September 2021, Weekdays-weekend, 4-nights
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| Sunset from campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park |
I have many other posts for the Traverse City area in this blog, and you can find more info by using the search feature at the top of this page, or by clicking on one of the labels at the end of this post. This is a brief post to share new info and photos from this visit.
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Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park Bottom photo taken from walkway to overpass |
Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park, campsite 100
We chose this campsite because we had noticed how large it is during one of our previous stays at the campground. It is a large site; however, it is also very noisy. Actually, all of the campsites in this park are noisy, although this one seemed even more so. We previously stayed on campsite 467, which is also on the road, and the noise did not seem as loud there as it did from site 100. Possibly, this is because site 100 is next to the road overpass and is a bit more open than the other sites along the road. If you have never stayed in this state park, be aware that it is a town-type park, and not a quiet woodsy-type park. We only stay in this park when we want to visit Traverse City, rather than engage in other activities like hiking.
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| Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park |
Before this stay, I had not noticed how skewed the campsite lines are in this park. If the people on site 99 next to us had sat on the west side of their fire pit, they would have been sitting on our site according to the lines. This did not matter, as we were not using the area behind our trailer anyway; it was all trees. Additionally, our line on the west side was straight out from our fire pit. It did not seem like the site lines were actually adhered to. We parked one of our vehicles in the area just outside our line closer to the walkway, and no one asked us to move. We noticed similar parking and lines through fire pits in other areas of the park, as well.
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The bathrooms in the west end of the park had been recently rebuilt. I loved the way they had been built with a maze type entrance, rather than doors. It was sad to see that the new restrooms were not being taken care of. The floors were covered with stains and sticky dirt residue that was never cleaned during our stay. In fact, it looked like the floors had not been washed since the restrooms had been built less than a year ago.
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Several concrete pads had been added to sites during the park remodel, and we are planning to choose one of those sites next time we visit. Some of these sites are 30 amp, and some are 50 amp. I have uploaded a couple of photos above.
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| Duncan L Clinch Park and marina downtown Traverse City |
Bicycle trail, downtown, dining, breweries, wineries
The bicycle trail is located right behind the park, and is accessible between campsites 46 and 47. There have been several new additions to the trail, and construction was still happening in some areas at the time of our visit.
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TART trail along 8th Street above Boardman Lake Trail from Right Brain Brewery below |
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Corned Beef Hash at Rounds Restuarant in Traverse City Pork Nachos from the food truck at Silver Spruce Brewing in Traverse City |
We had a couple of new food experiences this visit: breakfast at Rounds Restaurant, and pork nachos from the food truck at Silver Spruce Brewing. All of our food was delicious! My only minor complaint is that the toast at Rounds Restaurant was buttered far too heavily for me. We also had our first visit to the Cheese Lady in Traverse City. It was not quite the same as the location in Muskegon, although it was still very good.
Right Brain Brewery has added outside covered seating areas since our last visit. Either that, or we never noticed the seating around the corner before. I am always surprised by the difference in experiences between North Peak Brewing and Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, as they are owned by the same people. We always have great service and beer at Jolly Pumpkin on Old Mission Peninsula, and a mediocre experience at North Peak downtown.
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| Wine glass from Chateau Grand Traverse tasting |
Two wineries we visited on the peninsula also provided similar experiences as last time; one winery that we love, and one that we will definitely remove from future considerations to visit. The winery that we love is Chateau Grand Traverse. Great wines, and amazing service. They have an outside patio for enjoying wine by the glass, and they have a great process for tastings. There are plexiglas dividers at the tasting bar, and after providing a new glass and bag for the glass (by an employee wearing gloves), the glass is then never touched again by staff, even though the glass is rinsed as needed. Their tastings always help us choose at least one bottle of wine when visiting.
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| Michigan Brewvine Passport |
The other winery we attempted to visit was Bowers Harbor Vineyards. This winery has two coupons for free tastings in the Michigan Brewvine Passports that we purchased, which include a wine glass. We were told that they are not currently offering tastings. I then asked if we could redeem our coupons for the complimentary glasses (we have two books) without the wine. Unbelievably, they said NO! So, they are getting free advertising in the Brewvine Passport, and then not honoring what they agreed upon.
Traverse City is always a fun place to visit. ~ Let me know if you any questions or info to add!
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