Northwest Michigan Experiences: Hiking Nature Preserves, along with Beer, Wine, and Spirit Stops

 March 2021, Weekday - weekend

Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve

Hiking

We hiked a couple of new trails this trip: Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve in Arcadia, and Misty Acres Trail in Benzonia. 

Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve

Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve is an easy and beautiful boardwalk hike. The entire walk, out and back again, was just a little over 1½ miles. We parked in the parking area on M-22. There is also a parking area at the east end of the boardwalk on St. Pierre Rd. There are several benches and viewing platforms along the boardwalk. We observed signs showing three different types of trout in the waters, although we did not see anyone fishing. We saw swans, birds, and muskrats.

Misty Acres Trail

Misty Acres Trail is on the north side of N. Manistee County Line Road/M602 in Benzonia. This hike is a hard packed dirt trail, which is slightly hilly. Even so, it was still an easy hike of about ¾ of a mile. We caught a couple of small glimpses of Betsie River down the hill near the start of the loop portion of the trail. 

We passed many preserve and trail signs this trip: Green Point Dunes, Arcadia Dunes Nature Preserve, Upper Herring Lake Nature Preserve, and more. We missed hiking two trails where we had planned to stop because my husband and I both had extreme fatigue symptoms following our COVID-19 vaccination the day before this trip: Arcadia Dunes Baldy Trail in Arcadia, and Fruithaven Nature Preserve south of Frankfort. I had read that the Baldy Trail overlook has a great view of Lake Michigan. These are just a few of the many beautiful outside areas in Manistee and Benzie counties!

Pickle Chips at North Channel Brewing Co. 

Northern Michigan recreation and breweries: Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau County

June 2020, weekdays and weekend

Following are some of the places we visited during our 6-night stay at Indigo Bluffs RV Park and Resort in Empire, Michigan.

Recreation: biking, hiking

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is one of the closest trail heads to Indigo Bluffs RV Resort, so we loaded our bikes in the truck, and drove there to park in the national park parking lot. This is just over five miles from camp. The national park entrance fee was being waived due to COVID-19, and I am not sure if there is a place we could have parked for no charge, if this had not been the case. 

View from Glen Haven Historic Village along Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

We then bicycled Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail to S. Forest Haven Drive in Glen Arbor and back, which was about a 13-mile ride. The trail runs along the dunes, lakeshore, and through DH Day Campground. The route is beautiful, and extremely hilly. There are several nice stopping points along the way. Before we left, I had thought we would be able to bike to Alligator Hill Trail; however, there is no shoulder along Stocking Road where the bike trail crosses at M-109, so we chose not to bike down the road. Back at the national park, there are several hiking trails from the parking lot at Pierce Stocking Drive that travel through the woods, and out to lake Michigan. It is a bit of a hike with a fabulous view. 

Alligator Hill Trail

We drove to Alligator Hill Trail, and hiked that a different day. The location is just over six miles from Indigo Buffs RV Resort. This was another hilly climb with a beautiful view! 

Islands Lookout at Alligator Hill

Scarlet Tanager at the start of Alligator Hill Trail

Interlochen, Beulah, and Lake Ann, Michigan / Lake 'N Pines Lodge, Lake Dubonnet State Forest Campground, and more!

May 2017, Weekend, 1-Night/2-Days

We had several places to visit in northern Michigan, which we decided to do in two days. We stayed overnight at Lake 'N Pines Lodge, we drove through the nearby state forest campground, and we visited Lake Ann Brewing Company and St. Ambrose Cellars. Following is information to assist future visitors.

Sunset from boat dock at Lake 'N Pines

Lake 'N Pines Lodge ~ Angler's Nook

We had a last minute change of plans at the time of our stay, and Angler's Nook was the only unit available at Lake 'N Pines. Pines Nature Suite would have been my first choice; however, that unit had already been rented for both weekend nights. Bay Chalet looks like an amazing unit, although it has a higher price than we would usually pay for a quick overnight (and, it was not available either). Definitely, if you are looking for a special weekend away, Bay Chalet would be the way to go. Angler's Nook is located on the ground floor beneath Pines Nature Suite.

Unexpected and nice surprise in the fridge when we arrived!

I have not included many pictures from our room at Lake 'N Pines Lodge because their website is very detailed and accurate. There is a floorpan for each unit along with several room photos on their website. I am including just a couple of photos showing a few unexpected amenities that I did not see listed on the website.

Old Mission Peninsula and Beulah, Michigan / Northern Michigan Wineries & Jolly Pumpkin Brewery

November 2016

This post is a brief update with some information we learned during our last visit to a couple of northern Michigan wineries and breweries.

You can find more information about Michigan wineries and breweries in the following blog posts: May and June 2016, May 2016 (Grayling), May 2016 (Cadillac), May 2016 (Petoskey), October 2015 (Grayling), October 2015 (Petoskey), May 2015 (Tahquamenon Falls), March 2015,  and October 2010. 

Black Star Farms wine taste glasses being discontinued

Black Star Farms

We have a couple of the old style Black Star Farms wine glasses, which we purchased several years ago. The glasses came with six tastes at the time of purchase, and then we could get five free tastes every time we visited with our glasses thereafter. Keeping the glasses wrapped in a small carrier in the trunk of our car has been a good thing for us, and Black Star Farms - we always bought at least two bottles of wine every time we stopped in one of their wineries for a taste! During our most recent stop at Old Mission Tasting Room, we learned they are discontinuing complimentary tastes with these glasses at the end of 2016. The person who provided us with our sample tastes did not tell us this; when we paid for our purchases, the cashier asked us if he had told us the glasses were being discontinued.