Fall up north

After the summer crowds leave, fall is many locals’ favorite season. Beaches are quiet, the hardwood forests turn color and farm markets fill with the harvest.

It suits road-trippers, hikers and anglers. Around Traverse City, color usually peaks around mid-October, and shoreline trees often turn before inland ones. Near Muskegon, peak often comes in early to mid-October. Michigan’s tourism office says the Manistee area gets two fall color seasons.

Color drives

• The Tunnel of Trees. M-119 north of Harbor Springs toward Cross Village is narrow and winding with no center line, about 20 miles of it. Color weekends are busiest; a weekday is calmer. Detours from section closures have been reported; check before you go.
• M-22 around the Leelanau Peninsula. A self-guided color drive past Empire, Glen Arbor and the peninsula villages.
• M-37 up the Old Mission Peninsula. The bay on both sides of the road, past cherry orchards, vineyards and wineries.
• Around Lake Charlevoix. The color loop through Charlevoix, East Jordan and Boyne City, with a stop at Mount McSauba for dunes and trails.
• Muskegon County. Visit Muskegon’s map has three routes, including a Country Harvest route on quieter roads through farmland.

Around Cadillac, you can see the color from the water by paddling the Pine or Big Manistee River. At Sleeping Bear, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive closes to cars in late October or early November, depending on weather.

Salmon runs

From mid-September to late October, adult salmon return to the Platte River State Fish Hatchery upstream of Honor, and visitors are welcome to watch. On the Little Manistee River, the DNR weir at Stronach usually takes Chinook salmon eggs in the first two weeks of October.

Anglers crowd in below Tippy Dam on the Manistee River for coho, Chinook and fall steelhead. On the White River, salmon run in September and steelhead follow in October and November below the Hesperia dam. Coho and Chinook show up at the dam on the Elk River in Elk Rapids, and in late fall anglers line the piers at Grand Haven for steelhead. Buy a license first (see licenses and passes) and check current DNR rules.

Harvest weekends

Around Traverse City, September brings local apples, October brings pumpkin patches and corn mazes, and the peninsula wineries pour through harvest season, many on patios. Charlevoix-area orchards list u-pick apples, pumpkins and corn mazes. In Suttons Bay, harvest season brings wine events, fall wagon rides at area farms and a Fall Art and Wine Walk downtown.

Small-town October events fill the calendar too: Pumpkinfest in downtown Montague, a Halloween Spooktacular on the Village Green in Pentwater, Shoptober in Glen Arbor and the Frankfort Film Festival at the Garden Theater in Frankfort.

Fall events

• Mackinac Bridge Walk: Labor Day morning, starting from St. Ignace or Mackinaw City while the bridge is closed to public traffic.
• Late November holiday kickoffs: Light Up Downtown in Traverse City, the Glen Arbor Holiday Market on Thanksgiving weekend, the Holly Berry Arts and Crafts Fair in Frankfort, Aglow on the Avenue in Ludington, the Muskegon Community Tree Lighting and the Downtown Petoskey Holiday Parade.

What stays open

Schedules wind down through October; confirm before you drive over. Big Sable Point Lighthouse stays open on a reduced schedule into late October, and the Point Betsie Lighthouse museum stays open into October. The Grand Traverse Lighthouse in Northport stays open into November. Mackinac Island ferries keep running through the end of October, and Grand Haven’s Musical Fountain plays on Friday and Saturday nights in September.

Visitor preparation tips

• Fall color timing varies. Peak color changes from year to year and from the shore to inland hills. Follow local color reports rather than a fixed date.
• Hours shrink after the summer season. Some attractions, shops and ferries reduce hours or close for the season during fall. Check before you go.
• Scenic roads get busy on color weekends. Allow extra time and only pull over where it is safe.
• Hunting seasons happen in fall. If you hike on public land, wearing bright colors is a sensible precaution. Check Michigan DNR information for the areas you plan to visit.