Traverse City Travel Blog

Traverse City Tourism is now on Tik Tok! We are excited to spread our love for our region across this new platform. We love highlighting the hidden gems, historic landmarks, and favorite adventures of Traverse City in new ways and we can't wait to bring you along for the ride. Take a look below for a Q/A of what to expect with our new platform presence! 

By MIKE NORTON

Spring is on the way -- you know it is! The days are getting a little longer, the nights are getting a little shorter, the sap is starting to run in the sugar maples and the birds are beginning to make cheerful noises in the yard. So just to help you keep your spirits up and help you

There are advantages to taking a color tour by car. You can cover a lot of ground -- and you don’t have to worry that windy, cold or rainy weather will ruin your experience. (Although sometimes I think a little rain can actually make the colors look brighter.) But the best way to experience the full sensory overload of autumn -- the sound and smell of those new-fallen leaves, the feel of the breeze -- is to get out and spend some time hiking or cycling one of our many trails. 

We've landed on countless lists citing Traverse City, Michigan as a mecca for the gastronomically enthusiastic traveler. But what makes our little lakeside town such a delight for the culinary tourist? I've narrowed it down to 5 1/2 reasons why I love our foodie town. 

If you've ever looked out onto West Grand Traverse Bay on a summer day it's fairly certain that you've seen a majestic schooner sailing through the waves with her sails raised high and her compass set for True North. Today, we're talking to Dave McGinnis - Owner, Senior Captain and the man behind

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

Looking east over the vineyards at Brys Estate to the frozen surface of East Bay.

By MIKE NORTON

It was a beautiful weekend on the Old Mission Peninsula. Blue skies were punctuated by an occasional flurry of snow, and Grand Traverse Bay was frozen solid: a sheet of unbroken white, bordered on

A sunlit Lake Effect storm seen from the Open Space on West Bay

By MIKE NORTON

Midwinter sunshine is a precious thing, and here in “lake effect country” it can be especially fleeting. So when that January sun peeks out – especially on a weekend – we tend to drop everything and get outside to

A Traverse City Film Festival crowd in the City Opera House.

By MIKE NORTON

It may well be the only opera house where no opera has ever been performed.

But Traverse City’s handsome City Opera House has hosted plenty of other events in its 121-year career: innumerable plays,