Traverse City Travel Blog

(All photos courtesy of Lake Michigan Whale Migration Station. No claims are made for their accuracy.)

The volunteers at the Traverse City Visitor Center can almost always come up with advice for baffled tourists who need directions. However, one question consistently leaves them speechless.

It’s the one about whale-watching tours.

We were heading down Port Oneida Road to spend the day near Pyramid Point, one of my favorite spots. Up ahead, where the road makes a quick turn to the right, stood a line of tall trees. Above them and around them, the sky was radiant with a brighter, whiter light. Even though you couldn’t see the water, you could tell by the light that Lake Michigan was there, just beyond the treeline.

It must be spring. I know because I heard my first loon last night. Far out on the harbor, that strange wild, half-crazy laugh came out of the evening mist.  Back from the warm places where they spend their winters, back to join us in the uncertain Northern springtime. I love those big birds.

Guest blogger Dave Barrons explains how the Sleeping Bear Birding Trail from Traverse City to Manistee makes it easier to find the area's best birding sites.

Let's start with this interesting set of facts: Michigan is home to the seventh most sought-after bird in the continental U.S. -- the

My front yard view -- how could I NOT get a boat?

By MIKE NORTON

I first came to Traverse City to be near the water. That’s not surprising, I guess; so do thousands of other people.

Water, after all, is what defines this place. It’s the beautiful backdrop for our family photos, the sparkling