Frankfort

Frankfort is the easy beach town at the south end of Sleeping Bear: Main Street runs straight to a public beach, with the harbor piers and a lighthouse right in front of you. One day covers the beach, downtown and Point Betsie. A second day takes you inland on the Betsie Valley Trail to Crystal Lake, or across the harbor to Elberta.

For the national lakeshore to the north (passes, the Dune Climb, the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and the islands), see our Sleeping Bear Dunes planner. This guide sticks to town.

Getting there and getting around

M-22, part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, runs north and south through town, and M-115 starts just east of the city. By our routing estimates, the drive takes about 2 hours 45 minutes from Grand Rapids, about 5 hours from Detroit and about 6 hours from Chicago. See getting here for the routes.

There are two airline airports within reach. Our estimates put Manistee County Blacker Airport about 45 minutes away and Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City about an hour. Private pilots can land at Frankfort Dow Memorial Field, just outside town.

Downtown, the beach and the harbor are all close together, so park once and walk.

• Bikes. The paved west end of the Betsie Valley Trail starts on the waterfront and runs past Elberta to Crystal Lake. Coastline Cycles and Crystal Lake Adventure Sports rent bikes, and Bayside Cycles rents mopeds.
• Buses and shuttles. Benzie Bus serves the area, and Lakeshore Shuttle & Tours runs to Glen Arbor, Empire, Leland, Traverse City and other nearby towns.

Where to eat

Frankfort eats casual and on the water. These are places writers and local papers have singled out lately:

• Birch & Maple. A scratch kitchen on Main Street with a patio over Betsie Bay, where you can watch boats come and go from the harbor. Breakfast runs most of the day, and the French Toast Monte Cristo is the dish people talk about. It serves dinner and cocktails too.
• Stormcloud Brewing Company. Belgian-inspired ales on Main Street since 2013, with flatbread pizzas and a beer pairing suggested for each dish. It keeps a calendar of trivia and music into the winter.
• Dinghy’s Restaurant & Bar. A casual downtown standby at 415 Main Street for more than thirty years, with car ferry signs and fish mounts on the walls. It is known for house-smoked meats: ribs, pulled pork and smoked wings, plus a Friday fish fry. It lists breakfast on some weekdays and brunch on weekends; check the days before you go.
• The Cabbage Shed. Across the harbor in Elberta, a bar and restaurant on Betsie Bay since 1985, known for its borscht, live music and indoor and outdoor seating. It is seasonal, from mid-April to late October.
• The Patch. A quick lunch counter off Main Street, opened in May 2026 by the Cabbage Shed’s owners, with salads, wraps and bowls, plenty of them vegetarian or gluten-free. Good for a beach picnic.
• The Scoop. The sweet stop: a family-run ice cream shop at 321 Main Street serving Moomers ice cream, made in Northern Michigan. It is an easy treat after downtown or an afternoon at Frankfort Beach. Hours are seasonal, so check before you go. For chocolate and fudge too, Kilwins is also on Main Street, at 413.
• Menus on Main. A summer food truck lot on Main Street next to the Betsie Valley Trail, with tacos, wood-fired pizza, barbecue and Lake Bowls for acai bowls and smoothies, plus live music on summer weekends. The lineup changes, so see who is parked there.
• The Nautical Grill. The restaurant at The Hotel Frankfort, for breakfast, brunch and dinner with a long wine list in a historic Main Street building.

For a cocktail, Furnace Street Distillery in Elberta opens its tasting room in summer, pouring drinks made with its own spirits. Frankfort-Elberta Restaurant Week brings fixed-price menus around the start of summer.

Where to stay

Downtown, The Hotel Frankfort has 17 themed rooms two blocks from the beach, and Harbor Lights Resort is on the Lake Michigan shore a short walk from the shops. On Crystal Lake, Chimney Corners Resort has cottages, apartments and lodge rooms on its own beach and lists a May through October season.

For vacation rentals and the full list, see places to stay in Frankfort.

Our picks

Frankfort Beach and the North Breakwater Lighthouse The beach at the west end of Main Street has a playground, public restrooms and accessible walkways to the sand, with the piers and the 67-foot steel lighthouse in front of you. Walk out the pier on a calm evening, and stay off it when the waves are up.

Point Betsie Lighthouse An 1850s lighthouse on the shore north of town, with a museum, a tower you can climb in season and a public beach next to it. The free lot fills on summer days, so go early.

Betsie Valley Trail Ride the paved west end from the waterfront along Betsie Bay and the river to Crystal Lake. On the private stretch along the lake, keep bikes slow and leave the dog at home.

Elberta Beach The quieter sand across the harbor, about a half mile running south from the Elberta pier. Park at the base of Bye Road. It has been undeveloped, though the village has been adding parking, a pavilion and toilets; fires are not allowed.

Crystal Lake One of Michigan’s biggest inland lakes, just north of town. Swim at the village beach in Beulah, where a marked area sits over a sandy bottom, and watch the wind if you paddle.

Green Point Dunes Nature Preserve A walk of nearly three miles round trip through forest and meadow to a Lake Michigan view, south of Elberta. Leashed dogs are welcome.

The Garden Theater A downtown movie house since 1924, with films, live events and the Frankfort Film Festival each October.

One day, and two days

One day. Breakfast at Birch & Maple, then the morning on Frankfort Beach and a walk out toward the lighthouse. Pick up lunch from The Patch or the food trucks at Menus on Main. In the afternoon, drive north to Point Betsie for the museum and the beach beside it. End with a flatbread and a beer at Stormcloud.

Two days. Ride the Betsie Valley Trail inland to Crystal Lake in the morning and swim at Beulah. Come back for an evening in Elberta: a walk on Elberta Beach, then dinner at The Cabbage Shed in season.

With a third day, head north into Sleeping Bear. Our Sleeping Bear planner covers the park, and the Sleeping Bear long weekend starts in Frankfort and ends in Glen Arbor.

With kids, and on a rainy day

With kids. Frankfort Beach is the easy day: a playground, restrooms and the lighthouse to look at, all at the end of Main Street. The Betsie Valley Trail’s paved west end is flat enough for kids on bikes, the Beulah beach on Crystal Lake has a playground and a marked swim area, and Point Betsie’s tower makes a good climb in season.

On a rainy day. Catch a film at the Garden Theater, then drive to Benzonia for the Benzie Area Historical Museum, in an 1887 church, with exhibits on logging, Lake Michigan shipping and the Ann Arbor car ferries. Stormcloud and Birch & Maple are good places to sit out a storm.

Best time to go

Summer is the beach season. The Fourth of July is the big week: the chamber’s Medallion Hunt releases a clue each day leading up to the Fourth, and on the day itself there is a parade, an art show in Mineral Springs Park, a sandcastle contest on Frankfort Beach in the afternoon and fireworks over the beach after dark. Check the year’s schedule, and book rooms early.

The shoulder seasons are quieter:

• Late spring. Restaurant Week brings fixed-price menus before the July crowds arrive; check the chamber for the year’s dates.
• September and October. Point Betsie’s tours are seasonal (check before you drive up), the trail is good for fall rides, and the Garden Theater hosts the Frankfort Film Festival in mid-October.

We’d pick September for a first visit, after the summer rush and before the seasonal places close.

Winter

Winter in Frankfort is about the outdoors around town.

• Snowmobiling. Benzie County has about 135 miles of snowmobile trails, and the Betsie Valley Trail east of Beulah is open to snowmobiles from December 1 to March 31.
• Skiing. Crystal Mountain is the nearby resort for downhill and Nordic skiing. Green Point Dunes is listed for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and people ski and snowshoe the Betsie Valley Trail, which is not groomed.
• Ice fishing. Anglers set up shanties on the county’s inland lakes when the ice allows.
• Holidays. The Holly Berry Arts and Crafts Fair brings handmade gifts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Many seasonal places close for the winter, so check before you drive over.

Hours, menus and schedules change, so check with each place before you go.