Long Weekend Getaway to Traverse City

Concluding my series on adventures we took ‘Up North’ are details from our full getaway to Traverse City. Traverse City is a popular destination for Michigan residents to visit throughout the year. It’s busiest during the warmer months, but not much closes down during the winter, which makes winter an excellent time to visit to avoid crowds. Even with Covid, there are still plenty of extremely safe things to do in Traverse City.

This post is part three of a series detailing day trips and adventures you may be interested in taking around the Traverse City Area. Be sure to also check out my previous posts, Take a Road Trip Around the Leelanau Peninsula and Day Trip Guide to the Old Mission Peninsula.

~ Weekend Getaway to Traverse City Map ~

~ Weekend Getaway to Traverse City Summary ~

When: The New Year’s Long Weekend – what a great place to welcome in 2021!

Why: My family and 2 of my friends were looking for a place to go with plenty of outdoor things to do to celebrate a new year. It’s been awhile since any of us visited the Traverse City area, so we decided to check it out again.

Time Traveled (one way): 2 hours from Grand Rapids, 4 hours from Detroit, 3 hours from Kalamazoo, 3 hours from Lansing

Budget: $$$ – 3 nights at an Airbnb, groceries for breakfast & snacks, takeout lunch & dinner meals, wine tasting, souvenirs, gas

What we did during our Getaway:

We traveled to Traverse City on New Year’s Eve. On this day, we didn’t do much besides pick up some groceries, order takeout from The Filling Station, and ring in the New Year together. Nice and cozy. After not seeing my friends since late summer, there was a lot to catch up on! And the Traverse City region is the perfect destination for a girlfriends getaway!

During our first full day in Traverse City, we started the day out with a short hike at the Grand Traverse Common’s Natural Area to the Hippie Tree. After that, we relaxed with some wine and cider at Left Foot Charlie. Then, around lunch, we headed out on M22 to road trip around the Leelanau Peninsula.

On our second day, we grabbed a quick breakfast from Peace, Love, & Little Donuts in downtown Traverse City. Then we walked around downtown and shopped at a few stores. After a couple hours, we headed up to the Old Mission Peninsula for another day trip adventure.

As we headed back downstate, we stopped at a couple other sites. First, we hiked the Empire Bluff Trail at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Then we went to Point Betsie Lighthouse north of Frankfort. Finally, we grabbed lunch at Frankfort’s drive in A&W.

~ Getaway to Traverse City: Day 1 Details ~

Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area

What better way to kick off a new year then some fresh air and a hike? So that’s exactly how we started off the year – by getting outdoors at the Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area. This 140 acre park once was part of the former State Psychiatric Hospital. In fact, the natural area is within walking distance of the old hospital – today known as The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

With nine different trails to choose from, there’s a trail for every level here. We started off on the Garfield Trail then veered right onto the Streamside loop so we could check out the Hippie Tree. If you continue on the path we were on, you can also see the Cathedral of Trees.

But as you can see, we were on a mission to check out the…

Hippie Tree

…Hippie Tree! I first learned about the Hippie Tree from Atlas Obscura (one of the many resources I use when I plan trips). According to Atlas Obscura, there’s an urban legend that the Hippie Tree is the haunted portal to hell.

Now, I’m not into ghost stories or haunted things and definitely not into Satan but after reading this, I was intrigued. Pictures of the Hippie Tree show fallen trees painted over in vivid colors, so surely this can’t be some crazy place the devil hangs out at? Unless the devil is a couple walking their dog, we didn’t see any haunted spirits (but then again, we went around 11 am).

Upon further reading, legend has it if you leave behind your own artistic contribution on the tree, you will leave with some sort of enlightened power the tree possesses. Unfortunately I can’t report if it’s true or not since we didn’t carry any spray paint. We’ll save that for another time.

Left Foot Charlie

Not far from the main Commons building is Left Foot Charley – a destination for wine & hard cider. Left Foot Charley was founded in 2004 by Bryan Ulbrich after he helped a local vineyard owner save his crop. With the saved Riesling crop, they harvested the grapes and created a dry Riesling. From this endeavor, Left Foot Charley was born.

After this experience, Ulbrich began partnering with 18 small, northwest Michigan based vineyard owners to create wine and cider. The vineyard and orchard owners can focus on what they do best – growing and LFC can focus on producing tasty wine and cider.

Our crew stopped by Left Foot Charley when they opened up at noon. Tasting flights are $15 for 4 samples. It’s possible to mix and match wine and cider. Knowing on day two of our adventure, I’d be enjoying plenty of wine, I opted for mostly cider at LFC. First I tried the wine Stumble, which is a Gewürztraminer with Riesling. I chose this wine because it is my favorite wine style, and it didn’t disappoint!

Then I tried three cider samples called Fortis Maelum, Engle’s Ransom, and Cinnamon Girl. The Fortis Maelum is a traditional dry, English style cider while the Engle’s Ransom uses Michigan grown European Heritage apples. I highly recommend the Engle’s Ransom if you’re looking for a great tasting, well rounded cider. Finally, I ended with the Cinnamon Girl which is so delicious!

Road Trip Around the Leelanau Peninsula

Before lunchtime, we hopped in the car and headed for the Leelanau Peninsula for a little road trip to explore. Check out what we saw and experienced in a separate blog post here.

Takeout Dinner from Bubba’s

Once we made it back to our Airbnb for the evening, we called in an order to Bubba’s for takeout. Bubba’s is known for their burger’s, and also offers a number of great appetizer items like loaded tots and cajun fried pickles. I ordered an avocado burger which comes loaded with Havarti cheese, spinach, tomato, and lime dill ranch. After an exciting day sightseeing and being on the road, it definitely filled me up!

If you’re looking for another burger option in Traverse City, check out Slabtown Burgers.

~ Getaway to Traverse City: Day 2 Details ~

Downtown Traverse City

Day 2, let’s go! First things first, we needed to grab a little bite to eat – so we headed into downtown Traverse City. Given all the restaurants were closed for dine in, we decided to play it simple and grab some donuts from Peace, Love, & Little Donuts. This little shop has a donut for everyone – whether you’re craving a particular flavor or can’t decide and want to order a variety. After you pick out which donuts you want, they put the toppings on the donuts right in front of you.

Once we filled up on our sweet breakfast treats, we headed east on Front Street into the heart of downtown Traverse City to check out some shops and interact with murals we saw. The first site we stopped at was the Traverse City wings mural. This mural can be enjoyed on the side of The Coin Slot Arcade Bar at Front and Broadman Avenue. Another cool mural we appreciated is behind the Coin Slot building. This mural is outer space themed with rocket ships, aliens and UFO’s along with the words “Traverse the Galaxy” along the wall. Finally, if you’re interested in checking out the colorful Greetings from Traverse City mural, it’s located on the side of the building next to Kilwins.

There are many stores for all interests to check out in downtown Traverse City – clothing, toys, hobby, home décor, specialty food & beverage and more. We made it into a couple and a coffee shop before we rushed back to our car to make it up to the Old Mission Peninsula for our wine tasting reservation. If you’re interested in doing some serious shopping, be sure to budget at least half a day so you can browse the entire downtown.

Wine Tasting & Exploring the Old Mission Peninsula

After spending the morning checking out the shops, murals, and pieces of public art in downtown Traverse City, we headed up to the Old Mission Peninsula to start another day trip. The wineries that are open during the winter open at 11am at the earliest, so that is when we started this day trip. Check out more details of what which wineries we stopped by as well as other attractions and activities we did in my blog post here.

Curbside Pickup from The Flying Noodle

After a day of wine tasting and sightseeing in the cold, what better way to warm up and wind down than a hearty plate of pasta? Our dinner on night two was from the relatively new Italian eatery – The Flying Noodle. I ordered the Mufaldini (pictured above) and garlic bread to split with Winston. It contained braised short rib pieces, sundried tomatoes, and basil. It was hands down the most delicious and satisfying meal I had all weekend! During the Covid era, they also sell dinner for two and pasta boxes, which is like a family meal.

Be sure The Flying Noodle is on your list of places to order food from during a trip to Traverse City!

~ Getaway to Traverse City: Day 3 Details ~

Empire Bluff Trail

As we headed home, we decided to make the journey a little more fun! So we stopped at the Sleeping Bear Dunes for a hike along the Empire Bluff Trail. We were between doing this trail and Pyramid Point, which Tony and I visited before. We wanted something short and easy so we could pull Winston on the sled. Ultimately we decided on the Empire Bluff Trail because it is closer to our second stop of the day and only 1.5 miles round trip. Plus we haven’t done this trail yet!

From the start, Winston loved the sled! He thought sledding was the most fun thing ever – nonstop laughter once we started pulling him. Although, he was slightly confused when Aly’s cat Bongo joined him momentarily.

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the end of the trail and lookout due to icy conditions climbing up to the next level. Since we would have to carry Winston, we didn’t risk it. Luckily there is still a smaller beautiful overlook at stop four we took advantage of.

Point Betsie Lighthouse

Next up on our journey back home, we stopped at my favorite lighthouse along Lake Michigan – Point Betsie. We even have a blown up picture of it in our living room!

The lighthouse was built in 1858 using cream city brick, a cream colored clay found in Milwaukee and the western banks of Lake Michigan. Sitting along the Manitou Passage, Point Betsie is still active for ships passing through the channel. About 20 years after construction, a life saving station was added, which was a precursor to the Coast Guard.

An interesting piece of Point Betsie’s history is that it was the last Lake Michigan lighthouse to be automated. From 1858 to 1983, a lighthouse keeper or ‘wickie’ operated the light. The ownership of Point Betsie transferred to Benzie County in 2004 who fundraised to renovate and restore the lighthouse to its original splendor.

During the summer, the lighthouse is open for tours, seasonal museum exhibits, and even overnight stays! Yes, this lighthouse has Keepers Quarter’s available to rent. Check out the details here.

On the day we visited, there weren’t many others present. However, Point Betsie is known as one of the most photographed lighthouses in all of the US. Despite it being closed during winter, it can easily be appreciated from a couple different angles outside of its fence.

A&W Drive In

After our hike and stop at the lighthouse, we all worked up quite an appetite. The final stop of our trip was to the Frankfort A&W, which happens to be a drive in – perfect for the Covid-era! This restaurant is also super convenient for the traveler looking to connect to M-22, US-31, or M-115 to get to US-131 or US-127.

As for what I ordered? I ordered a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and no surprise here – A&W root beer! Pure, fast food deliciousness!

As you drive out of Frankfort on M-115, wave goodbye to the lighthouses!

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This three day getaway to Traverse City is perfect for anyone looking to travel with family, close friends, or as a couple. It’s especially perfect for anyone interested in embracing the outdoors, no matter the season.

What do you love most about Traverse City?

from Michigan with Love,

Jackie