Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes · Small town
Elk Rapids
For paddlers and boaters: a village between East Grand Traverse Bay and Elk Lake, at the end of the Chain of Lakes Water Trail, with a harbor and downtown.
Festival · Parade · Family · Elk Rapids
Elk Rapids Harbor Days
Elk Rapids' summer festival since 1955: several days of parades, car shows, races and contests around the harbor, ending with fireworks on Saturday night.
Harbor Days started in 1955 as a one-day fundraiser for the harbor and has grown into the village’s main summer week, with 2025 marking 70 years. It usually spans the end of July and the start of August.
Plan around Saturday if you can: that is when the Grande Parade, the races and the fireworks all happen. The dates can shift (2026 ran a week later than usual), so check the festival site before you book.
What to expect
The 2025 schedule opened with ceremonies during Evening on River Street, then added an art and craft show, a car show by the bay, paddle and running races, a pet show, the Grande Parade on Saturday and a boat lighting contest at dusk. Fireworks close the festival on Saturday night.
Location
Where Elk Rapids Harbor Days happens
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
The pin marks the town; check the organizer for exact venues.
About Elk Rapids
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Beach
Dam Beach (Elk Rapids)
A white-sand village beach on East Grand Traverse Bay beside the Elk Rapids hydro plant, off Ames Street, with a natural feel and a popular fishing spot nearby.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Lighthouse
Mission Point Lighthouse
An 1870 lighthouse at the northern tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, with a climbable tower, a small museum, a beach and trails around it.
About 7 miles away (straight line)
Trail
Vasa Pathway
Traverse City's big woods trail for cross-country skiing, with loops from 3K to 25K, snowshoe loops, and singletrack for mountain and fat bikes.
About 10 miles away (straight line)
Places to stay nearby
Hotel · Budget
The Dexter Hotel
On Dexter Street in downtown Elk Rapids
A small boutique hotel with suites in downtown Elk Rapids, a short walk from the village shops, the marina and the Grand Traverse Bay shore.
More events in and around Elk Rapids
- Cadillac Festival of the ArtsThree days of art in downtown Cadillac each July: an art fair in the park, an artisan market, a food fair on Lake Street and free music.
- Cadillac Freedom FestivalCadillac's Fourth of July weekend: a downtown parade, a car show, a 5K by the lake, a fire-on-water military tribute and fireworks over Lake Cadillac.
- Interlochen Arts FestivalInterlochen's summer season of concerts and performances, from student orchestras to touring headliners at Kresge Auditorium on Green Lake.
- Les Préludes at InterlochenThe free concert that closes every Interlochen Arts Camp season, with all three high school orchestras and dancers in the Interlochen Bowl. 2027 is the 100th.
- National Cherry FestivalA week-long July celebration of the region's cherry crop, with concerts, parades, an air show and free family events spread across Traverse City.
- Northport Dog ParadeAn August Saturday when Northport dogs and their people parade through the village in costume, with a new theme every year and prizes at the end.