Benzie & Sleeping Bear · Small town
Beulah
For an easy Crystal Lake day: Benzie County's small seat has a sandy village beach, a public launch and the Betsie Valley Trail running through.
About 9 miles away (straight line)
Ski area · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Crystal Mountain
A four-season resort in Thompsonville with 59 downhill runs, 25 km of Nordic trails and groomed winter bike trails, plus singletrack and golf in summer.
Photo: Jhansonxi, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Crystal Mountain is the place to go if you want a ski trip where everyone in the group finds something to do. It is a full resort in Thompsonville, in Benzie County, reached by M-115, with downhill, cross-country, fat biking and snowshoeing on the same property, plus lessons, rentals and lodging so you can park the car for the weekend.
The downhill side lists 59 runs, terrain parks and night skiing. Nordic skiers get 25 km of trails, plus a smaller practice network with flat and hilly sections for classic and skate. If you would rather ride, the resort lists 6 miles of groomed winter bike trails and rents fat bikes. The resort’s snowshoe trails pass outdoor art along the way.
In summer the hills turn into a bike and hiking resort. You get singletrack for confident riders, easier paths for everyone else, and a 1.6-mile loop through the Michigan Legacy Art Park. Scenic chairlift rides run in summer and fall.
Grooming, rentals and lift schedules change with the weather and the season. Check the resort’s own reports before you drive over.
Practical information
- Season
- The resort lists activities in every season: skiing, Nordic, fat biking and snowshoeing in winter, biking, hiking and golf in summer. Seasons depend on the weather, so check the resort before you go.
- Tickets and lodging
- Lift tickets, rentals and snowsports lessons are sold through the resort, which has hotel rooms, townhomes and cottages on site.
- Nordic and fat biking
- The resort lists 25 km of cross-country trails and 6 miles of groomed winter bike trails, with rentals from the Cross-Country Center. Check grooming and rentals before you go.
- Official website
- crystalmountain.com
Location
Map of Crystal Mountain
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Nearby towns
Also nearby
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Beach
Beulah Public Beach
Beulah's public beach on Crystal Lake: several hundred feet of sand, a marked swim area over a sandy bottom, a beach house and a playground.
About 9 miles away (straight line)
Beach
Hopkins Park
The Village of Bear Lake's park and campground on Bear Lake, the inland lake, with a swim area (no lifeguard), playground, launch and fishing pier.
About 10 miles away (straight line)
Museum
Bottle House Museum
A house built in 1941 from about 60,000 glass bottles, now the Kaleva Historical Society's museum of local Finnish-American history.
About 10 miles away (straight line)