
Call of the Wild Museum (Gaylord) - an old-school touristy roadside attraction type place but its been around forever, muesum and displays of north american wildlife
Boyne Mountain Resort (Boyne Falls) - scenic summer chairlift rides to the top of the ski area, Avalanche Bay indoor waterpark, zip lines
Find and view the Elk Herd - there is a fairly large Elk herd that lives in the Pigeon River State Forest, northeast of Gaylord. No idea where and when exactly are the best places to view the herd. I've seen them a few times passing through the area.
Mackinac Island - like you said, but it may not be that bad to go if the temps are ok. This time of the year it should be relatively uncrowded, I wouldn't necessarily rule it out, at least if the sun is out
Petoskey - wander around downtown or by the waterfront, may be boring though for kids
Oden Fish Hatchery - if you do happen to wander up toward Petoskey, it may be worth stopping by, you can wander around the property, the fish raceways, and they have a area to view into the river bottom.
Other than that I'm sure a putt-putt course and/or hotel pool or other random things would occupy their time up north.
Obviously being up north most of things are going to be outdoor or resort oriented.
Some things to do around the Gaylord area, off the top of my head, that may be suitable or interesting to kids of that age:
(*Disclaimer, no idea of the current status of things this year in the COVID-era and/or also what things are open as its going into fall shoulder season for many of the summer attractions/amenities)
Hartwick Pines State Park (south, near Grayling) - wander around hiking and check out the big old-growth trees
Deadman's Hill Overlook / Jordan River Valley Pathway (west off of US-131) - hiking
Call of the Wild Museum (Gaylord) - an old-school touristy roadside attraction type place but its been around forever, muesum and displays of north american wildlife
Boyne Mountain Resort (Boyne Falls) - scenic summer chairlift rides to the top of the ski area, Avalanche Bay indoor waterpark, zip lines
Find and view the Elk Herd - there is a fairly large Elk herd that lives in the Pigeon River State Forest, northeast of Gaylord. No idea where and when exactly are the best places to view the herd. I've seen them a few times passing through the area.
Mackinac Island - like you said, but it may not be that bad to go if the temps are ok. This time of the year it should be relatively uncrowded, I wouldn't necessarily rule it out, at least if the sun is out
Petoskey - wander around downtown or by the waterfront, may be boring though for kids
Oden Fish Hatchery - if you do happen to wander up toward Petoskey, it may be worth stopping by, you can wander around the property, the fish raceways, and they have a area to view into the river bottom.
Other than that I'm sure a putt-putt course and/or hotel pool or other random things would occupy their time up north.
Gaylord is not far from MIO and the Au sable river. I suggest renting a canoe or kayaks for a day and running down the river through the national forest for a few miles The canoe place will pick you up at the take out. It is really uber beautiful. The current is strong, so you can make a good distance in a day. Bring a cooler and picnic and a can of deep woods off. Also hats sunscreen and lots of water.
Gaylord itself is a really cute town. Oscota is also cute and has a nice lake Huron beach (long drive though). Cheboygan is nearby - sort of.
If the trees a turning, you can drive in almost any direction and be awed. However there is a band in the northeast that is almost all pine, so you may want to hear west, south or way north.
You are near the bridge and Mackinac island. Soo looks are not terribly far. It is fairly pretty in any direction.
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