Our house is located on Lake Michigan is the town of Frankfort, Michigan. This is a wonderful little waterfront town that is small and relaxing, yet provides access to fishing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, jetskiing, biking, golfing, skiing, hiking, dune exploring, and much more! We are just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes, rated the top most beautiful place to visit by ABC's Good Morning America in 2011.
It is easy to stay and spend your entire time at the beach, on a boat on Lake Michigan and downtown Frankfort. However, there are also some great activities around Frankfort.
1. Sleeping Bear Dunes - This is about a 40 minute drive north from Frankfort. Here you can explore miles of dunes, hike through the beautiful forests, swim in beautiful glacier lakes, play and swim in Lake Michigan, and visit the great little town of Glen Harbor for wonderful food and cute shops.
2. Platte River - This is located about 20 minutes from Frankfort. The river is set up so that you may Canoe, Kayak, or tube down the river. The river ends in Lake Michigan. At the end of the river is a state and local park that is a wonderful place to spend your day. Beautiful white beaches along Lake Michigan, a warm river to play and tube in, dunes to run through and explore, and a forest with hiking trails. This is a favorite for families with not only young children, but teenagers as well!
3. Wineries in near Traverse City - Traverse City is located on Old Mission Peninsula. Grapes are grown and there are many Vineyards that you can tour through for wine tasting. There are also bike trails linking you from vineyard to vineyard. The is an enjoyable days trip if you like wine.
4. Crystal Mountain Ski and Golf Resort - We are 20 minutes from Crystal Mountain where you can spend the day golfing, biking, hiking, eating, enjoying the water park, and one of the many festivals they have through out the year (IE: Beer and Brats Festival.). They also have a sleuge mountain that you can race down the mountain on!
5. Charter Boat Fishing - Frankfort has a number of Charter Fishing boats that you can rent for a few hours, or an entire day. The last 2 weeks of August the Salmon swim up river, and there is wonderful salmon fishing during this time!
6. Crystal Lake - Located 5 minutes from Frankfort, Crystal Lake is a beautiful spring fed inland lake that is around 9 miles long. Spend a day here on a boat or jetski exploring the south bay water area, or rent sail boats and enjoy a day of sailing!
7. Pointe Betsie Lighthouse - Pointe Betsie Lighthouse is located 5 miles north of Frankfort. It is a beautiful lighthouse situated in sand dunes on a point where you can see the Manitou Islands and Sleeping Bear dunes. The beach is beautiful and provides for hours of looking for petoskey stones, as well as swimming or relaxing on the beach!
8. Betsie Valley Biking Trail - 11 miles of wonderful biking along a river and crystal lake. the bike trail is either paved or gravel and is a great day trip from Frankfort to Beulah. Along the way, stop off at a beach on Crystal Lake and swim and relax. Grab a bite to eat in Beulah, and return home to watch the sunset in Frankfort.
9. Ice Cream Shops - Frankfort has 4 wonderful ice cream shops to choose from. The Cool Spot is located 2 blocks from the house, Moomers is 3 blocks away, and Kilwins is 5 blocks away. Grab some ice cream and walk down to the beach and relax on one of the benches on the board walk.
10. Restaurants - They are many wonderful little restaurants in downtown Frankfort. In addition, for restaurants out of town, don't miss Boone's in Interlocken if you like steak, and the Manitou if you like fish. There is also Giovanni's for great italian.
11. Fall Color Tour - Enjoy using our cottage as home base while you tour through the hills and Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore to enjoy the amazing color change during September and October. While you are touring the area, don't forget to check out the great little towns on Lake Michigan, as well as the wineries!
