I stayed at this Skye House this past weekend with my family and we had my wedding on site at this…read morelovely home built in 1877. Heather, the owner of Skye house, went above and beyond to make sure that we had everything we needed for our wedding party of 22 people. Skye House was beautifully appointed with 6 bedrooms for our guests, a huge kitchen and living room space. The bedrooms were large and airy and all three bathrooms were all recently remodeled. Every bedroom had a closet or wardrobe for our clothing. Heather anticipated our every need, from chairs and tables to making sure I had the perfect blue-purple hydrangeas to add to my wedding bouquets that were just the right shade to getting me a curling iron last minute (which I forgot) so I could curl my hair before the ceremony. There were two nice fire pits, beautiful grounds courtesy of the grounds crew, and we were just a short walk from the beach at the end of the lane. The backyard was perfect for our ceremony and disco-dance party. We had our wedding photos taken with views of the bay and also in front of a stately, mature tree in the backyard. The front yard was exquisite with a native flower and rain garden, perfect for our wedding speeches, toasts and dinner. Heather is such a gracious and kind host. What an epic weekend Heather!! I will never forget my dreamy rainbow hippie wedding in Skye Heaven!

As you begin your search for a vacation house in northern Michigan, I implore you to look…read moreelsewhere. There are many rental properties in the area run by kind, respectful, and honest business owners. Skye House is not one of those businesses. They messed up our reservation by agreeing to 2 nights, when they have a 4 night minimum. Note, at the time of our booking this was not listed anywhere on the VRBO page and was not alerted at check out. Skye House accepted the reservation and charged our card. Then, they asked us to cancel so they could make more money. I understand it's the goal of a business to maximize profits. However, a reoccurring mistake on their part does not constitute a cancellation on mine. I'm so disappointed in the way this situation was handled, the lack of courtesy and respect shown to me and my party by the owners, and the fact that we now have to cancel our event in Northport. There are nicer options in the area (on multiple levels...), take your business there.

Stopped here on a whim to checkout lighthouses during our mini getaway. This beach did not…read moredisappoint! It was so calm and peaceful. Beautiful water. Hardly any people. The people who did visit didn't stay for long so we had the whole beach to ourselves. We had camping chairs in the car so we just put them in the water and sat right in the water and enjoyed the view. They have a gift shop and the only restrooms I noticed were portajohns. We built some rock towers but put the rocks back when we were done because some of the rocks had snail eggs on them.

Gorgeous park at the tip of the Mitten's pinkie finger. I got there shortly before a spectacular…read moresunset where the sky was all lit up with pinks and oranges and purples. I took a short walk where my friends who had camped there the previous night as well showed my the historic lighthouse and some message in a bottle painted sign that was very reminiscent of Steve "ESPO" Powers. I set up my trusty old dome tent and camped on the same site as my friends and nobody said peep about doubling up like that. I left out around 10:30 or so and didn't hit any trails as I had packed some snacks for late but no breakfast. Not much in the way of restaurants or groceries around here so I hit the road. Can't speak to the trails or day use part of the park but the campground and adjacent beach was beautiful.

Arch Rock Lots of…read morepeople here. All waiting for a photo. There is a restroom nearby also. You can walk/ride bike to this location or you can ride by horse carriage. Horse carriage is the easiest because you don't need to climb the 207 steps. Highly Recommended

Whatta sight! On an island full of beautiful geological formations, Arch Rock stands out from the…read moreothers because it overlooks the water and spans at least 50 feet. It's a beautiful rock! You'll want to make the effort to get up the hill to see it. You can walk up to Arch Rock, but keep in mind that it's all uphill! Or you can bike (again, uphill) or do what I did and take a horse-drawn carriage. Arch Rock, and the adjacent Milliken Nature Center are one of the stops on the horse carriage tours. You only get about 15 minutes to check it out, but how much time do you need to look at a rock formation, no matter how pretty it is? There's a deck that takes you out a little closer to Arch Rock, and from here, you can take lots of beautiful photos of the water peeking through Arch Rock.

such a beautiful drive. I actually live in California so seeing the trees beginning to change…read morecolors was really awesome for me. I was there at the very end of September and they had just started to turn. Peak was going to be in about two weeks however people told me had we waited until peak it would've been bumper-to-bumper. Traffic flowed nicely and it was just a beautiful. Highlights were Legs Inn, a few coffee shops that had some random farmers markets and just the beauty of the trees! I would definitely do this again it didn't matter what time of the year it is!

If you're into scenic drives and you sometimes ignore your GPS and go off-route in order to get to…read morecool spots along the way, Tunnel of Trees is a detour that you should definitely take. It's part of a route that runs along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan around Harbor Springs and it's super calm, has a rural/rustic vibe, and is just generally a really nice drive. It's also in the vicinity of the Good Hart General Store, so if you head this way you'll get a chance to stop there and check out their goods as well. Check it out if you're in the area or passing through. It's worth it!

This place was absolutely amazing--an old asylum from 1885-1989 turned into housing, shopping,…read morerestaurants, and offices while maintaining the original structure. I love what they were able to do instead of letting it sit abandoned and decay. The history of mental asylums is so interesting, and they offer 2 hour tours for $30 for those ages 12+. I definitely recommend the tour if you are into history, psychology or healthcare. The tour guide was great, and obviously a true expert in all things regarding the Traverse City State Hospital. The background and experience he had with it made him very trustworthy. He was also just a very funny and friendly guy. The tour takes you outside plus certain areas inside to showcase the restoration process. It also takes you inside of an abandoned and decayed men's cottage. You can only enter this building through the tour. Inside, the guide will show you around and you'll be able to see all the empty rooms and dining area and learn about the history of how they lived. You'll also go up into the attic to see all the pipes. Before the tour ends, the guide takes you into the old brick steam tunnels (which can also only be accessed during this tour). The tunnels are spooky and our guide even turned off the lights for us to experience it in the dark, plus try to catch some photos of orbs with the flash on our phones lol. Overall, it was a super interesting tour and I would definitely come back to do the one at night.

Huge property about 3 miles from downtown travers. A lot of shops and dining to explore while…read morewaiting for your tour. I came for a twilight asylum tour and heard great things about Trattoria Stella so came early for dinner at their bar. Love the dark vibe. Opens between 4-5 depending on day. The property is rather spread out so may be a bit hard to go back and forth of any difficulties walking. The hallways do seem wheelchair accessible.

Easy to get to. Free parking. We went to the harbor and lighthouse both nights we stayed in town to…read morewatch the sunset. This was a cute town to stay at .. several bars and restaurants. Perfect stop to look for the famous petasky stone. There is a rock beach very close to the lighthouse. They were finding small petasky stones.

The Mercato is a collection of shops in the now repurposed Traverse City State Hospital. I wouldn't…read morereally call it a mall, but I guess by definition it fits? Anyway, the shops are teeny tiny but pack a wallop by being beautifully curated and uniquely configured. I think I purchased more here than I have at any other shopping excursion I've had all year. They've got a shop dedicated to alpaca wool goods, a more gentleman focused shop called the Haberdashery, a pet boutique, a used bookstore, a toy store, and many others including my favorite of them all, Moonstruck Gardens, which is packed full of delightful art, stickers, home decor, and more. They also have dining options and a coffee shop if you're thirsty or a little peckish. The layout can be a little confusing but there's plenty of signage to help you along the way. But the beauty of it is just exploring and finding the fun around every corner.

What a fascinating place. The building and grounds are lovely. First of all the building is a…read morerefurbishment asylum. Some say haunted. They did a lovely job restoring this property. There are lovely specialty shops and a few restaurants. One of the restaurants is one of the most highly rated in town. The shops have some interesting handy craft work .. wood, pottery. Jewelry. Decorative glass. .

Smallest swing bridge in USA hometown proud…read more Alanson is a small town and it's our claim to fame

Beautiful piece of history wonderful fishing spot great staff always opens on time wonderful view…read morebeautiful river what can you ask for more

The views are great here. The wooded area is nice to walk through. We didnt get a chance to tour…read morethe lighthouse but the whole scenery is so worth it.

This is the cutest lighthouse! Many historical elements and artifacts inside. There is a nice video…read morethat explains the history of the lighthouse as well as plaques with more information. There is also a small Snow Owl exhibit which was a nice added touch! The gift shop has various trinkets for sale. All the staff were friendly and helpful! A nice stop in Traverse City!