Petoskey State Park is another campground I have been wanting to visit for years now. Located between Petoskey and Harbor Springs on Little Traverse Bay, Petoskey State Park is connected to the neighboring towns by the Little Traverse Wheelway, a 26-mile paved bike trail. The sites at Petoskey State Park are all modern with electric at the site and modern bathhouses.
We camped at Petoskey State Park in the fall, the last weekend the Dunes campground was open for the season. We had a site in the outer loop (site 3), like I always try to get a Michigan State Parks and this one was huge and was actually pretty private, separated from the neighboring sites with trees and a brick retaining wall.
Petoskey State Park has a great location for seeing the sights of Northern Michigan. From the campground, we drove the famous Tunnel of Trees to Cross Village to try one of the most iconic restaurants in Michigan, the Leggs Inn. Maybe this is blasphemy for a Michigan travel writer to say, but I didn’t get the appeal of the Tunnel of Trees. There are other scenic drives in Michigan that offer better views. I did enjoy checking out all the houses along the drive, though. But if you’re looking for a great drive to experience fall colors, I much prefer Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in Sleeping Bear Dunes.
View from the Leggs Inn Lawn
While I wasn’t impressed by the Tunnel of Trees, the views at the Leggs Inn blew me away! Opened in Northern Michigan in the 1930’s, the unique building is a tribute to nature built with stone and wood. We were told it would be about an hour wait when we arrived, so we had some time to hang out on their lawn overlooking the lake and it was just beautiful! As a person with Polish heritage, I was excited to try their Polish food, a lot of which is not available at the typical Polish restaurants of Metro Detroit. Everything we had was delicious and we ate so much we were not hungry for the campfire dinner I had planned that night. It is important to note that the Leggs Inn is open seasonally, typically from May-October. To avoid long waits, I would recommend you visit on a weekday and at an off time. I was surprised it was so busy after Labor Day.
After a very filling lunch, we headed inland to Boyne City to check out the SkyBridge Michigan (left). Open a little over a year now, SkyBridge, the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge, is located at Boyne Mountain Resort. Tickets start at $25 if you buy them online in advance and allow you unlimited access to the chairlift and the bridge. The 1200 foot long bridge hangs 118 feet above the ground and I was surprised how many people we saw on it that were obviously afraid of heights. We were early for peak fall colors, but the view from the bridge was beautiful and hard to capture. The bridge itself reminded me of Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, but one big difference is once you walk across SkyBridge, there isn’t really anything for you to see or do on the other side unless you want to buy overpriced food or drink. I don’t think we spent more than an hour here from when we parked the car to when we got back. For me, its probably a one and done kind of thing, unless they add more to see and do on the other side, although the pictures of it lit up for Christmas does look pretty spectacular.
Overall, I enjoyed our stay at Petoskey State Park. It really was a great home base to explore the sights in Northwest Michigan. I would camp there again in a heartbeat! I would love to have time to explore the area by bike as well. Reservations can be made six months in advance at MiDnrReservations.com.
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