Just spent a week at the campground. Very clean facility and good staff. The restrooms need a…read morerefresh but the showers were good!

We stopped here to break up our trip on the way home from up north. I'd love to go back! The Old…read moreGrowth Trail was lovely to walk through in the fall. There's a cute little logging museum along the way. I loved the beautiful juxtaposition of the fall leaves with the pines and hemlocks. The path is fully paved, and a nice walk for a quick stop along I75 between Ann Arbor and up north. I'd love to go back there.

One of our hands-down favorite places to hike. There's tons of hike-in camping spots along the…read more11-mile hiking trail, which largely follows the shoreline of the Manistee River with a few inland jaunts on a few of the oxbows. Despite being fairly well known, it's pretty pristine and doesn't feel overly busy but it's also never completely vacant. The river views are lovely, there's plenty of wildlife (great fishing & birdwatching), and there's a cliff swing over the water (huge adrenaline rush for this 43-year-old) on an off-shoot path just past the suspension bridge and a waterfall at mile 3.5 if you're coming from the north. You can return on the main path or on the other side of the river on a section of the North Country Trail.

What a great hiking trail! Parking wasn't bad at Red River Bridge Access…read moreOnce on the trail it is well marked. Campsites were clean and it looks like the hikers who enjoy the trail take good care of it. I didn't see one bit of trash the whole day. It was pretty busy, with folks heading both directions, everyone was very friendly and they all seemed to be enjoying the day! The views are beautiful. Absolutely the best hiking we have done in the lower peninsula. We will absolutely be back!

This is such an absolute gem of a place! We love visiting these gardens whenever we are in town…read more They are so well maintained, and the volunteers are so friendly and love to share their knowledge about both the plants and the history. It is a perfect opportunity to learn and stretch your legs. Festival it is free to walk around the grounds and take in the breathtaking views that this site provides here in the shadows of the spires of this former state hospital. The children's garden, fairy garden and Japanese gardens are all breathtakingly, beautiful, and fun to explore how fortunate the city is to have Such a place to retreat to.

It is totally free, including guided tours. They do request donations as the place is fully funded…read moreby donations and grants. They have a large grounds with a lot of different gardens and the old farm buildings being repurposed. The history of the place is interesting: The land was initially part of the Grand Traverse Commons, which was once the site of the Traverse City State Hospital, a mental institution. They have healing gardens, labyrinth, fairy garden, Asian garden, fire resistant garden, community garden, etc... they also have a lot of trails and a self guided tour with a map. The guided tours are done by volunteers.

This is a fun walking/biking path near downtown Petoskey that makes you feel as if you have left…read morethe city for the woods also instantly. There is a creek/river running through the middle of the trail so you can walk in either side and get plenty of nature experience. The trail is quite lengthy so choosing how long to go is the only tough choice as each bend in the trail provides a new vista. I loved how the rushing water masked any city noises, and it did feel as if you were out in deep woods. It was nicely shaded and yet the sunlight streamed through for a gorgeous view. We have been here several times and highly recommend a visit for a short or long walk!

Husband loved fishing here. He waded into the shallower part of the stream but loved fishing off…read morethe rocks near the deeper faster rapids! I sat with a book and enjoyed the atmosphere. Feels like you're in a forest, the river and trees drown out any traffic noise! We'll definitely come again on our next visit up here.

A very pleasant little State Park located on if course Ostego Lake. The view is spectacular. When…read moreyou drive in the beach is in front of you and is very nice. However what you can't see right away is there are no dogs allowed on that beach. Which we were told off by the staff. However it turns out they do have a Dog Beach. The bad news is, it is horribly labeled. Signs don't cost that much how about a little help! Anyways you follow the path North from the parking lot, starting behind the Bathrooms. You'll walk about a half mile and finally see the one sign Dog Beach with an arrow down the stairs. Once you get down the stairs you immediately see a sign that says no dogs on Beach, that's it. So you continue going North and about a quarter to a third of a mile down you'll see a dog baggy station, so I guess at that point you've arrived. Anyways the view here is also spectacular and they have benches. This us always a big plus to me and I wish all beaches had benches! The Dog loved it and thought everything smelled intriguing. Overall a 4 star review. Needs better signage, but a great place to spend some time. Would I return? Absolutely!

This park is local for me. The campgrounds are kept up very well. They have a Store for your…read moreconvenience. The lake is beautiful and they keep the sand clean. I like to sit in the wooden chairs in front of the Store and just kick back. With my license plate sticker, they just wave me on through. They had to do a lot of work after the freeze when all the branches came down so they haven't been as available while they do the cleanup. I'll always be back here.

If you're visiting Traverse City, you need to drive up to Old Mission Lighthouse Park! We came on a…read moreSaturday and it wasn't super crowded. The beach was absolutely beautiful. The water was super clear and shallow. You could walk far out into the water and the it would still only be a little bit above your knees. It's the perfect place to just relax and enjoy the nature. It was a little too chilly to swim when we came, but I would have loved to come back to enjoy the water more. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to come back during this trip, so maybe next time! To go up to the historic lighthouse, it costs money but you can go inside on the bottom floor to view the gift shop and infographics for free. We chose not to go up because it didn't seem worth the money.

This is a gorgeous spot in the Traverse City area! Beautiful clear waters with ample beach space…read moreand shaded areas. The beach was very clean and well kept. The shallow water allows for wading in and just enjoying the surroundings. The water isn't deep enough to swim for quite a ways so if you're looking for a swimming area I would go elsewhere! Parking is somewhat limited depending on what time you arrive. We got to the beach around 1:30pm and parking was a little hard to find. This doubles as a dog beach so there were plenty of dogs here as well! As a first time visitor to the traverse city area, I would definitely return to this spot!

Pretty park near the Northwestern Michigan Campus. The beach was had a lot of rocks and some boats…read moreanchored in the water. But theres a nice playground, restrooms and plenty of sand for families to enjoy.

Perfect quick trip to the beach. We live in TC and we go to the beach for a few hours here and…read morethere. Small beach with a small swimming area for my little kids. Playground and restrooms all nearby. A little hidden from the main road. Turn at the 8th at light. 7-11 is just up the road for slurpees!

Such a cute park at the end of downtown Traverse City and the start/base of Old Mission peninsula!…read moreI wanted to find a park where I could pull up and get a great view just from the parking lot and Bryant Park delivered! They have a small parking lot (I think there's more parking the further up into Old Mission peninsula you go), but the parking lot I pulled up in is relatively small, but also on a Saturday evening, there were plenty of people coming and going and eventually I was able to get one of the spots that faces right up to the beach. I rolled my windows down and just enjoy the sounds of the waves, people running about, and read my book and ate my dinner while I waited for the sunset! It was wonderful and exactly what I wanted! Thanks Bryant Park! It looks like there's also a part of this beach that is dog friendly if you keep to the left side fencing of the beach from this parking lot and once it opens up closer to shore, keep left and there'll be a whole strip where the dogs are allowed to play. I love that!!

The beach was a lot of fun for the family and there was a playground near to the beach as well as…read morerestrooms. We went around 7pm in the evening and loved playing in the sand.