Montague and Whitehall, Michigan / attractions, lodging, boating, beaches, bicycle trails, food & beverage

July 2018

We stayed at Trailway Campground in Montague for a month starting at the end of June. I am sharing some of our experiences and area finds for future travelers. I have condensed much of the information to keep this post from becoming even longer. Please let me know if you want more details about any places we visited.

Sunset colors over the field behind Trailway Campground

Lodging: Trailway Campground, White Lake Municipal Marina, Elllenwood Landing

We stayed on site 46 at Trailway Campground, which is a pull through site near Montague Foods. This is a grassy site with plenty of shade. All of the sites are grassy, and other than a few tent sites, they all have full hookup. There is one community fire pit, and wood is provided. Although this campground is located in town, it is peaceful. We were not disturbed by any traffic noise during our stay.

Partial view of campground from trailhead parking where we kept our boat

We wanted to leave our boat in the water a couple of times during our stay, so we rented a boat slip two different times: Ellenwood Landing Marina for one night, and White Lake Municipal Marina for two nights. Ellenwood Landing is located across Dowling Street from the campground. This marina has a clubhouse, swimming pool, and hot tub. White Lake Municipal Marina is located next to Goodrich Park in Whitehall, ½ mile away. Both are decent marinas with locked bathhouses and Internet access. The municipal marina does not have the extra amenities that Ellenwood has, and the cost was half as much per night for our 25' boat (Ellenwood $60, Municipal $30).

July 4th fireworks from our slip at White Lake Municipal Marina

Bicycle Trails in Michigan / Fred Meyer Berry Junction Trail, Little Traverse Wheelway, and more

May and June 2017

Little Traverse Wheelway ~ Petoskey, Harbor Springs, SW toward Charlevoix

The bicycle trails in the Petoskey area are some of our favorite ones to ride in Michigan. During this visit, we bicycled from Petoskey State Park to Harbor Springs one day, and from the state park to West Park beyond Bay Harbor the next. There is a short wood-chip trail from Tannery Creek campground to Little Traverse Wheelway. The information in this blog post goes along with previous blog posts about the Petoskey area: bicycle trails, brewery and winery visits, state park September 2015, state park May 2016, and KOA July 2013. 

View from East Park on Little Traverse Wheelway

It is a little over 20 miles from Petoskey State Park to Charlevoix. We rode as far as West Park, which was almost 11 miles one-way from our campsite. The ride was fairly easy, and there are several parks and benches along the way. You can enjoy a fabulous view of Little Traverse Bay from East Park where there is running water and flush toilets. There are not as many stops between East Park and West Park, as there are between the state park and East Park. West Park is located off the paved trail down a dirt road. This park has vault toilets, no running water, and no view. 

Montague and Whitehall, Michigan / Trailway Campground, Car Show, Hart-Montague Trail, Downtown

July 2016, Weekend, 2-nights

Beautiful bouquet for our camper from a friend's garden

Trailway Campground arrival and check-in

We arrived at Trailway Campground via Dowling Street/Business 31 from the south. The campground sign was easily visible; however, we misjudged which drive goes into the campground. When arriving from the south, the drive directly in front of the sign goes into the campground, and the drive after the sign goes into the parking lot for Montague Foods. We had arrived a bit early that Friday morning, and another camper was on our site. We were able to complete the check-in process, and park in the overflow area of the campground until the other guests departed.

Site 39 in Trailway Campground

Site 39 is a pull-through site near the back of the campground. It has a cement pad (for the table; not to park on), and full hook up. The site was grassy with a couple of trees. The site was nearly level; we had to put down one set of leveling blocks under the driver's side wheels.

Looking toward site 39 from the front