2018 Great Lakes States – Traverse City, Michigan
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Monday August 20th – Sunday, August 26th
Traverse City State Park, Traverse
City, MI
The
drive south to Traverse City was mostly along the Lake Michigan shoreline. We
took the scenic drive passing through lovely lakeside towns, including Petoskey,
Charlevoix and along Grand Traverse Bay ultimately arriving in Traverse City.
We had been warned before heading this way that the traffic in this town was
congested and very busy. This area has expanded greatly in the last couple of
decades. We arrived at the State Park, which was along the lakeshore and right across
the highway. The Park had built a walkway over the road so that campers could
easily cross over to the beach. The campground was very basic, lots of trees
for shade and spacious sites. The day we arrived the weather again was rainy
and windy. The lake conditions were choppy, not good for enjoying the beach. We
setup in the rain, again. The bay lakefront is very beautiful with nice beaches
and clear blue water.
The
city is very bicycle friendly with many paved trails all around the area. There
were nearby mountain bike trails, so we did enjoy them, they were not technical
but fun and a good workout. We visited these trails on two days and enjoyed the
workouts.
The
next day we decided to drive west to the Lake Michigan shore to visit the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This lake shore has many sand dunes
with some as high as 400 feet. There were trails around the park and we were
able to take the dogs hiking on one trail. Unfortunately, while there it began
raining so much that we abandoned the hike. Also the rain was so strong that we
could not see any part of the dunes area from the trail. We headed back to camp
after being soaked from the rain.
The
next day the weather was much better and Kurt decided to go back to Sleeping
Bear Dunes for a chance to see the wonderful sights. The drive was 60 miles round
trip and would be a long day, so I decided to stay back with the dogs and take
them on some walks. Kurt hiked trails along the lakeshore dunes and was able to
get very nice pictures of the park. The park allowed visitors to climb the 400
foot dunes, provided they were able to do it safely. The good thing is the
climb was uphill first, so many people realized they wouldn’t be able to make
the complete climb, so they turned around before reaching the top.
Another
day, Kurt wanted to ride another mountain bike trail system that was a longer
drive away, and was more challenging. He drove to the Glacial Hills Pathway and
Natural Area. He really enjoyed the trails, more up to his expert riding level.
On his way back he stopped along Torch Lake to view that area. It was another
large inland lake that was beautiful with small harbor towns along the shore.
Overall, we enjoyed the Traverse City visit. The downside was that we spent half of our days in the rain. Oh well, that has been the story with this summer trip. Too many rain days!
Overall, we enjoyed the Traverse City visit. The downside was that we spent half of our days in the rain. Oh well, that has been the story with this summer trip. Too many rain days!
Now we
continue to head south to our last stop in Michigan.
