This blog post may contain affiliate links, which may reward me in the event of a sale. I use these funds to reinvest in my blog and to create more great content like this article to share with you! My visit to Crystal Mountain was sponsored, however all thoughts & opinions are my own. Disclaimer here.
Fall in Michigan is an incredible time to get outside and explore. And I’ve also found it to be one of the most underrated times to plan a getaway to Michigan. While other regions within the United States capture a lot of attention when it comes to fall travel, Michigan needs to be on the top of everyone’s bucket list! On the top of MY fall bucket list is planning a fall getaway to Crystal Mountain.
Crystal Mountain is located in Thompsonville, Michigan, which is located in the northwest lower peninsula. It is about a 45 minute drive from the popular town of Traverse City. When I discovered Crystal Mountain hosts all kinds of fun activities like a free scenic chairlift ride for their overnight guests, an alpine slide, and more as part of their Fall Fun Saturday’s, I knew we needed to visit!
Read on to discover all you need to know to plan a fall getaway to Crystal Mountain. This also includes what it’s like to stay at the Inn at the Mountain, fall activities at the resort, and nearby attractions to Crystal Mountain. Let’s go!
Summary of Our Fall Getaway to Crystal Mountain
When: My family and I went during a weekend in early October.
Why: Back when my husband and I first started exploring Michigan, we took a spontaneous fall color day trip “up north.” So we hopped in the car and headed North along US 131 until we got off at Cadillac. From there, we drove until we randomly came to Crystal Mountain. Here we discovered Michigan’s only Alpine Slide, so we decided to check it out! Since that day trip, Crystal Mountain stood out as a unique, fun place to visit for fall. And I just knew, one day I’d return for a fall getaway. (You can read more about that spontaneous fall color day trip here.)
Time Traveled (one way): less than an hour from Traverse City, 2 hours from Grand Rapids, 2-3 hours from Lansing, 3 hours from Kalamazoo, 3-4 hours from Detroit, and 5 hours from Chicago
Time Spent at Destination: 2 days and 2 nights (We headed up after work on Friday so arrived just before bedtime).
Budget: $$$ – lodging, food, bike rentals, souvenirs
About Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville
First, let’s step back in time. Crystal Mountain got its start as a high school project when a teacher assigned his students to find the best place to start a ski area within Benzie County. After what was then known as “Buck Hills” was identified, the Buck Hills Ski Area launched in 1956. Four years later, Buck Hills transitioned to Crystal Mountain Resort. It takes its name from nearby Crystal Lake, and it was a community endeavor to broaden the ski hill into a resort. And from then on, Crystal Mountain’s continued to expand and add new attractions becoming the four-season resort it is today. You can read more about Crystal Mountain’s early days and history here.
My family and I arrived at Crystal Mountain on Friday evening. We stayed the weekend at The Inn at the Mountain, which is centrally located and easy to find upon arriving. From the main entrance, there are signs pointing to the various buildings and attractions within Crystal Mountain.
Once inside, the check-in process was smooth and easy. Along with the room keys, you’ll receive a brochure that lists activities broken out by day at Crystal Mountain. Complementing that are the list of specials as well as on site restaurant hours. Finally, we also received a parking pass for the parking lot next to The Inn at the Mountain.
Our Room at The Inn at the Mountain
During our weekend adventure, we stayed in the one bedroom condo at The Inn at the Mountain. The one bedroom condo comes with a full kitchen, living room with TV, fireplace, floor to ceiling windows, spacious dining area, and a balcony shared by both the living room and bedroom. Making this the sweetest and most adorable place to stay was the bunkette, perfect for little ones! This bunkette is the first thing my son noticed after we entered the room. He climbed right in and made himself at home!
An incredible surprise I loved about the condo is the heated bathroom floors and heated towel rack. It just added a little extra luxury to the experience! And the heated towel rack came in handy, because my son spilled water all over his outfit for the next day. I laid his wet clothes on the towel rack overnight and voila! Dry in the morning!
Another perk of staying at the Inn is the convenient access to multiple amenities. If you don’t feel like making your own cup of coffee, head downstairs to Bru Bar. This coffee shop offers everything from brewed coffee’s to seasonal lattes. Plus there are some small bitings for breakfast. And just next to that, is the Mountain Shop which sells everything from souvenirs to toiletries to snacks and beverages.
Activities to Do at Crystal Mountain During Fall
During our fall getaway to Crystal Mountain, we enjoyed the special activities run during the fall. (Check out the complete list here!). Here is a list of some of the activities we participated in….
- Going on the scenic chairlift ride (both up and down). A perk of staying overnight at Crystal Mountain includes FREE passes to do this during your entire visit! So you can ride the chairlift as many times as you’d like. The view of the fall foliage was beautiful both during the ride up and overlooking the mountain. And equally as stunning (if not more), was the view of the foliage and resort on the ride down.
- Renting bikes to take on the bike trails. Bikes are available to rent from the Park at Water’s Edge for $15 per hour (or $20 for fat tire bikes). There are also helmets and a burley available. The staff are happy to provide bike trail maps as well. Since we were with the burley, we stuck to the paved trails but there are also mountain bike trails up the mountain to explore too. Check out the complete map of bike trails here. Bikes to rent are available between April and October.
- Touring the Michigan Legacy Art Park. This park is open year round, but sits among the trees and is beautiful to check out in the fall with the crisp weather and colorful leaves.
- One of the activities we really wanted to do was ride the Alpine Slide. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to during our visit because it was raining. For the safety of all guests, Crystal Mountain closes the slide down when it’s rainy. During the fall, the slide is open only on Saturday’s as part of the Fall Fun Saturday’s and must be purchased online in advance.
Year Round Activities to Enjoy at Crystal Mountain
There are also a number of activities to do during a stay at Crystal Mountain available all year long! We enjoyed swimming and building a buddy during our getaway. Other fantastic amenities Crystal Mountain has on site that are open year round is its spa and fitness center. Next visit, I am for sure booking a spa service at the Crystal Spa. In 2022, Crystal Spa was ranked in the Top 100 Spas by Spas of America. And a big perk of all the above activities is that they are just steps away from the Inn at the Mountain!
In the evening on Saturday, my family and I unwound by going for a dip in the pool and hot tub at the indoor swimming pool. The pool is heated to a comfortable level that is not too cold for adults – but at the same time, a refreshing temperature that’s not hot like a hot tub. This made it easy to transition between the two with my son when he wanted to practice swimming. Floatation devices and life jackets are available for kids to use within the pool as well.
Another fun, family friendly activity we did with our son was Building a Buddy. This can be done at the Park at Water’s Edge. Inside, there are a number of buddy options to choose from. After making your choice, you’ll also receive a stuffing kit, walk through of how to put your buddy together, and buddy shirt. We took this kit back to our room to put together. My son chose a Golden Retriever and named him Gary. He looks oddly like Crystal Mountain’s mascot blue! 🙂 For more details on other family craft’s available at Crystal Mountain, check out the details here.
Restaurants at Crystal Mountain
Complementing the many activities to enjoy at Crystal Mountain, there are also several dining options. Whether you’re in the mood for upscale or casual, there is a restaurant for you!
Wild Tomato
Starting out our dining experience at Crystal Mountain is the breakfast buffet at the Wild Tomato, which is open until 11am in the fall. Usually, my family and I don’t enjoy breakfast buffet’s as most of them are pretty bare bones with their offerings. But we were blown away by the selection at Wild Tomato! We tried everything from eggs benedict to breakfast quesadillas, French toast, pancakes, and everything in between. There are also basic offerings like eggs in a variety of forms, cereal, oats, breakfast meats, potatoes, and fruit.
Children under the age of 12 get to enjoy breakfast free, which is a great perk! My son is such a picky eater and some days just refuses to eat anything for breakfast so it’s great not having to play breakfast roulette with him.
And the staff at the Wild Tomato are fantastic! While we dined, the waitress came up and offered my son stickers to entertain him. It’s nice to visit places that treat your children with respect, especially when they’re in the challenging toddler years.
Just next to Wild Tomato is Betsie River Pizza and Subs, which we did not try out during this visit. This restaurant offers pizza, subs, wings, salads, and breadsticks and can be delivered right to your room!
The Thistle
Before we headed out on our fall getaway to Crystal Mountain, I set up a reservation at The Thistle. The Thistle is a fine dining restaurant located within the Kinlochen building. The decor is Scottish themed with a variety of different types of protein on the menu. There are also seasonal items and specials. Plus soups, salads, appetizers and desserts for a well rounded meal. I ordered the special of the evening, which was a ribeye steak cooked to my liking with a side of seasonal vegetables. Everything tasted wonderful and the staff cared that our food was to our liking. And we didn’t even have to wait long for the food to come out!
While upscale, we also found it welcoming of children. There is a kids menu with popular kids menu favorites to choose from like a burger, Mac and cheese, and chicken tenders.
The Thistle is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily all year round!
All of the dining options are located just steps away from The Inn at the Mountain. With Wild Tomato, we took the back exit then walked across the street. Then, The Thistle was two buildings down. All easy to reach no matter what the weather is doing!
Nearby Attractions
While we could have easily spent the whole weekend at Crystal Mountain, we did visit a couple places nearby. This also included driving around to appreciate the changing fall colors.
Beulah
During our fall getaway to Crystal Mountain, we spent Saturday morning in downtown Beulah, which is about 20 minutes away. Beulah is located just off US 31 and is on Crystal Lake. While the town is darling in and of itself, Beulah hosted its annual fall festival which was an added perk. While the weather was not the greatest, we still picked out pumpkins and shopped at the cute boutiques. There was an adorable cookie sale going. Plus, we got to walk through a haunted library!
Frankfort
Another nearby town we checked out after we left our stay at Crystal Mountain is Frankfort. Frankfort is 30 minutes away and right on Lake Michigan. During our Sunday afternoon in Frankfort, we visited the Oliver Center for the Arts for the first time. What a gem! On the main floor is a gallery with rotating exhibits – many that feature local artists. Then, upstairs is a room for kids to make artistic creations! The room is filled with art supplies like paper, glue sticks, scissors, paper punch outs, ribbons, stickers, tape… And incredibly – this place is free to visit! And it is open all year round making is a great spot for anyone visiting Crystal Mountain if you appreciate art!
Other fantastic places nearby to visit during a fall getaway to Crystal Mountain include…
- Bike or hike the Betsie Valley Trail which connects to Crystal Mountain and goes all the way to Frankfort – about 22 miles total
- Grab dinner or a libation from Iron Fish Distillery – 7 minutes drive
- COGNiTiON Science and Discovery Center in Beulah – 15 minutes drive
- Hike the accessible Overlook Trail that’s part of the Arcadia Dunes: Baldy Trails – 20 minutes
- See the suspension bridge along the Manistee River Trail – 20 minutes
- Point Betsie Lighthouse in Frankfort – 30 minutes
- Hike the Empire Bluff Trail of the Sleeping Bear Dunes – 30 minutes
Itinerary Inspiration for a Fall Getaway to Crystal Mountain
Day One
We didn’t do much Friday. This day consisted of driving up to Crystal Mountain, checking in, exploring our room, and getting situated.
We discovered the room had a number of children’s books in a bin by the bunkette, which was a cute discovery! It also made getting ready for bed with our little one easier as we enjoyed reading the books together on the couch.
Day Two
Day two of our fall getaway to Crystal Mountain is jam packed with adventure! It’s also when we fit in most of what I mentioned in the above detail.
- 7:30am – Wake up and enjoy a slow morning, get ready
- 10am – Breakfast at the Wild Tomato
- 11:15-12:30pm – Explore Beulah
- 12:45-1:15pm – Scenic Chairlift Ride
- 1:30-2pm – Relax and have a snack in our room
- 2-3pm – Bike ride
- 3pm – Build a Buddy, rest in the room
- 6pm – Dinner at The Thistle
- 7:30-8:30pm – Swimming
Morning
On our second day, we enjoyed a relaxed morning, got ready, then headed over to Wild Tomato for Breakfast.
From breakfast, we left for Beulah to explore the town and see what was going on during its annual Fall Fest. If you don’t visit during this exact weekend, that’s ok – the town also has several boutiques open year round. Pop into the jewelry store Unearthed, Northern Decor, and Evergreen Mercantile for some cute goodies! If you have a little one with you, stop by the Beulah Village Park where there is a playground right on gorgeous Crystal Lake. They can get some wiggles out and you can relax a moment and enjoy the beautiful turquoise water!
While in Beulah, you may also want to dine at a restaurant for lunch! I recommend Ursa Major Bistro or L’Chayim. During another trip I took to the area, we tried these places out and had a delicious experience. Ursa Major offers a variety of hot dishes and cafe style drinks. All food is ordered at the register before taking a number to sit down and be served. L’Chayim is a deli with delicious sandwiches. You can enjoy them right at the restaurant or you can take it with you back to Crystal Mountain to enjoy.
Afternoon
After returning back to Crystal Mountain from Beulah, we proceeded next to the chairlifts to go on a scenic chairlift ride. Whether you are staying at the resort or booked a time slot to ride the lift, you’ll need to check in at the building by the Alpine Slide to sign the waiver and get a wrist band. Since we stayed overnight, we didn’t need to reserve a time and didn’t have to pay! Then we proceeded to the chairlift and rode it to the top of the mountain. While up there, there are a couple places to stop and appreciate the fall foliage from before heading back down.
Our next adventure of the afternoon was to go biking around Crystal Mountain. Located right across from the Inn at the Mountain is the Park at Water’s Edge, where the bike rentals are located. Since we were riding with Winston, we also rented the burley (complete with helmets!), which goes for the same rate as the bikes ($15/hour). While we could only stay on paved paths, we didn’t mind at all. By biking around, we discovered just how vast Crystal Mountain is! There is so much to see by bike and we even checked out where some of the other lodging options are located.
After returning the bikes, we popped into the shop and picked out a Buddy for Winston to build back in the room. There is a vast number of options of buddies to choose from plus puffy pillows and puppets to make as well.
Evening
Once we got in a good rest in our room, we walked over to The Thistle for our dinner reservation at 6pm. And that was followed up by an evening swim at the indoor pool located within the Fitness Center. We stayed there until right around the time the pool closed for the evening. Then headed back to our room to shower and settle down to rest.
After a nice swim, the showers with its heated floor and towel rack were amazing. You don’t even need to pack any shampoo or conditioner here. The showers come equipped with the Crystal Spa’s shampoo and conditioners, which also left my hair smelling so good. To further add to the cozy vibes before heading to bed, we turned on the fireplace and I sipped on some tea to further relax and recount the day’s activities.
Day Three
Even on our check out day, we managed to pack in a fun day as a family. Below is what our day looked like:
- Wake up, pack, get ready
- 10am – Breakfast at The Wild Tomato
- 11:15am – Michigan Legacy Art Park
- 1pm – Oliver Center for the Arts
- 2pm – Hike Green Point Dunes Nature Preserve
Similar to Saturday, we got ready, packed up and headed to another delicious breakfast at the Wild Tomato. After that, we took our car and drove over to the Michigan Legacy Art Park since it’s a bit of a distance. As guest at Crystal Mountain, we were able to get in for free! Otherwise it costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids over 5 to visit. The Michigan Legacy Art Park is a beautiful sculpture garden spread across 30 acres on Crystal Mountain with art inspired by Michigan, made by Michigan artists. The first part of the trail is accessible. And in total, there are about 2 miles of trails.
Inspired by all this art we saw, we needed to see MORE and even MAKE some. So we headed to the nearby town of Frankfort to check out the FREE Oliver Center for the Arts. Up to the second floor we went to allow Winston around an hour to create his own master piece out of construction paper, glue, and stickers. This place is really a gem – we’re so glad such a place is open year round for the community and visitors alike to enjoy!
Our final stop before driving back home and starting another week of work and school was to take on a new trail at the Green Point Dunes Nature Preserve. This Preserve is a part of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and is on a glacial moraine ridge. Along this two mile looping hike you can take out to Lake Michigan and back are a diverse number of dune habitats. You can even see the state and federally threatened Pitcher’s Thistle located in the open foredune so it’s important to stay on the trail only. While this is an incredibly hilly trail, it’s worth it. My son even completed the hike out and back without being carried!
Map of Attractions for a Fall Getaway to Crystal Mountain
~Other Helpful Info to Note Before a Fall Getaway to Crystal Mountain ~
Where and how to book?
Check out more details about the incredible One Bedroom Condo we stayed in at The Inn on the Mountain here. While on Crystal Mountain’s website, discover all their other available lodging options as another room, suite or condo may better suit your needs!
Where to find info about the fall fun?
There are so many fall activities Crystal Mountain plans out for the Fall Fun Saturdays! Even more than we could do with our three year old! Discover the full calendar of events here! (Note – will be updated seasonally).
How to reserve activities
If you prefer to reserve the activities while you’re at the lodge, feel free to call the front desk from your room and they are happy to help connect you the right booking party. To make a dinner reservation at The Thistle, click here. And for reserving a time slot to ride the alpine slide or bikes, go to the Crystal Mountain activity booking page here.
Parking while visiting as an overnight guest and day guest
If you’re staying over night at The Inn at the Mountain, there is a very close, protected parking lot. During check in, you’ll receive a code to enter and pass to put on your dash overnight. If visiting during the day, there is a large parking lot located near the mountain to use.
When’s the best time to visit Crystal Mountain for fall colors?
It varies each year, but the peak fall color is usually around the second or third week of October.
What activities can I do if there is Rain?
Funny you ask as it rained A LOT during our visit! Unfortunately we weren’t able to ride the alpine slide, but we did still get to go on the chairlift ride! Make sure to pack a waterproof jacket! Other than that, we still biked around despite the rain, enjoyed the Michigan Legacy Art Park, and since it wasn’t storming, we also took a dip in the indoor pool and hot tub. There is definitely a lot more you can do than not do during a fall getaway to Crystal Mountain while it’s raining.
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