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Things to do in Petoskey, MI

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illinoisplanner

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So, my mom and her friends were supposed to take a road trip down south next week. They changed their plans though now, based on obvious reasons.

Anyway, they recently changed their plans and are driving up to Michigan instead. They will be staying at a resort near Petoskey, MI next weekend. I know there are a lot of Michigan people and people familiar with the state, and was wondering if you guys know any things to do in this area, as this was kind of a last minute change in plans.

Please try to keep it within a 25-mile range of Petoskey (if you can), but a few noteworthy attractions in Traverse would be appreciated as well. Please also keep in mind that this is a group of 50-year old women.
 
illinoisplanner said:
Please also keep in mind that this is a group of 50-year old women.
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I'm almost as old as your mom, and I can assure you that we still know how to have a lot of fun at this age....;-)
 
Zoning Goddess said:
I'm almost as old as your mom, and I can assure you that we still know how to have a lot of fun at this age....;-)
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Oh, believe me, they do. Their last trip was Vegas and they had a blast.
 
Zoning Goddess said:
I'm almost as old as your mom, and I can assure you that we still know how to have a lot of fun at this age....;-)
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Wait a second, have you lied to me? Who was the president when you were born? Quick, who? ;)
 
Where to start...

There is a decent amount of Downtown shopping to do in Petoskey. I recommend Symon's General Store. They have cool and boutique-ish food items on the main floor, but their is a decent wine cellar/selection in the basement. A good place to eat is the City Park Grill. They make their own biscuits and bring them fresh to your table. There is Petsokey State Park on the Little Traverse State with a beach. I think the name is White Caps, but it is a good restaurant too. There is a casino in Petsokey now. Victories Casino is on the way out of town on 31 (I think). Golf is abundant. Plenty of places to play if they are in to it. Some of the ski rental establishments may rent bikes in the summer. They could rent some bikes and tour some of the homes on the bay. The Bay Harbor development is a planned mixed use/expensive/mini downtown feeling type thing that was built on a former mining and cement plant. Harbor Springs across the bay from Petoskey also has a bit of shopping. A bit on the expensive side, but it is home to Tom's Mom's Cookies. Stopping there is a must. There a plenty of fudge shops in both Petoskey and Harbor Springs which visitors are drawn to.

That's all I have now. I'm sure I will think of more. Oh, Mackinaw is not that far away. It pushes the 25 mile limit, but its worth it.
 
Drive the Tunnel of Trees, just north of Harbor Springs, on M-119 just west of US-31:

Depart Harbor Springs (next door to Petoskey) north along M-119, (perhaps investigating the Thorn Swift Nature Preserve on lower Shore Drive) to Cross Village (home of the Legs Inn, a historical and architectural marvel).
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By the way, I was at Legs Inn last Saturday night, my wife and I took her parents out for dinner there. Plan on arriving by 7:00 pm for dinner, and stick around for drinks until about 8:15 pm. Why? Legs Inn is on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan and the view is beautiful when the sun goes down! Then, at 9:00 pm, the live music starts, and the place is always packed and always a great time! You should expect the drive from Petoskey to Legs Inn via the M-119 Tunnel of Trees to take at least one hour. Be sure you have a full tank of gas before you leave because it is a remote rustic drive.

And more about Petoskey and the Tunnel of Trees:

that WOULD be M-119, better known as "The Tunnel of Trees" and it is always worth the drive just to see the new houses they are building every year! We bike it as often as we can. Legs Inn brings a good portion of their servers from Eastern Europe, which adds to the flavor of the place!
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See?! Legs Inn is great!!

Be sure to look at Traverse Magazine online, lots of great ideas for the Grand Traverse/Charlevoix/Petoskey area.

To get more ideas, browse through the local paper, the News-Review.

Don't forget the local Chamber of Commerce for more conventional activities, or the local alternative rag mag for hipper ideas.
 
Boyne City is just 15 miles south of Petoskey. We are on Lake Charlevoix which is connected to Lake Michigan. We are a resort community without the traffic of Petoskey or Traverse City. Much more laid back here.:)
 
How was their trip? It was a beautiful holiday week-end in northern Michigan. I'm sure they had a splendid time!
 
on the way there is Traverse City and the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes (National Park/Lakeshore). Travese city has resorts, shopping, casinos, dining and some splendid views of the bay.

The Lelaneau (sp) penninsula (the little finger of the mitten) is covered with grape and cherry orchards, wineries. We used to camp in Northport when I was a kid.
 
If you are traveling north on the "Tunnel Of Trees" road (M-119), after dropping a few cocktails at The Legs Inn, continue following the coastline north. Used to be, hundreds of off-road vehicles would be tearing up and down the sand dunes, all night long. Used to be, keg parties on paper-company owned land all over this area. Used to be, nude beach parties in the areas where the woods separated the road from the beach.

Of course, I was never there. ;-) :-$ :a: :-D :)

After all of this, proceed to Keyhold Bar, Mackinaw City.

Bear
 
What's the quickest way to get from Chicago to Traverse City. They want to go through Traverse before they go to Petoskey. U.S. 31 or U.S. 131??

If it's 131, which way is best way to cut over to Traverse City?
 
They should take I-94 to Benton Harbor

Once in Benton Harbor take I-196N

Take I-196 to Grand Rapids where they will meet up with US131

From there take 131 north to....
(more scenic route) take US-131 to M42 in Manton west to M-37, then M-37 north to Traverse City.

(less scenic) US131 north to M-72 in Kalkaska. West on M-72 to TC.
 
Traverse City has a lot of traffic and has lost its small town feel. A very nice place is the Boyne Mt. Resort. They just opened a 90 million dollar new hotel ... NICE!
Get off the beaten path to see the best Northern Michigan sites.
 
Planificador Urbano said:
Traverse City has a lot of traffic and has lost its small town feel. A very nice place is the Boyne Mt. Resort. They just opened a 90 million dollar new hotel ... NICE!
Get off the beaten path to see the best Northern Michigan sites.
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I have to laugh at this, I've been going up to TC ever since I was a Tyke. I have news for you, it never had a small city feel, well maybe in 1900. Its nothing that it has just lost. The traffic's always terrible there during tourist season; but thats the way they like it. If you don't like the traffic you can take the back roads around town, but you miss the great views.

Traffic shoud not be too bad this weekend, the fudgies have gone home!
 
PlannerByDay said:
They should take I-94 to Benton Harbor

Once in Benton Harbor take I-196N

Take I-196 to Grand Rapids where they will meet up with US131

From there take 131 north to....
(more scenic route) take US-131 to M42 in Manton west to M-37, then M-37 north to Traverse City.

(less scenic) US131 north to M-72 in Kalkaska. West on M-72 to TC.
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Thanks...I think that is indeed the way they went. :)
 
It would also be neat for the to take the back roads from TC to Petoskey.

I suggest they go around Elk Lake and Torch Lake. On the east side of Torch Lake they can stop at the Dockside restaurant for a cocktail and food. Torch lake is very picturesque (sp).

I was just up there last weekend while on my bike and it was great.
 
Sorry DP your wrong. I'm from Traverse City and it did have a small town feeling through the 80s. Alls I was saying is that there are better places to go than Traverse City all up and down the coast. Its not that Traverse is bad, its just that there are better placesto go. But if you like the mini golf, hotel after hotel, and traffic TC is the place to go. I also did my planning internship in TC. I am a northern Michigan Planner and have several meetings in TC so I get there often. So from your perspective TC may be different and that is OK. But from my perspective it is what it is .... so piss off.
 
Planificador Urbano said:
Sorry DP your wrong. I'm from Traverse City and it did have a small town feeling through the 80s. Alls I was saying is that there are better places to go than Traverse City all up and down the coast. Its not that Traverse is bad, its just that there are better placesto go. But if you like the mini golf, hotel after hotel, and traffic TC is the place to go. I also did my planning internship in TC. I am a northern Michigan Planner and have several meetings in TC so I get there often. So from your perspective TC may be different and that is OK. But from my perspective it is what it is .... so piss off.
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piss off? Don't be paraphrasing no Monty Python at me! :D If all you see are mini-golf courses, traffic, and hotels you are indeed spoiled from growing up there. Try living in Detroit, with all that traffic, urban abandonment and sprawl. Houghton Lake has all of that stuff you mentioned, look at how crappy that is compared to TC. In the 70's TC was already seeing the development of shopping centers (both mall and strip).

Where is this Gov. Bill Milliken when ya need him? He could be our deciding vote on when TC stopped being small town :D
 
[ot]
Planificador Urbano said:
So from your perspective TC may be different and that is OK. But from my perspective it is what it is ....
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I lived in TC five years ago and it is indeed a wondeful place to live. The traffic isn't all that bad. The City itself is wonderful. Some of the outlying Townships are the sprawling places that seem to get to get the bad rap. But in my opinion, Traverse City is a small town. But compared to Boyne, it is not. The region, with Traverse City and adjacent Townships, does feel like every other suburb in Michigan. But all I can say is that I love Traverse City and hope to retire there.

This discussion should be take to the Northern Lower Michigan: Growing Too Fast? thread. And we should be nice to one another, too.[/ot]
 
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I forwarded most of them to my mom right before the trip. And they had a great time. They stopped in the Holland area on the way up and on the way back. They stopped in Traverse City, sounds like they did A LOT of shopping, and also went up to Mackinac Island. Oh, and they did the Tunnel of Trees and loved it!!! I'm at college right now, so I'll hear more about the trip when I go home next weekend. Thanks again everyone!!
 
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