Exploring Nature in the UP

Mackinaw City/Macinac Island Overview

• Extremely touristy, the fudge isn’t worth it, expensive. Don’t recommend.

Food Recommendations (Mackinaw City): Rusted Spoke Brewing (really great chili)

Activity Recommendation (Macinac Island): Bike around the island and the perimeter

We stayed in Mackinaw City for one night. It was like Disney World for adults – there was no authenticity to the city and was suffocatingly touristy. We took the early ferry to the Island and biked around the perimeter of the island. The bikeride was actually incredible, but not worth visiting just for the bike ride. The entire island is covered in horse poop and it smells. The main city center is cute, but is quickly shaded by the amount of tourists. We left as soon as it became crowded (around 11 am). Also, don’t get the fudge, it is not special. Just really don’t come here unless you love the touristy stuff.

We immediately drove to Petoskey.

Petoskey Overview

• A small town, you can do the town in a few hours. They have a nice boardwalk area and a few nice restaurants downtown. There were no ubers/lyfts when we were there so be prepared. Overall though, not worth a visit. Keep driving to Traverse City.

Restaurant Recommendation: Kilwins, this is an icecream chain around the Midwest but this is the original location and it is really good. The Back Lot Beet Garden, we didn’t get to go because it was packed but it looked awesome and has good reviews.

Activity Recommendation: The lakefront area is nice and there is some nice hiking in Bear River Valley Recreation Area.

This was a stopover town for us to break up the drive. It was nice but there really wasn’t much to do and no standout food or activities.

Traverse City/Leland overview

• Traverse City has a lot to do: beaches, restaurants, bars, shopping, etc. Leland is a cozy little fishtown that was relaxing and a nice way to end the trip. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Traverse City and Leland more than 24 hours total.

Food Recommendation: Moomers (outside Traverse City) – excellent icecream. The shop is on a dairy farm so everything is very fresh and delicious. We got an icecream flight.

Local Drinks Recommendation: Veterra Winery

Lodging Recommendation: Falling Water Lodge - This is a beautiful little hotel that sits on the dam. I think it’s the only hotel in the area but there are multiple balconies to drink wine and overlook the town.

Activity Recommendation: Sleeping Bear Dunes (If you haven’t hike sand dunes before, this is a neat experience. However, if you are familiar with sand dunes it’s not worth visiting. It’s just pretty big with great views)

We drove from Petoskey to Traverse city where we had lunch and explored the town. After lunch we stopped at Moomers which was the most incredible icecream place ever. Seriously check it out. We then drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes and spent about an hour hiking. We ended in Leland where our hotel was. There is a private beach at the hotel we stayed at and the hotel was basically connected to a restaurant. The whole town is a really cute area – it’s called fish town and you will immediately note why.