Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan: Suttons Bay, Traverse City, Marion/Power/Bassett Island, Northport

August 2020, 8 nights 

I have previously written several posts about all of these areas with information, so this post will not have as much detail. You can click on the labels at the end of this post for areas you are interested in for more details.

Sunset from our slip at Suttons Bay facing west and east (below)

Marinas: Suttons Bay, Duncan L. Clinch (Traverse City), G. Marsten Dame (Northport)

We stayed at Suttons Bay marina for four of our eight nights, as this is our favorite marina. Great staff, great rates, well maintained, and nice beach/park next door. The rate was $2 higher per night than previous years, which is still reasonable. COVID-19 protocols were in place, and we did not encounter any issues. 

Sunset in Traverse City from our boat slip on the walkway
at Duncan L. Clinch Marina

Northern Michigan Road Trip ~ Breweries, Wineries, Dining, Casino

January - February 2019, Weekday and weekend visits

Winter in Michigan!
Location: Charlevoix county.

We had a Michigan Brewvine Passport with several unused discounts, which had some bearing on the places we chose to visit this trip.

Four Leaf Brewing Sampler

Clare, Michigan: Four Leaf Brewing

This was our first visit to Four Leaf Brewing, and we only learned about the brewery because of their participation in Michigan Brewvine Passport. We liked all their discounts, and chose to use the coupon for 50% off a flight with our order. My personal favorite was Tiramisu Stout. The service was excellent, and we hope to visit again soon. Pere Marquette Rail Trail runs very close behind this brewery, on the west side of Pine Street.

View behind bar at Dead Bear; photo taken during 2016 visit

Grayling, Michigan: Dead Bear Brewing Co.   

We have previously enjoyed good food and brews at Dead Bear Brewing Co., although our experience was a tad disappointing this time. We split the Rueben appetizer, which we had had before, and really liked. The appetizer had been more like an egg roll last time, and this time it was greasier. You can see a photo of this appetizer in my 2015 Grayling post. Initially, we had planned to just split a pint at Dead Bear with their $2 off coupon, and then dine at Paddle Hard Brewing; however, the morning of our departure, we learned Paddle Hard Brewing would be closed.

Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery

Petoskey, Michigan: Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery, Odawa Casino 

Mackinaw Trail is one of our favorite places to visit in Petoskey! We enjoy visiting their locations in Mackinaw City and Manistique, as well. We love their brews and wines, along with the service and atmosphere. We used their discounted tasting coupon from the Michigan Brewvine Passport, and could not leave without making at least one purchase. My husband and I both liked Hop-toskey IPA and the Imperial Stout best--both delicious! 

Suttons Bay and Traverse City, Michigan / boating, Leelanau Trail, wineries, breweries, dining...

July 2017, Weekend-weekdays, 6-nights

Beautiful clear aqua colored water in Suttons Bay and Grand Traverse Bay!

Suttons Bay Marina, north slips 

We made a reservation at the marina for Friday and Saturday night in advance. You can do this online, and then pay online, or you can mail in a check. We opted to mail a check because there is a service charge to pay with a credit card at this marina. Our home port marina (Muskegon) also charges a service fee to pay with credit card, which is new this year. We did not make an advance reservation for our next stay, as this was during the week, and we were not sure exactly which day we would be returning. Harbormaster Edie was very easy to work with.

View from picnic table in front of slip 68

We stayed in slip #34 for two nights when we arrived. This slip is located in front of the harbormaster office near the boat ramp. It was surprisingly quiet, although there is no view from this slip. When we returned, we stayed two nights in slip #67, which is located farther down on the north side. There is a nice view from this location, although the hike to the restroom is a bit farther. The marina facilities are located in the same building with the public restrooms next to the marina entrance from Front Street. The facility was always well maintained and clean.

Traverse City and Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan / Breweries, Wineries, downtown, area information

May and June 2016

L. Mawby Winery

Following is information about some of the breweries and wineries around Traverse City and Leelanau Peninsula. We visited these locations during our stay at Traverse City State Park in May, and during our stay at the new Hotel Indigo in June.

How do you decide which wineries and breweries to visit?

There are so many choices in the Grand Traverse Bay area, that it is difficult to decide which wineries and breweries to visit. Especially, in only four or five days time. We made our decisions based on value, prior visit experience (if any), and proximity to where we were staying or traveling.

Michigan Brewvine Passports and TC Ale Trail Atlases

Factors that impacted our value perception were the Michigan Brewvine Passports, Traverse City Ale Trail Atlases, and I had won free tastings for four at L. Mawby Winery via Michigan by the Bottle.

Traverse City and Leelanau Breweries

We visited Rare Bird Brew Pub by bicycle from Traverse City State Park. It was pretty easy to get to the pub, other than the ride down Eighth Street with traffic. There was a bicycle rack on the sidewalk in front of the brewery. The atmosphere inside was pleasant and comfortable. They had many brews on tap, although only a few of them were their brews. This location is listed on the Traverse City Ale Trail, and they have discounts in the Brewvine Passport. After this stop, we had planned to stop at Big Toe Brewery next door, for the extra credit stamp on the Traverse City Ale Trail; however, that brewery has gone out of business.

Lake Leelanau, Michigan / Lake Leelanau RV Park

October 2014, Weekend-weekday, 3-nights, Lot 3

sunset - lake view from lot #3

Advance reservations

Although I know that October is not a busy camping month in Michigan, I decided to contact Lake Leelanau RV Park before our stay because we had never stayed at the park before. I was impressed with the service we received. The female I spoke with was friendly and knowledgeable. She provided a lot of information while she assisted me choosing a lot. There had been a lot of rain in the area, so all of the lakefront lots were either too wet or were already reserved for the weekend. Since it was so late in the season, she offered us a premium site for the price of a regular site. We decided to stay three nights! She also did not require a deposit over the telephone (I had called only a couple of days before our stay).

Lot #3

We chose lot 3 because it is a pull-through lot next to the tree line. We initially were not interested in sites 1 - 5, because we thought they were back-in sites, and that we would be facing away from the lake. We learned these are great lots, when we were told they are pull-through sites. There is a drive along the tree line for trucks to exit lots 1 - 5 after parking the RV.

We did not choose lot 2 because there was a 37' RV on lot 1, and we thought the view would be more obstructed from that lot. Even if there had been an RV on lot 2, I think lot 3 is a better choice. Lot 3 has a fire ring, whereas lots 2 and 4 have a moveable fire container. I suppose this depends what you like, although it seemed like there was more room between lots 2 and 3, than behind us, or between sites 1 and 2.

All of the lots in this area had a level concrete pad, and all of the lots have 50 amp power, and cable TV hookup. Our cable line was not long enough to take advantage of this amenity.

We liked the lake and tree view from our lot, and we thought the site layout in the park was well thought out. The lots are staggered to provide maximum views of the lake. There was quite a bit of standing water in some areas, although lot 3 was dry for the most part.

We had brought quite a bit of wood with us, since it was cool at night. The campground sells wood, and we found out after we arrived that wood is free this time of year.

sunrise view from inside

Misc.

There is one bathhouse located in the center of the park. Each room is a toilet and shower combination. We did not use the showers during our stay. Below is a picture of the stream behind the restrooms that runs out to the lake.

There is a large lodge/activity room connected to the office/check-in area where coffee is available in the morning. There is a recreation area behind this building, with things like horseshoes and a volleyball area, although we did not check it out. About half of the lots in the park are seasonal.

We stayed at the park to attend the Hunt for Red October wine event in the Leelanau peninsula. This was a great location for the event, and we plan to attend next year, too!