The hubs and I took a walk on the field and Cedar Lake trail here yesterday while the sun was out -…read morewhat a cute spot! The field is enormous, a good place to play catch with the dog or watch some birds. The trail winds along the field and then heads into a cedar grove, which is really pretty. Soon you can see the lake and then find yourself at the fishing pier. The pier is really nice and there's plenty of seating for you while you fish or relax and enjoy the view of peaceful Cedar Lake. Continuing on the trail through the rest of the cedar grove brings you back out to the field and that's it - it's a short but sweet trail, about 1/4 mile long. This is right around the bend from us, so I'm sure we'll be back here often - can't wait to see how pretty the field is during the spring and summer.

My new favorite spot to spend a few hours! Grabbed a 7 day park pass at Crystal River Outfitters…read moreand spent a few hours swimming, looking for Petoskey stones, and soaking in the beautiful view. Plenty of parking, bathroom available. Hope to come back and enjoy a fire on the beach one night.

Well, shoreline is a bit eroded, but you can walk on the mini bluff. Bonfire central. Mom and I…read morepicked up trash here on Labor day, not too much really. Beautiful.

Nice little turn in park right by the bay…read more It has a little picnic area and plenty of parking Probably mostly useful just to be able to park somewhere and enjoy the scenery Very simple, but will probably meet your needs if you just need a place to rest, which is what I was looking for !

Having lived in Traverse City during my elementary school years, I remember when coal would be off…read moreloaded nearby, and all summer there'd be a mountain of coal to the south of the beach. I also remember the yummy hamburgers that came from a burger stand that used to be where the covered tables are now. Often childhood memories are selective and triumph over what is happening now; but, the current '17 version of this beach is very, very fine. It is far better than what I remember. I am impressed by the community's effort on improving and maintaining this beach. It is very special.

I hiked this trail in 2018, and again this year in July. It's not a difficult trail and the views…read moreare 10/10. We hiked it at 7:30a and only saw one other hiker on our way down. We saw wildlife and enjoyed looking out at the water and sand dunes at the top. If you're going to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, this hike is a must.

Wow is this trail absolutely beautiful! My friend and I recently completed this hike and we were so…read morehappy we decided to make a pit stop here on our road-trip up north. This 1.5 mile hike is short, relatively easy, and offers some of the best views in the area. There is a small parking lot with a bathroom accessible at this trail. You mainly walk through wooded areas with small inclines before you reach the overlook. This is perfect for families, friends, and anyone who is interested in exploring the outdoors.

Connect with nature at the Grass River Nature Area. Multiple trails where you can wander the woods…read moreor head out to the river. Check out their schedule for programs.

First time visiting here was last Saturday. I really enjoyed the boardwalks and elevated portions…read more Some of the boardwalks were a bit wonky, but they live in the elements. I didn't see otters, but I heard many birds. The namesake river is quite lovely and peaceful.

The Michigan Legacy Art Park, located within the Crystal Mountain resort, is about half a mile away…read morefrom the "main" area of Crystal Mountain where you get your rentals and lift passes. It's an easy trek over and then the actual park is about 1.5-2 miles round trip depending on which routes you take. This is such a cute idea for a park and honestly, I wish all parks were like this! There were a lot of interesting art pieces stationed throughout the park and most were highlighting local artists and organizations. There was some student art as well, but predominantly professional artists having their art on display. It's a very intentionally curated art park. We came here in the winter, so some of the smaller and/or lower down pieces were buried under the snow, but the vast majority was still accessible. There's an informational plaque next to each piece of art, so you can't miss each "exhibit". My personal favorite piece was the gazebo one with a mobius strip sculpture located in the middle of it. The sculpture was made entirely from one piece of Black Willow tree wood, which I found so impressive! This gazebo area was also just so peaceful and a great place to meditate and just listen to all the sounds of nature around you. Because it's located a bit away from the rest of the resort, you don't get a ton of foot traffic here. But the art park does connect to some of the cross country skiing trails, so if you want to do a proper "loop" hike around the art park, it will involve going onto the cross country trails for a short portion of it. So be mindful of your surroundings and share the trails with the skiiers during those parts! But other than that, I think my friend and I only encountered two other groups of people as we hiked throughout the park and we spent around 1.5 hours here, stopping to appreciate each piece of art throughout our hike as well. There's also a cute little free library at the front of the park, so definitely very family friendly! All in all, a great activity that I can imagine would be stunning and unique during each and every season and a great option, especially during the winter, if you're looking for other activities to do at Crystal Mountain outside of skiing and snowboarding!

Amazing experience. Beautiful easy 2ish mile hike dotted with beautiful art. I found the place by…read moreaccident and so glad I did.

Great spot for hiking, and probably great for skiing in the winter. Very well marked if you stay on…read morethe main trails, with a sign and map at each intersection. If you follow the blazes and the maps, it would be hard to get lost! If you use the All Trails map, you can see where the secondary trails go and plan a few side trips on the less traveled paths. Lots of choices to make a hike as long as you would want. Hikes through the woods, near the stream, near the lake. On this hike at the end of June, it was not too warm (morning hike) and there were few bugs. Trail running and mountain biking apparently allowed here but saw only a couple of each. Lots of birds, a few squirrels and chipmunks, a big beaver house, etc. A lot more for me to explore. Go check it out!

My first single track...loved it. Biked this path while staying at the Holiday Park Campground…read more Beautiful fall views!

The vast array of hiking trails found behind the historic State Hospital grounds is one of my…read morefavorite discoveries since moving to TC a couple of months ago. It is a perfect place to "get lost", but not in the sense that a search party has to come and find you later! The trails are easy to follow and routes/loops are well marked. You can easily spend several hours wandering around in here. When you get tired of hiking up the big hills, there's usually a bench waiting for you. There are bridges over the creeks and nice boardwalks over wet areas in a cedar grove. If you make it up to the top, which isn't hard to do, you have beautiful views of the bay through the trees. Dogs are allowed and so are bikes - the hubs is looking forward to biking the trails when spring arrives. Park anywhere at The Village and head on up any of the trails going in to the woods and you're there. I like to park by Left Foot Charley and go up Yellow Dr., past the Underground Cheesecake Factory... that way, when you come back, you can easily grab a tasty snack, sip of wine, or cup of coffee from Higher Grounds.