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 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

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 / Recreation, Marinas, Camping...

August 2018

This post goes along with the previous one about dining and area info. We stayed in Suttons Bay and Traverse City two different times in August (7 nights total). 

Sunset in Suttons Bay from boat slip 58

Boating, marinas, campground

We enjoyed fabulous boating weather in Grand Traverse Bay! We stayed at Suttons Bay Municipal Marina for two nights. This is one of our favorite marinas: the water is beautiful, it is a peaceful town, there is a beach next door, and the rates are reasonable. We were in slip 58 one night, and 59 the second night, which is our preferred area in this marina. We were supposed to be in slip 58 both nights; however, a vagrant boater tied up his boat in that slip the night we were gone, and he did not return to cover his boat and then sneak out the next morning, until the office had closed. Fortunately, slip 59 was open, and the dock hand reassigned us.

Arriving at Power Island. About 15 boats already anchored.

Power Island (previously known as Marion Island) is located in the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay between Suttons Bay and Traverse City. We anchored there for the night on a Saturday evening. The water was perfectly calm, and we observed the most boats we have ever seen anchored at the island--over 25! We ended up having to re-anchor after dusk because a boat with a very loud generator came later in the day, and then rafted up with a nearby boat for the evening. Our previous stays in this anchorage have been more peaceful with less boaters.

Sunrise from Power/Marion Island.
We heated up egg bagels on our grill, visible at the bottom of photo.

Northern Michigan Dining, Breweries, Wineries, Happy Hour, and more!

August 2018

We visited Suttons Bay and Traverse City two different times in August (7 nights total). This post covers some new beverage and dining venues we discovered. I will have separate posts about recreation and other topics. We learned about some of these places from the Visitors Centers, and some from What's Up Michigan's website. I am not sure how well the What's Up Michigan site is maintained, as I also found several expired or invalid links within their site. Make sure to check dates when looking for information.

Blue Tractor Slider for $3 ~ delicious!

Dining and specials

We visited Blue Tractor Barbecue in Traverse City because we had a coupon for a free slider. We were surprised when we arrived and saw this is a restaurant/bar. For some reason, we had expected a food truck. We also ordered a Bloody Mary, and learned when we received the bill, that Bloody Marys are on special for only $1.50 on Sundays!

Blue Tractor menu

The slider was amazing, and the regular cost is only $3. We had planned to stop again during our second visit to the area; my husband wanted another BBQ, and I wanted to try the Tractor Salad. Unfortunately, things did not work out for us. The service was excellent, as well. We thought Blue Tractor Barbecue was an excellent find, definitely worth visiting again.

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.

Shoreline Photos

click on this photo of the Aruba shoreline to enlarge it

When I created the sunset photo album on Facebook, I had a request to share shoreline photos, as not everyone has had the opportunity to view our beautiful planet from that vantage point. 

The photo at the top of this post is the Aruba shoreline, and you can find more shoreline photos on our Facebook page. I have started two shoreline albums: Shoreline views from Lake Michigan & within the state of Michigan, and Shorelines-Landscape views from the water. The second album contains photos of Alaska, inland US lakes, and the Caribbean.

Since I live in Michigan, I tend to have more shoreline photos from our lakes than other areas, so I made a separate album for those. I may break the second photo album into segments, also, if it gets too large as I add more photos. For now, I have the two albums ~ Enjoy, and please continue to share your requests!

Michigan Fall Color Tour -- NW lower peninsula

We enjoyed a wonderful drive around northern lower Michigan  the first weekend in October. We visited a couple wineries and saw some beautiful scenery and colors, although I think the second weekend would yield better colors.

The drive around the Leelanau peninsula through Suttons Bay, Northport, and Leland is a nice trip. The roads are hilly, which provides many great views of Lake Michigan, Lake Leelanau, and many different trees. Each town offers quaint shopping, wineries, great fish, and local dining options. 

Black Star Farms winery has three tasting rooms in the Grand Traverse Bay area. They sell a souvenir glass for $5, which you use to sample six wines. You can then reuse the glass for five more samples at a different time or location. We visited the tasting room in Grand Traverse Commons, and the winery on Old Mission peninsula. We were disappointed with the service and knowledge shared at the Commons location; however, we thought the Old Mission visit was great! The young man serving at Old Mission provided excellent and brief information about each product he poured, he provided bland crackers for in-between tastes (which we did not receive at the Commons location), and he provided chocolate truffles with the excellent raspberry dessert wine we sampled. We, of course, made a purchase at this location! If this was my business, I would implement a way for employees to receive credit for each purchasing customer (he could have provided a business card, or the cashier could have asked who assisted us). The service we received at Old Mission made an impact on our decision to purchase.

One reason I wanted to visit Black Star Farms is because I am an avid champagne lover, and had found this review of their 2008 sparkling wine: "Recently released and oh so bubbly our 2008 Sparkling Wine was reviewed by Tony Brueski on thetastespot.com.  As Tony notes this is not a sweet style sparkling wine but a rather dry one made in the classic brut style.  This wine pairs well with an assortment of dishes as well as being wonderful on its own." 

Brut is my preference, so I was excited to try this wine, especially since the price was under $15. I am sad to say that I did not like this product. It was more flat than bubbly, and lacked flavor. Two positive words that describe it are clean and crisp--much like many inexpensive white wines.  

We enjoyed beautiful fall colors alongside the 131 expressway through the Cadillac area on our way home. I was surprised that the colors in this area were more peaked than the ones in the Grand Traverse Bay area. I assume the bodies of water in the Bay area have an impact on this.