Two parks for the price of nothing! The north entrance leads to a very nice beach with great views…read more Their are some great rocks for people into rock collecting. Their are places to park and trails to hike. At the south entrance you park then there are trails to hike. 1 leads back to the north park. The other one leads to about a 5 minute hike to a stream view area. You'll see the stream almost right away, but in the distance and between foliage. It's a very nice stream, though nothing epic. There is then a 3 minute hike to the beach where the stream meets Lake Michigan. Again here the views are spectacular. Thetrails could be better marked and better upkept to get rid of low branches. The trail connecting the two parks is about 0.8 miles. Overall a 5 star review.

Well, this was a delight of a park - though the hike didn't work out too well. We came here for the…read moretrail/hike, but the trail was mostly washed out from rain and it became impassable the further in we went. This is actually right along a gorgeous little stretch of beach though, a nice spot for looking for charlevoix and petoskey stones. Gorgeous shore, plenty of distance to walk, dog-friendly - what could be better? Lots of fairly rocky shoreline, but some areas that were pretty sandy as well, for folks wanting a place to lie down. I will say the main area right near the parking lot was very crowded, but the further down you walked you could get to some pretty quiet areas. You can also go partly down the trail and connect to another stretch of beach that is very quiet.

Peterson Park is a small/quaint park on the north end of the Leelanau Peninsula... It's nicely kept…read morewith easy beach access to Lake Michigan, and it's pet friendly. Recommend going early fall once tourist season slows down... We had the whole park and beach area to ourselves.

Sweet little spot. 115 steps down to the beach. Rocks. Today lots of dead alewives (End of June)…read more Great, clean little bathroom. Nice playground for the kids. Ample picnic tables. Well worth a trip out here.

The boat was perfect and Doug even provided a cooler with ice! The boat was stocked with all the…read moresafety gear and even some fun equipment. Thank you Doug for making sure we had a good time!

Was charged $497 for 6 hours of boating time then, the next day they ran an unauthorized…read moretransaction of $48. Boat was left clean and gas filled up.

Great Lake fun for everyone. Not super packed and great for water skiing and tubing. Lots of good…read morefishing out here as well.

One of the things I hate most about the breakup with the ex is not getting to go visit his family's…read morelake cabins on Lake Bellaire. When I used to come up here I would be so surprised that the lake bottom was sandy and that the water was clear. What a shocker right?? This lake is the perfect size. It's small enough that as a good swimmer you can swim across it, but large enough that you can take out the ski boat and ski, pontoon boat and relax, or sail on the catamaran. Being part of the Chain of Lakes means that it's connected, through a series of rivers, to multiple other lakes so you can spend the day boating through nature areas and rivers to gain access to other local lakes. You can also boat your way over to the Dockside, park, and hang out on the porch. The other great thing about this lake is that it is located next to some really cute little towns like Bellaire and Alden. Day trips out to Traverse City (the only large city around) take about 45 minutes and Charlevoix is close as well. For a slightly longer trip away, about 2 1/2 hours, you could go to Mackinac Island which is an island filled with historic houses and no cars, only horse and buggies are allowed (in the summer at least). Finally, my favorite thing about Lake Bellaire is the fact that the majority of lake cabins are truly cabins, not monstrosities of the like that line the shores of southern lakes. You really feel like you are going back in time and that there is nothing better than a day at the lake minus tv and outside influences.

We had such a fun time exploring Fishtown! I've been wanting to come here for such a long time! I…read moreenjoyed the little fishing shanties which have been turned into boutique shops. A must stop while you're here is grabbing a sandwich from the Village Cheese Shanty and stopping by the marina to eat. These sandwiches are amazing!!! I can't wait to come back and try a few restaurants one with a famous bloody Mary and white fish

A quaint area that has old fishing village feel. Parking can be tricky during peak tourist season…read more There are a few options for eating so be prepared to wait during busy hours. Also, check store and restaurant hours before visiting. Nice spot to eat and explore.

Stopped here on a whim to checkout lighthouses during our mini getaway. This beach did not…read moredisappoint! It was so calm and peaceful. Beautiful water. Hardly any people. The people who did visit didn't stay for long so we had the whole beach to ourselves. We had camping chairs in the car so we just put them in the water and sat right in the water and enjoyed the view. They have a gift shop and the only restrooms I noticed were portajohns. We built some rock towers but put the rocks back when we were done because some of the rocks had snail eggs on them.

Gorgeous park at the tip of the Mitten's pinkie finger. I got there shortly before a spectacular…read moresunset where the sky was all lit up with pinks and oranges and purples. I took a short walk where my friends who had camped there the previous night as well showed my the historic lighthouse and some message in a bottle painted sign that was very reminiscent of Steve "ESPO" Powers. I set up my trusty old dome tent and camped on the same site as my friends and nobody said peep about doubling up like that. I left out around 10:30 or so and didn't hit any trails as I had packed some snacks for late but no breakfast. Not much in the way of restaurants or groceries around here so I hit the road. Can't speak to the trails or day use part of the park but the campground and adjacent beach was beautiful.

Sleeping Bear Dunes is a must if you are nearby! There are beaches that are free to enter, but to…read morego into the actual park and see the big dunes, you have to pay $20 per car, or you can get in with a National Parks pass. Most of it is drivable once you're in, and you can park your car off to the side of the road and view multiple different overlooks. The dunes are huge I was surprised. They're much bigger than I am used to seeing at Indiana Dunes! We stopped at the Lake Michigan overlook. There's a parking lot with plenty of parking. To get up to the overlook, you'll have to walk up a smallish sand dune. It's easier if you take your shoes off. Once you get up, there's super steep dunes that many people attempt to go all the way down then climb up on all fours. It's extremely hard to get back up!! Walking through sand is not easy. There's even a sign that warns you of the dangers of doing so and the damage it does to the dunes. There was a firetruck and ambulance on sight ready to rescue anyone.

My second time visiting was just as spectacular as my first. There's so much beauty to see at…read moreSleeping Bear Dunes. I recommend the cottonwood trail (1.5 miles loop) and empire buff trail (1.5 mile out and back) for amazing views and mixed terrain. The dunes are a must see (climb if you dare). Don't forget to grab a souvenir in one of the park shops.

An amazingly calm lake. Came here to watch the sunset one evening and just had to come back the…read morenext day for some fishing. Seems to be somewhat of a "hidden gem," as our group was alone the whole time. There are some trails around the lake as well, so there are various other activities to do here. The lake is meant for only sixteen years or younger children to fish in as noted by the sign. We managed to catch a bass which was exciting. The water was very calm. We occasionally pulled out some weeds but that's to be expected. We will definitely be returning.