Northern Michigan Here We Come?
- Jake Mathews
- Apr 29
- 5 min read
Updated: May 11
Traverse City! Ever hear of it? No? That's ok, no one has. Here in New England, at least. In the Midwest it's a pretty well-known vacation destination, but when we told anyone at home we were heading to Michigan for vacation, we were met with blank stares and varying degrees of confusion. "Northern Michigan? Is that in New Hampshire? No? Ok, never heard of it."
My wife was also skeptical when I told her I wanted to vacation there and honestly, I was a little worried it might not be a great choice for a family trip. If we ended up having a terrible time, everyone was sure to blame me. The pressure was on! In the end, Traverse City came through.
Where is Traverse City?
Traverse City is in Northern Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Why Would Anyone Go to Traverse City?
Traverse City has beaches, hiking, restaurants, wineries, and all sorts of things to do. JetBlue also started a route between Boston and Traverse City, which is what drew us in initially.
What Are Unique Things to Do for a Day in Traverse City?
Most people that are heading to Traverse City know the must do's - Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pierce Stocking Drive, the Great Sand Dune. We did all those, plus a few other activities that were a bit more off the beaten path:
Bike rentals from Brick Wheels
Kayaking and tubing on the Platte River
Late-night stargazing at Lanphier Observatory
Riding Bikes?
I know what you're thinking. Does this guy think riding a bike is an off the beaten path activity? INDEED I DO. I used to LOVE riding bikes as a kid. Cruising around with your friends for hours without a care in the world. What an amazing feeling. Like most things in life, being an adult sucked the joy out of it for me. Or so I thought. Turns out riding a bike can still be pretty fun. Even if you're an adult with soul-crushing responsibilities.
Maybe you knew this already. Maybe your family regularly rides bikes together. Maybe you even ride tandem bikes and unicycles. Maybe you're so awesome you cruise around joyfully with your wife on your handlebars laughing and smiling, totally carefree. If so, I'm happy for you. That was not us. Renting bikes was a new experience for our family.
Why the change of heart? Being a dad, of course. We've been teaching our son to ride a bike, and he was having some trouble figuring out the pedaling motion. I figured a good day out on a bike together watching us ride might do the trick. Brick Wheels set us up with pedal assist E-Bikes. I got a sweet Tandem Cruiser for my son and I, and my wife towed our dog in a trailer.
We set out towards the Leelanau Trail. The full trail is about 17 miles, which was a bit too ambitious for novice bikers like us. We made it about halfway through to a great stop at a place called Farm Club, where we got a nice break and a snack. I think we were out for about 4 hours total and had an amazing time. I'm happy to report we regularly ride bikes these days and even got a bike rack put on one of our cars.
Kayaking with Some Lazy Bums
The second leg of our adventure involved kayaking and tubing on the Platte River through Riverside Canoes. I was a little confused on the setup. I thought we'd all float down the river in tubes, but it doesn't really work that way. Turns out someone needs to kayak and pull the tube(s) behind them. Brilliant!
I did the kayaking and pulled my wife, son, and dog in a tube behind me. Those lazy bums got to lounge around in the sun while I huffed and puffed up front in the kayak. I loved it though. The weather was great, and the water was crystal clear and calm.
I think most people go in the morning, but we set out in the early afternoon, so were the only ones out in the water for part of the way. It was a little unnerving at times as we couldn't see anyone else and wondered if we were going the right way. We stayed along the coast like they said and made it to the end in a few hours. It was really convenient as they have a bus meet you at the end to drive you back to your car.
Late Night at the Observatory with a Bunch of Dummies
Our last stop was at a place called the Lanphier Observatory. They open it up to the public on Wednesday and Thursday nights in the summer from 10PM-midnight. More importantly, they have a really cool laser pointer that they shoot up into the sky to outline stars and constellations. This was a fun experience but made for a really long day. I thought we'd be home by 1130PM, but we ended up getting back closer to 130AM, thanks to some dummies in our group. Or maybe I'm the dummy? I'll let you be the judge.
We got there a little before 10 and made our way through the woods to the observatory. There was a group of about 25-30 of us. Mostly adults, but a few other kids mixed in. The observatory could only fit about 15 people at a time, so we had to go up in shifts.
Now, let me start by saying I'm not one of these parents that thinks they're some kind of hero or deserve special treatment solely on the basis of having a child. In fact, I often go out of my way to avoid special treatment. This extends even to airport security, undoubtedly one of the most miserable travel experiences a human can endure. Surely, any rational person would take any kind of break to shorten the process. Not this guy.
My wife got mad at me in the Paris airport for refusing to go through the family line. No way is that for us, I confidently told her. It's definitely for families with much younger kids, I said, ignoring the attendant frantically trying to wave us over. "Interesting," I imagine the attendant thinking. "Seemingly, this man doesn't understand French OR waving". She had to wave us over multiple times before I finally caved and accepted it was ok for us to go through.
So, I don't necessarily expect or want any special consideration when I'm out with my kid. That being said, I feel like most sane people that see a family out late at night at an observatory would think, "Oh that's nice, they're trying to give their young kid a unique experience. He's probably tired. Maybe we should let them go in the first shift so they can get home". Wrong again! Not this crowd. Their thinking seemed to be more along the lines of, "IT WAS YOUR DUMB DECISION TO BRING YOUR KID OUT THIS LATE AT NIGHT, WHY SHOULD WE PAY THE PRICE." Fair point.
Whatever it was, they seemingly had no qualms about boxing out a 7-year-old to make sure they were on that first shift. SO BE IT. We were tired but had a great time regardless. We finally got our turn around 1130 and got some amazing views through the telescope, all for the bargain price of a $5 donation. I kicked in a little extra, because that's the kind of guy I am. Dumb.
In Conclusion - Is Traverse City Worth a Visit?
Absolutely! We loved it and had a great time. There's a lot of fun things to see and do, and it's just a quick 2.5 hour flight from Boston.
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