Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Traverse City
A bayfront city at the head of Grand Traverse Bay, with a walkable Front Street downtown, bay beaches, cherry orchards and two wine peninsulas close by.
Scenic drive · US-31
US-31 from Traverse City to Petoskey
A shoreline run on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour past Elk Rapids and Charlevoix to Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay.
Photo: Guettarda, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Between Traverse City and Petoskey, US-31 is an ordinary two-lane highway that stays close to the water for much of the way. It is part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, the signed lakeside route that MDOT set up in the 1980s with the West Michigan Tourist Association.
The drive leaves Traverse City along Grand Traverse Bay and heads north to Elk Rapids, then continues through small communities such as Eastport and Atwood. The highway runs right through Charlevoix, home of the South Pier Light and Earl Young’s stone houses.
From Charlevoix the road follows the shore to Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay. Summer brings the most to do in each town, while fall color makes the drive itself the point. Travelers continuing north can carry on toward Mackinaw City on the same highway.
The route
Map of US-31 from Traverse City to Petoskey
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Before you go
- North of Traverse City, US-31 is an undivided two-way highway that runs along or near the shoreline, not a freeway.
- The Lake Michigan Circle Tour follows US-31 from Traverse City to the highway's northern end near Mackinaw City.
Towns along the way
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Charlevoix
For boaters, beachgoers and first-timers: a harbor town where three lakes meet, with a summer drawbridge, a pier lighthouse and Earl Young's stone houses.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Petoskey
A walkable bay town for stone hunting, shopping the Gaslight District and riding the Little Traverse Wheelway, with historic Bay View next door.
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.
Stops worth making
Beach
Clinch Park
Traverse City's downtown beach on West Grand Traverse Bay, with a splash pad, playground, city marina and the TART trail running through.
Lighthouse
Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse
A red steel pierhead light where Charlevoix's Pine River Channel meets Lake Michigan, beside Michigan Beach and a favorite place to watch the sunset.
Attraction
Earl Young Mushroom Houses
Charlevoix's curving stone homes by self-taught builder Earl Young. They are private, so you see them from the street on a self-guided tour.