25 Ways To Enjoy Yourself In A Traverse City Winter

  1.        Strap on your  skinny skis.
Traverse City boasts miles and miles of groomed trails for cross-country skier. Two of America’s most popular ski races, the White Pine Stampede and the North American Vasa, are held here in February. And if you don’t have your own skis, there are plenty of  places where you can rent equipment.
 
2.        Enjoy some winter  wine -- and a microbrew or two.
Our intense, fresh-tasting rieslings, chardonnays and pinots are even better in winter than they are in summer – and that’s saying something! Ever tried ice wine? It’s a special wintry treat. And our talented brewmasters almost always have a special seasonal brew on tap in our brewpubs and microbreweries.
 
3.        Strap on your snowshoes.
Not everyone who gets out on the wintry trail is in a hurry – and for those of us who enjoy taking our time, there’s nothing better than snowshoeing! It takes almost no time to learn how to negotiate the snow in them, and we have many trails uniquely suited for the snowshoe crowd. Again, rentals are easy to find.
 
4.        Head for the (down)hills to ski  & snowboard.
Our gentle glacial hills aren’t the Alps or the Rockies, but they still can challenge the thrill-seeking downhill skier or snowboarder. Traverse City’s has two fine day ski areas, Mt. Holiday and Hickory Hills, while the slopes at Shanty Creek Resorts provide the region’s best full ski resort experience.
 
5.        Taste Traverse City cuisine.
It’s no secret that this is one of the nation’s up-and-coming “foodie” towns, where dozens of fine restaurants and world-class chefs compete with each other to create the most delicious dishes from our fresh local ingredients. And what better time of year to tuck a napkin around your chin and sample some of it?  
 
6.        Meet a real reindeer.
Reindeer aren’t just found at the North Pole; you can encounter them at Antler Ridge Farm in Williamsburg, Dave and Sandy Hoxsie have turned their century-old fruit farm into a cold-weather tourist attraction, offering horse-drawn sleigh rides over the snowy hills and through dark cedar forests.

7.        Get on a snowmobile.
Snowmobilers love the more than 200 miles of  diverse snowmobiling trails in the enchanted Boardman and     Jordan river valleys. There’s something for every taste – and best of all, the  trail systems are close to Traverse City’s hotels, resorts and restaurants – an important consideration at the end of a long day of sledding!

8.        Search for shipwrecks along the Manitou Passage.
Dozens of ships sank in the waters off our Lake Michigan coast, and winter is the best time to look for them because winter storms tend to wash their wreckage ashore. Check along the beach between the Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Station and Sleeping Bear Point, an area known as the Shipwreck Trail.
 
9.        Discover the Winter Wow!fest.
Every February for three days – on President’s Day weekend – Traverse City celebrates winter with games, competitions, music,  good food and drink, fireworks and fun. It’s the Cherry Capital Winter Wow!fest, and you don’t want to miss it!

10.     Look for wild creatures.
Winter is the best time to look for some of our best-loved  birds and animals; the lack of forest cover and the whiteness of the snow makes deer, fox, coyotes and bobcats easier to spot. Eagles, swans and snowy owls are dramatic winter birds, and open water attracts buffleheads, goldeneyes and other winter ducks.
 
11.     Become a snow tuber.
Snow tubing, doesn’t require much skill. Just sit down, hang on tight and hurtle downhill on a large inflated rubber tube. Shanty Creek and Mt. Holiday both have great tubing hills, and Timberlee is Michigan’s largest snow tubing hill. They even have automatic lifts to bring you  back to the top when the ride’s over.
 
12.     Take in a concert, or some comedy.
Traverse City is a town of performers – and winter is when we really indulge ourselves! Whether it’s a concert by the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, a set  with jazz great Jeff Haas, a musical at the Old Town Playhouse or a stand-up routine at the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival, you’ll have a great time!
 
13.     Paddle yourself around the bay or down a river.
Think you can’t play in the water when it’s cold out? Think again! Grand Traverse Bay and many of our rivers stay ice-free for much of the winter, and there’s no more beautiful way to enjoy the snowy landscape than from a kayak. (Just be sure you’re properly dressed!)

14.     Pamper yourself at a Spa.
A trip Up North used to mean “roughing it,” but Traverse City now boasts a growing number of luxury spas and salons that give new meaning to the idea of a North Woods retreat. Try the Lakeview Spa at Shanty Creek, the Elements Spa at Great Wolf Lodge or Spa Grand Traverse at the Grand Traverse Resort.
 
15.     Try winter disc golf.
That frisbee isn’t just for the beach anymore! Some of the most fun you can have in a wintry woods can be found at Traverse City’s Hickory Hills ski area, where a challenging disc golf course attracts crowds of  players all year round. (Use a florescent disc in case your shot ends up in a snowbank!)

16.     Practice your golf swing.
True golfers don’t like to give up the game just because it’s snowing – and now you don’t have to. The Winter Golf School at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa is open from January to April, featuring instruction from resident golf pro Scott Hebert,  the 2008 PGA Professional National Champion.
 
17.     Do a little shopping.
Front Street, Traverse City’s  main shopping thoroughfare, has more than 150 boutiques, galleries, restaurants and coffee shops. Just around the corner are the small but captivating Old Town district and the Grand Traverse Commons, where our  19th century asylum has been redeveloped into an elegant new retail center.
 
18.     Get some culture at the Dennos
Traverse City is home to one of America’s finest small art museums, the Dennos Museum Center. It features ever-changing exhibits from some of the world’s great collections, and its permanent display of works by the Inuit artists of the Canadian arctic is among the largest and most historically complete  anywhere.

19.     Watch the iceboat races.
Everything has to be just right – crisp, cold weather, thick  polished ice and a strong steady wind. But when it happens, the members of the Grand Traverse Ice Yacht Club pull their iceboats out and start racing across one of our long glacial lakes.  It’s fast, almost entirely silent and utterly beautiful to watch.
 
20.     Let the wind take you faster.
In summer, Traverse City is one of the world centers of kiteboarding,, a sport that harnesses wind power to pull you, across the water at high speed on a small surfboard. What’s less well-known is that it’s also easy to use kiteboarding gear to sail across the snow – on a wide meadow or the surface of a frozen lake. What a thrill!

21.     Take a stroll through the neighborhoods.
Traverse City is one of the safest and most rewarding walking towns in the US, and winter seems to bring out the walking spirit in us. On winter days you’ll see lots of local residents strolling the Victorian neighborhoods, the TART trail  or the winding roads of the Grand Traverse Commons. Join them!
 
22.     Go to the casino.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians operates two gaming establishments: the Leelanau Sands Casino near Suttons Bay and the Turtle Creek Casino Resort near Williamsburg. They offer entertainment, refreshments,  blackjack, poker, roulette, craps and other table games. Try your luck!

23.     Catch some fish
Traverse City is famed for its fishing, and there’s no need to put away your tackle when winter comes. In fact, for those hardy souls who are willing to venture out on the ice, the months between December and April can be the most enticing of the year. All you need is some basic equipment and a whole lot of patience.

24.     Join a pond hockey pick-up match.
 Never heard of  pond hockey? It’s a simpler, more relaxed way of playing hockey (sort of like driveway basketball) and spreading like wildfire. In January,   Traverse City puts on the Hockeytown North Outdoor Classic, and you’re invited to join in. Bring your friends and bring your skates!
 
25.     Do some indoor splashing.
Yes, Traverse City IS a beach town – and if you want to go swimming even in winter, many of our hotels and resorts have heated indoor pools. For an extra treat (especially if you have kids) book a suite at the Great Wolf Lodge, which has a huge indoor water park that’ll make them squeal with joy!