What To Do In Traverse City, Michigan
In late August/September, A and I went up north to Traverse City, a destination on Lake Michigan’s sandy shores. Before the road trip, I spent lots of time of researching, pinning, bookmarking, and writing a long to-do list (I love planning 😊).
We were excited to visit a Midwest city that neither of us had ever been to. Despite all of the careful planning beforehand, we only had 4 days and 3 nights which just wasn’t enough time for everything! The things we did get to experience were so much fun and whenever we visit again, we will definitely go see all of the things we missed!
If you’re asking, “what to do in Traverse City?” keep reading!
About Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is known as the cherry capital of the world! It’s attractions include a striking Lake Michigan coast, amazing beaches, wineries, vineyards, outdoor recreation, and four seasons that offer countless activities. It’s a popular destination for those visiting the Great Lakes whether you’re with a family or as a couple.
What struck me most about Traverse City was how it felt like no other Midwest city I’ve visited so far. The first thing that comes to mind is the air smelled like the beautiful pines and a Lake Michigan scent I can only describe as fresh. We felt small town vibes in a medium sized city which offered an overall charming Midwest experience.
Where Is Traverse City?
Traverse City is located in Northern Michigan and was a roughly 5 hour drive from Chicago but depends on construction and traffic.
From Detroit, it’s about 4 hours and from Grand Rapids, it’s about 2 hours.
Where We Stayed
This trip was pretty last minute, so lots of hotels were already booked. I really wanted to stay at the Delamar hotel which was right in the middle of the city and on the shore but it wasn’t available. After all my research, I did want to include that there are plenty of waterfront lodgings and inns that look lovely for a getaway!
We stayed at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. The hotel was huge and offered lots of activities like golfing, a spa, a health club, multiple swimming pools, transport for wine tours, shopping, dining, and gaming.
We didn’t partake in most of the amenities because we were more interested in exploring Traverse City. Overall, our room felt clean and the staff that helped us were friendly. After this trip, A and I have realized that we prefer smaller hotels/inns but I would recommend it to a family looking for a hotel with things to do. Keep in mind that it took about 15 minutes to drive from the hotel to the city.
What To Do In Traverse City
Explore Front Street
Front street is located in downtown Traverse City and is lined with shops, restaurants, a theater, and galleries. We drove into the city and found reasonable priced street parking without much hassle. On the beautiful day that we went, there was a crowd but nothing too overwhelming.
It was fairly easy to walk around and window shop! We stopped to browse souvenir shops filled with cute Traverse City gear. One store in particular caught my attention because I LOVE gemstones and jewelry.
We also stopped at Cherry Republic, which is Michigan’s all things cherry store and has other locations all over the state. This location offered wine tastings and we even got to sample cherry soda! My family and I love cherry so I made sure to buy some sour cherry gummies, cherry granola, and some dried cherry and nut mixes as gifts to bring back.
After walking around from shop to shop, we decided needed a treat. We stopped at Petoskey Pretzel Co. which makes pretzels from scratch and both of us LOVE soft pretzels so we couldn’t pass it up. We went twenty minutes before closing and they had limited flavors so be sure to get there earlier for more options (the cinnamon sugar pretzel was delicious!).
Visit A Museum
A and I love visiting museums and we try to find at least one during our trips. When I found the Dennos Museum Center, I knew that we would have to make the stop! The museum’s signature collection features prints, sculptures, and other mediums of Inuit art of the Canadian Arctic. We spent an hour and a half thoroughly exploring the museum. There are other art exhibits on display as well plus interactive children’s exhibits. Overall, it was a great time!
Enjoy Beaches and Beachcombing
Antrim Creek Natural Area
We love beachcombing! We grew up on Lake Michigan’s shores and spent many hours looking for small treasures. After learning all about Petoskey stones, which I had never heard of prior to this trip, we wanted to find a quiet beach that we could take our time combing.
Petoskey stones are fossilized corals that have a honeycomb pattern and they’re pre-historic! I was ready to spend hours searching for a stone for my collection because they are unique to these shorelines of Michigan.
In order to find a beach with less foot traffic, we asked around and a local mentioned the Antrim Creek Natural Area. It was about an hours drive away from the city and really felt secluded!
I lost cellphone service for about twenty minutes on the drive, so make sure to look up how to use Google maps offline. The long drive was worth it for us though because the beach was beautiful and very quiet with only a handful of people around.
We spent about two hours here, beachcombing, relaxing, and watching another beautiful sunset. I can’t lie, this side of the lake has incredible sunsets!! Sadly, we didn’t find any Petoskey stones here but we found lots of other pretty stones!
Notes: There is a parking lot available, just a short walk to the beach. There are no concessions, public restrooms, or lifeguards here but there was a porta potty at the time that we went. This area is really as “natural” as its name.
This adventure was all about exploring the beauty of Lake Michigan’s shores off the beaten path.
Clinch Park
If you’re not looking for such a secluded area as the one above, check out Clinch Park! This is one of the popular beaches in Traverse City which runs opposite of Front street.
The park has a public beach, offers concessions, public restrooms, and views of the marina. We didn’t wind up swimming at this beach, but we watched a gorgeous sunset over the marina! After our dinner on Front street, we used the Clinch Park Tunnel with the entrance on N. Cass street. The tunnel features rotating art exhibitions which added a nice touch!
Take A Wine Tour
There’s about 50 wineries throughout the region. We aren’t big wine drinkers, so we put a wine tour pretty low on our list of things to do.
However, here is a few places that were recommended to us that stood out to me for their vibes and beautiful views.
I’d love to visit these next time we’re in Traverse City. This list is short but there’s so many others to choose from! Find a complete list here.
- MAWBY – an all sparkling wine vineyard!
- Bonobo Winery – indoor and outdoor seating thats perfect for watching a sunset
- Brys Estate – sit on the deck for gorgeous views and check out their secret garden with lavender fields!
- Bowers Harbor Vineyards – aesthetic views of the vineyards and family friendly
Exploring
Try Star Gazing
In Chicago we can view some stars, but the light pollution blocks out so much! 🙁 Up in Traverse City, we really were blown away by how many stars we could see. While in Chicago you can look up for a view, the stars in Traverse City were all around us like a dome! As a casual star observer, I was not really prepared for just how beautiful the night sky is without all of the city lights!
In order to view the stars well, we parked in a fairly dark separate parking lot next to our hotel and used the cars sunroof to view the glittering night sky.
For photos, I used my phone’s night setting with an extra long exposure to and turned up the shadows in editing. Let me tell you – the pictures came out so much better than I had hoped. Right there on my phone was the Milky Way! It was truly a great experience that cost nothing and was a highlight of the trip for me as someone quite obsessed with space.
If you’re able to find a dark area, try to stop for a moment and look at the sky! Other mentions are looking for stars or the Northern lights at Sleeping Bear Dunes or the Dark Sky Park. Chances to see the Northern lights can depend on the time of year and just plain luck. Both of these suggested places required a lot of driving to and from the hotel and we didn’t feel comfortable doing so much driving at night.
Hike Sleeping Bear Dunes
Although not located in Traverse City (about a 40 minute drive West) I thought that it deserved a mention here. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a national park thats known for its incredible sand dunes, amazing lakeshore views, and miles of hiking trails.
As much as I love nature and hiking, I had been concerned about the difficulty level of the hikes.
Here are my tips for visiting the dunes:
The dune climb is a popular spot to test your endurance 😄. This dune climb is about 284 feet and overlooks Glen Lake at the top. Upon entering we paid for parking and visited a small souvenir shop located at the base of the dune. There are public restrooms here.
- Here’s my biggest tip…WEAR SUNSCREEN. Even if you think you don’t need it or won’t be on the dunes for awhile.
- It can get windy up on the dunes even on warmer days, I wore leggings and a lightweight long sleeve sweater. I also wore a hat and sunglasses and my favorite belt bag.
- For shoes, I wore comfortable sandals because I preferred to hike up the sand barefoot. Although beware of hot sand in the summer and little twigs.
- Carry a travel size sunscreen just in case.
- Regardless of how much hiking you plan to do, carry a water bottle and a snack (I suggest bringing snacks for most of life’s adventures 😅)
- Go early in the morning to avoid the sun in the afternoon when it is the strongest.
After all those tips, I don’t want to scare you. I’m not out of shape but I’m not the most in shape either (working on that). I found the dune climb challenging but not impossible because we made it to the top! After we got to the top, we looked behind us to see the tiny parking lot! There’s a beautiful view of Glen Lake and it’s amazing to feel high up.
From there, we followed the trail to a point where we could see Lake Michigan and the “Sleeping Bears.” This part took about thirty minutes because we stopped under a single shady tree. I found this part challenging because it was getting later into the day when the sun was getting hotter.
The journey back was easier because it’s almost all downhill. Once we made it back to the main dune, we half walked half ran back down (which was lots of fun). After the climb, I was very sweaty (just keeping it real) and felt proud of myself for trying something new and out of my comfort zone.
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
We didn’t even try to climb the largest and probably most popular dune that you may have seen on social media, at the Sleeping Bear Dunes outlook located off the Pierce Stocking scenic drive.
After a short snack break after the dune climb, we drove over to the Pierce Stocking scenic drive. It had an entrance fee but the whole experience was very worth it.
It was a beautiful and steep winding road that had many stops for looking at the most scenic views of Sleeping Bear Dunes. There was a total of 12 stops with some being outlooks, some with trails, and the iconic empire covered bridge. This could take you about two hours overall and could be an adventure in itself!
Other Mentions
There are many other ways to explore Traverse City outdoors. Trying biking, swimming, fishing, hiking, and sailing.
Although we wanted to try a sailing tour, we didn’t have enough time to fit it in. Seeing Traverse City from a boat was recommended to us by the locals!
Restaurants To Try In Traverse City
The city definitely felt like it had a great restaurant scene! We had so many suggestions from friends and family who had been to the area before.
Don’s Drive In
This cute retro style American diner was perfect for a quick bite to eat! We both got burgers and they were delicious!
Bubbie’s Bagels
Bagels are everything. A bagel sandwich? YES please. Bubbie’s Bagels was such a delicious brunch meal that I wish we had one in Chicago! I did a “make your own sandwich” with smoked salmon and veggies. A ordered a breakfast bagel with bacon and eggs. There’s no places to sit inside so we took our sandwiches to a nearby park by the Dennos Museum Center and enjoyed every bite.
The Little Fleet
In all the research I did about where to eat in Traverse City, The Little Fleet kept popping up. It’s essentially a parking lot of food trucks with outdoor seating including a fire pit. There’s also a bar and seating inside as well. We tried a tasty brick oven pizza from Traverse City Pizza Co, cornbread, and I had the best tart cherry smoothie ever from the Daily Blend. We really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and chill vibes.
Mama Lu’s
Probably my favorite restaurant on our trip, Mama Lu’s is a described as a modern day taco shop. We didn’t make reservations and had to wait an hour for seating. It’s located on Front street so while we waited, we walked around browsing the shops. It’s small inside but the atmosphere was lively! Everything we ordered was great. We tried different types of tacos like chicken, steak, pork, and shrimp. We shared chips and salsa, rice and beans, and the street corn (YUM). I tried the cucumber habanero margarita and ordered a to-go can that we brought back home to Chicago.
Rare Bird Brew Pub
It was our last night in Traverse City and we wanted a more relaxed restaurant. We found Rare Bird Brew Pub which had low lighting and the relaxed vibe we were looking for! We tried the beer on tap, got a pub burger, and a Buddha bowl. It was good food, good beer, dark ambiance, and the perfect vibe for us on our last evening here.
Moomer’s Homemade Ice Cream
We were looking for a sweet treat and found Moomer’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop. There were so many flavors to choose from including sorbet! They also had an ice cream “flight” with five different flavors of your choice.
My Recommended Cafés & Bakeries
Common Good Restaurant and Bakery
Common Good Restaurant and Bakery was perfect to get quick cafe style sandwiches and a coffee. We ate here before a full day of activities and it was just what we were looking for. Unfortunately, we did not get to try the bakery items but heard they’re delicious!
Hexenbelle
Hexenbelle is a cafe located inside the Warehouse MRKT, a warehouse turned into an indoor boutique shopping experience. This cafe was very welcoming with it’s bohemian, sunny, and cozy atmosphere. We sat outside on their patio and enjoyed a peaceful morning. I really enjoyed their drink menu, which ranged from honey lavender lattes to herbal tonics. I an iced peach matcha latte which came in a glass jar. Their small food selection offers vegetarian dishes with refreshing options. I’d love to go back!
Bay Bread Company
If you’re looking for freshly made bread, made to order sandwiches or grab-and-go sandwiches, then check out Bay Bread Company. We picked up a few sandwiches that we could take with us to Sleeping Bear Dunes and they did not disappoint. I also purchased a tart cherry almond scone and it was so good, I’m still thinking about it…
Water Bearer Coffee
Before saying goodbye to Traverse City, we stopped for some caffeine at Water Bearer Coffee, also located in the Warehouse MRKT. I searched cafes on Google maps, and the cafe’s name jumped out at me. This cafe had a unique astrological vibe, with its beautiful mural and celestial inspired art. This was right up my alley. We tried the bagel sandwiches which were tasty. A got a cold brew which he enjoyed and I got a matcha latte (surprise, surprise), the best matcha I’d had throughout Traverse City.
Final Thoughts
There’s a lot to see in this region, including other areas like the Leelanau Peninsula, Charlevoix, Petoskey, etc. We plan to come back again in order to check off all of the other interests on our list!
For more Michigan travel, check out my Saugatuck, MI travel guide or Holland, MI travel guide!
Thanks for exploring Traverse City with me in this travel guide!
