Michigan Tri-Cities Area: Saginaw, Frankenmuth, Bay City, Midland

 March 2021, Weekday and Weekend days

Covered bridge in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Recreation: hiking, bicycle trails, etc.

We loved all the hiking and biking trails in the towns we visited! We were disappointed we missed a few, which we will try to visit next time.  😊

Gunzenhausen Street Walkway in Frankenmuth looking south.
Holiday Inn Express straight ahead on the right.

In Frankenmuth, we walked through River Place Shops, over the covered bridge, along Cass River (Gunzenhausen Street Walkway, and the area north of the bridges), and to Frankenmuth Brewery. All of the walkways are paved, and beautifully landscaped. Some of the concrete and landscaping was brand new.

You can cross the river in three spots: the covered bridge, the pedestrian bridge next to Main Street, and there is a walkway alongside the road on Main Street.  

Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Riverwalk Trail is located in Heritage Park north of Bavarian Inn Lodge. We did not walk this trail because it was windy and cold out, and we did not realize until later, that we could have gotten to the park by walking through the Bavarian Inn parking lot and then out to the sidewalk. This would have been an easy addition to the route we took, if we had known. 

White peacock in front of Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Be sure to stop and see the peacocks and doves on the grounds of Bavarian Inn Lodge near the covered bridge!

Bavarian Belle Riverboat area, and River Place Shops
in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

We enjoyed a peaceful and scenic walk through River Place Shops, as the stores were still closed when we walked through the area in the morning.

Woodland Trail map in Saginaw, Michigan. 

In Saginaw, we hiked Woodland Trail [nature area]. I could not find a trail map online before our visit, so I have included a photo of the map that is in the parking lot. I suggest printing this, or taking a photo when you arrive, as the trails are not well marked. There were signs at the beginning of the trail where River Trail splits off; however, we did not see any signs when we rejoined Woodland Trail from the river.

Tittabawassee River from River Trail in Saginaw, Michigan.

Frankenmuth, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express & Suites

March 2021, Weekday - weekend, One night, King suite jetted tub #116

Frankenmuth Holiday Inn Express suite location 116

Arrival, check-in, platinum perks

I checked in online when I received the check-in notice via email. Like our last IHG stay, I did not receive a notice that my room was ready before we arrived. We arrived about 30 minutes after check-in time, and the agent said she was just preparing our keys. When I saw she was assigning us a room on the bottom floor, I inquired about a higher floor room. The agent said that was the only room for the type we had booked. She also added that she was not able to give me an upgrade since I had completed digital check-in. It sounded like she was saying that my room had been auto-assigned with digital check-in, and that she could not change it (or, she did not know how). Platinum amenity points posted to my account right away.

Holiday Inn Expresss from Gunzenhausen Street Walkway

Guestroom #116

Other than the fact that this room is on the bottom floor, this is a great room. It was spacious, clean, and comfortable. This room is across from the pool, and I was initially worried about the noise, as the pool area was somewhat busy. The room is pretty well sound proofed, and we did not have too much trouble with hallway and pool noise. I think a top floor guestroom on either side of this hotel would be great to have for the river view. The hotel is located across the street from Cass River. The river curves, and is visible from both sides of the hotel.

Shower in guestroom 116 at
Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Frankenmuth 

The bathroom contained a walk-in shower, and large vanity. Bath amenities were provided, and the towels were good quality.

Jetted tub in king guestroom 116 at Holiday Inn & Suites in Frankenmuth

Frankfort, Michigan: Harbor Lights Resort

 March 2021, Weekend, 1-night

I am sharing just a few photos in this post. You can find more photos and details for this location in my Harbor Lights Facebook album.

Sunset from luxury suite 415 at Harbor Lights Resort.

Reservations and arrival

This was our first time staying in the resort, although we did stay at the marina with our boat in July 2020. There are many different room types available, and we had a difficult time deciding which type we wanted. After a call to the hotel with a few questions, we decided to go with a 2nd floor luxury suite. We then made the reservation online. Since we stayed off-season, we were able to stay for only one night. A two-night stay is required during peak season. The check-in process when we arrived was efficient, and the associate provided friendly assistance.

Location of luxury suite 415 at Harbor Lights Resort.

Harbor Lights Resort second floor luxury suite #415

Even though I had talked with someone before our stay, I did not understand exactly where our room would be located. This room is located at the northwest end of the building north of the pool and office. I assume all rooms of this type are located in this building, although I do not know for sure. We were very happy with this room type and will probably reserve the same guestroom type for our next stay. It is like an entire condo: full kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, and good size balcony. 

Kitchen inside luxury suite 415 at Harbor Lights Resort.

The kitchen contained the basic necessities: glasses, plates, silverware, a few pots and pans, a toaster, full size coffeepot with coffee, dish detergent, dishcloths, and paper towel. A dishwasher is located to the right of the sink, which is not visible in the photo above. There is a fresh water and ice dispenser on the front door of the freezer (visible in the photo below).

View toward kitchen from living room in suite 415.

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. 

Marshall, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Riverwalk Trail, Breweries

 March 2021, Weekend, One night

Holiday Inn Express Queen Whirlpool Suite 126

The day before our arrival, I checked in online via the IHG check-in email. After I had checked in, the system said I would be notified when our room was ready. I received a notification from my credit card company when my credit card was processed the next day; however, I did not receive a notification from IHG that my room was ready. We arrived about 20 minutes after the credit card notification, which was about half an hour before check-in time, and our room was ready. The agent did not recognize my status, nor offer any additional platinum perks. The onsite amenity points posted to my account when my credit card had been run before our arrival. The checkout feature also did not work on the app the next day, so it appeared something was wrong with the IHG site at the time of our stay. I received the digital checkout email more than 24 hours after we had checked out. I immediately checked my credit card charges to make sure we had not been charged for a two-night stay! 😬

Holiday Inn Express Marshall queen whirlpool suite bedroom.
Photo taken from doorway between bedroom and living room.

Suite 126 is a corner room on the bottom floor. I do not usually like bottom floor rooms; however, in this case, it happened to be a good thing. With the pandemic situation, we did not need to worry about riding the elevator or waiting, if there were already too many guests on it. I assume the guestroom above us was empty, as all was quiet during our stay (one reason I usually request top floor rooms). There is an outside exit just outside this guestroom, which goes out to the west end of the parking lot. Our window views were out the west side and grass area behind the hotel; not the parking lot.

Beverage area at Holiday Inn Express Marshall.

We liked the layout of this guestroom. The beverage space was located in the wide hall area outside the bathroom, and contained: Keurig coffeemaker with supplies, ice bucket with plastic cups, microwave, sink, and small fridge.

Bathroom in queen suite 126 at
Holiday Inn Express Marshall.

The bathroom contained a large vanity and tub/shower combination. Refillable J.R. Watkins shower amenities were on the wall in the shower/tub. Towels and washcloths were good quality, thick, and clean.

The living room contained a large whirlpool tub, sofa, coffee table, long desk, and flatscreen TV. There were a couple of hooks for jackets on the wall between the desk and beverage area.

Northern Michigan Breweries and Activities

February 2021, Weekdays and Weekend

We try to go out on less busy days, so most of the following visits were on weekdays. Our Saturday visits were earlier in the day when places are usually less busy (with the exception of Walloon Lake at the bottom of this post).

Grayling, Michigan

We visited three breweries in Grayling: Paddle Hard Brewing, Rolling Oak Brewing Company, and Dead Bear Brewing. All of these locations are within walking distance of the Bed & Breakfast where we were staying, although I would not recommend walking to Dead Bear Brewing after dark in the snow. That location is on a busier stretch of road, whereas, the other two are in the downtown area.

Rolling Oak Brewing Co

This was our first visit to Rolling Oak Brewing Company, which also happened to be our favorite of these three locations. We learned about this brewery because they are in the Hop Passport. We liked all of their beers, and if we had known they were having discounted growler fills ($12), we probably would have stopped in the car to fill ours. They have inside and outside seating. We got the last table inside, we thought, until we went to the bathroom. The bathrooms are located down a couple of steps near the entrance. There is a fireplace and a couple of tables in this area before the restrooms. 

I got the flight sampler at Dead Bear Brewing, which is a great value with the BrewVine Passport. I liked most of their beers when I got this a few years ago; however, this time I did not like any of them. They were out of their IPA, which is probably the one I would have liked best. Their bar seating area is spacious and comfortable.

Keg urinals at Paddle Hard Brewing

Petoskey, Michigan: Stafford's Perry Hotel

 

February 2021, Weekend, Two nights, Bayside King Deluxe Guestroom 401

Sunset from bayside king guestroom 401 at Stafford's Perry hotel

Reservations, arrival, check-in

We booked the Winter Getaway Package, which was a fabulous deal. The package included two nights lodging, breakfast (this is included for all guests, actually), $40 in dining credits, and a gift bag. I booked the package over the telephone, as soon as we learned about it via MLive. I could not find the package on their website, although I did find it online after I had made our reservation. I am not sure if I missed it the first time, or if we booked our stay before their website had been updated to include the package.

Winter getaway gift bag at Stafford's Perry hotel
(wine corkscrew not visible in photo)

I received a pre-arrival email a few days before our stay. There was a link in the email for room enhancements or requests, and I filled out the request form. I requested a top floor room in a quiet area, and I inquired about the bottle of wine included in our gift bag; I wanted to request red wine instead of white, if this was an option. I also asked if our room had a fireplace, as I had seen a few guestroom photos with fireplaces. I received a call from a staff member two days before our arrival. He told me that although our room type did not have a fireplace, we would have a nice top floor room in a quiet area, and that he had also fulfilled our request for red wine in our gift bag. The entire call was professional and positive.

View from bayside king guestroom 401 at Stafford's Perry hotel

We arrived at the hotel a bit earlier than we had expected--almost 2 hours before the check-in time of 4PM. We received a warm welcome, and the agent told us our room was ready. He provided information for our package, and hotel details. He also told me they had put a portable electric fireplace in our room for fireplace ambiance. Wow, I thought that was impressive!  

Guestroom 401 with added fireplace ambiance at Stafford's Perry hotel

The color of the two inside photos above is a bit distorted/blueish. Apparently, I had bumped the exposure on my phone before taking those photos. There is another photo of the sofa below, which is a better representation of the actual coloring in the guestroom.