Traverse City

Traverse City is the easiest base in the north: a walkable downtown on the bay, a city beach a few blocks from the shops, and two wine peninsulas on the edge of town. One full day covers Front Street, the beach and a ride on the TART. A second day takes you up the Old Mission Peninsula to the lighthouse, and a third is for Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Getting there and getting around

US-31 and M-37 run north and south through the city, M-72 crosses east and west, and M-22 starts here on its loop around the Leelanau Peninsula. By our routing estimates, the drive takes about 2 hours 40 minutes from Grand Rapids, about 4 hours 50 minutes from Detroit and about 6 hours from Chicago. See getting here for the routes.

Cherry Capital Airport is the region’s main airline airport, and our estimate puts it under 10 minutes from downtown. Rental cars, shuttles and BATA buses connect the terminal to town.

Once you are downtown, park once and walk. Front Street, Clinch Park and the marina are all close together.

• Parking. The two city decks, the Larry C. Hardy Deck on State Street and the Old Town Deck on Eighth Street, are listed as the cheapest parking downtown, below the meter rate. Street meters and surface lots near downtown and the waterfront have two-hour and ten-hour spaces, and you can pay with the ParkMobile app or coins.
• The free bus. BATA’s Bayline runs free along the bays and stops by the Hardy Deck. You can leave your car at the Park-n-Ride lots at Meijer or Walgreens on US-31 and ride in without paying for parking. Every BATA bus carries a bike rack.
• Bikes. The paved, flat TART runs 10.5 miles along the bay, through West End Beach, Clinch Park and downtown, and east to Acme. It is the easiest way to get between the beaches and town on a summer day.

Where to eat

Traverse City eats well for a town its size, and national food writers have noticed. These are places independent writers and judges single out:

• Modern Bird. A dinner spot on West Front Street, opened in 2022 by chefs Andy Elliott and Emily Stewart, with seasonal cooking in an 1890s building. The New York Times put it on its list of the 50 best restaurants in America in 2025, and the chefs were 2026 James Beard semifinalists. Book ahead.
• The Cooks’ House. A tiny, chef-owned room on Wellington Street, with about two dozen seats and a menu built on local and foraged ingredients. Chefs Jen Blakeslee and Eric Patterson were 2025 James Beard finalists. Reservations go through its website.
• Trattoria Stella. Italian cooking with a daily menu and a deep wine list, in the old state hospital at Grand Traverse Commons. It was the first business in that redevelopment, and its chef, Myles Anton, is a five-time Beard nominee.
• Farm Club. A farm, restaurant, brewery, bakery and market about 7 miles out on the Leelanau side, where most of the vegetables come from the fields around you. Good for a long lunch outside, or a stop at the bakery in the morning.
• The Filling Station Microbrewery. Wood-fired flatbread pizza and house beer in a 1927 train depot, with a patio on the old platform. It sits by the trail, so it works as a stop on a bike day.
• Crocodile Palace. Carryout-only Sichuan on Cochlin Street, where most of the menu leans on mala, the numbing heat of Sichuan pepper and chili oil. Take it to a beach for dinner.
• Higher Grounds Coffee Bar. The coffee stop: a bright, plant-filled cafe in an old warehouse at Grand Traverse Commons, with a big patio and room for your dog. The roaster lists free tours with tastings every other Friday; register ahead.
• Moomers. The ice cream stop. It opens for the season in March, and its busiest stretch is Cherry Festival week, so expect a line in July.

For breakfast, our pick is Red Spire Brunch House, at 800 Cottageview Drive in the Grand Traverse Commons. It is on the garden level of the Mercato, inside the old hospital building with the red spires on its roof, so brunch comes with a walk around one of the most distinctive settings in town. Downtown, The Towne Plaza on Cass Street serves breakfast in a former city courthouse, with a patio in the warmer months, and The Omelette Shoppe is the traditional breakfast, with omelettes and scratch-made cinnamon and pecan rolls, on Cass Street and on East Front Street.

Where to stay

Our Traverse City listings cover the main kinds of stay. Downtown, Park Place Hotel puts you on the shopping streets, and Delamar Traverse City is on the bay at the edge of downtown. Antiquities’ Wellington Inn is a bed and breakfast in a lumber baron’s mansion a short walk from Front Street. On East Bay, Cherry Tree Inn & Suites is a beachfront hotel with kitchens in many rooms, and Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme adds golf and a spa. Up the peninsula, Old Mission Inn dates to 1869 and is listed as open May through October.

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

Our picks

Clinch Park The beach you can walk to from Front Street, with sand, a splash pad, a playground and summer lifeguards on West Bay. Pair it with an evening on Front Street.

The TART Ride the bay on a paved, flat trail with no traffic. Head west to West End Beach or east toward the state park, and stop for pizza at the Filling Station on the way back.

M-37 to Mission Point Lighthouse Drive up the ridge of the Old Mission Peninsula past orchards and wineries to an 1870 lighthouse you can climb, with a beach and trails at the tip. The lighthouse lists hours from May through October; check before you drive up.

Grand Traverse Commons The old state hospital on the west side, now shops, cafes and restaurants. Brunch at Red Spire or coffee at Higher Grounds, dinner at Trattoria Stella, and a walk around the grounds in between.

Leelanau Trail Seventeen paved, flat miles through farms and woods to Suttons Bay. In summer you can ride one way and take a BATA bike bus back.

Traverse City State Park and East Bay With small kids, go to East Bay, where the water is shallower and warmer. The state park has a quarter mile of sand across US-31 from its campground and needs a Recreation Passport on your car.

Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market Saturday mornings from spring into fall, with a smaller Wednesday market in summer. Go early, since the best selection goes first.

Sleeping Bear Dunes The big day trip: west on M-72 to the national lakeshore, the dune overlooks and a swim at Glen Arbor. See our Traverse City long weekend for how to fit it in.

One day, and two days

One day. Start with brunch at Red Spire or coffee at Higher Grounds, and a walk around the Commons. Ride or walk the TART to Clinch Park for the afternoon on the beach. Spend the evening on Front Street, then dinner at Modern Bird or The Cooks’ House if you booked ahead, or carryout from Crocodile Palace on the sand.

Two days. Add the Old Mission Peninsula. Drive M-37 to Mission Point Lighthouse in the morning, climb the tower and walk the beach, then stop at a winery or two on the way back down. Finish with ice cream at Moomers. If it is a Saturday, start the day at the farmers market instead.

With a third day, go to Sleeping Bear, or ride the Leelanau Trail to Suttons Bay and take the bike bus home.

With kids, and on a rainy day

With kids. Clinch Park is the easy afternoon: splash pad, playground and a lifeguarded beach in summer, a short walk from town. East Bay Park and the state park beach have shallower, warmer water for little ones. The TART is flat enough for kids on bikes, and in the warmer months Mt. Holiday runs zipline tours; book those ahead.

On a rainy day. The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College has one of the most complete collections of Inuit art anywhere and a hands-on Discovery Gallery. Curiosity Place, powered by the Great Lakes Children’s Museum, is built for kids up to 8. Then go back to the Commons for a long lunch and coffee indoors.

Best time to go

Summer is peak season, and July is the busiest month. The National Cherry Festival takes over town for a week in early July, with parades, concerts and an air show over West Bay. For the air show, get to the beach 45 minutes to an hour early to claim a spot. Book rooms early for festival week. In August, Friday Night Live closes Front Street for a free block party on a couple of Fridays; check the dates each year.

The shoulder seasons are the quieter choice:

• May. Cherry blossoms open and tend to peak around mid-month, and May is Michigan Wine Month. The Bayshore Marathon runs along East Bay on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, so expect a busy weekend.
• September and October. Apples in September, pumpkin patches and corn mazes in October, and harvest season at the peninsula wineries, many with patios. M-37 is one of the local color drives.

We’d pick September for a first visit: the wineries are into harvest season and the July crowds are gone.

Winter

Winter is a real season here, with three ski areas and groomed trails within reach of town.

• Downhill. Hickory Hills is the city’s own small hill, a good place to learn, with a lighted cross-country loop. Mt. Holiday adds snow tubing, and Crystal Mountain is the full resort day.
• Cross-country. The VASA Pathway east of town has groomed loops from 3K to 25K, plus snowshoe loops and fat bike singletrack. Part of the Leelanau Trail is groomed when there is snow. The North American Vasa races run there in February.
• Snowmobiling. The region has more than 200 miles of snowmobile routes.
• Downtown. Light Up Downtown starts the holidays with a tree lighting and a light parade on Front Street the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Restaurant Week brings fixed-price menus in late February.

Grooming and ski seasons depend on snow, so check the trail reports before you drive out. If you want a pool in January, Delamar lists its heated pools as open year-round.

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