pure michigan

Traverse City, MI

Traverse City is a stunningly beautiful city nestled on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. It makes for the perfect weekend getaway, no matter what you like to do!

Cherry Capital Tips: 

  • There is a little airport here to fly into, or Grand Rapids is a two hour drive and Detroit is four.

  • Paddle for Pints is a convenient way to brewery hop, kayak, and see various parts of the city! Be sure to book far in advance!

  • While in Northern Michigan, explore the Leelanau Peninsula, the peninsula on the West side of Traverse City. Check out my guide to the area here! Check out my Frankfort recommendations here!

Adventures & Ales Top Traverse City Recommendations: ​​​

  • Get out on the water! I’d suggest kayaking, or renting a boat from Aussie Watersports!

  • 7 Monks Taproom: A great beer bar with a solid selection of taps along with food and patio seating.

  • The Workshop Brewing Co.: The best beer in TC! A large space with a plethora of beers and wines to choose from! They’ve also got a small food menu.

  • Jacob’s Farm: A delightful spot for pizza, BBQ, drinks, and live music on a scenic farm.

  • Right Brain Brewery: A stupendously large tap list, and be warned—the flights here are massive! Right off Boardman Lake.

  • Filling Station Microbrewery: Breakfast pizzas, beermosas, and a large tap list! Also right off Boardman Lake.

  • Peace, Love and Little Donuts: Fancy mini donuts! Yum!

  • Winery hop: There are 40+ breweries in the TC area to indulge at! They all make their own wine and some have quite the view to soak in.

    • My favorites on the Old Mission Peninsula on the East side of Traverse City are:

      • Bonobo Winery: Delicious wines, lake views, and a small food menu

      • Mari Vineyards: Set in a castle-like setting they’ve got a huge outdoor space with amazing views

      • Bowers Harbor Vineyards: Another great winery, you can wander the vineyards here which is cool. They’ve also got their own hard ciders!

    • For the Leelanau Peninsula side see my guide here!

  • The Little Fleet: A food truck park with a bar and outdoor seating. The place to be on on a weekend night!

  • Hit the course: Golf is super popular in Northern Michigan so pick a course and make a tee time! I enjoyed our experience at The Old Course at Sugarloaf, it was pretty inexpensive and was nice overall. Their Bloody Mary’s are absolutely superb.

Short’s Brewery

Other Things to do in Traverse City:

Leelanau Peninsula, MI

The Leelanau Peninsula is a gorgeous area of Northern Michigan filled with small towns to explore and surrounded by the gorgeous Lake Michigan!

Leelanau Tips: 

  • Visit between May-October unless you are a winter fanatic! Businesses also have limited hours outside of the summer season as a forewarning

  • We used Sutton’s Bay as a home base and enjoyed the ability to explore the whole peninsula from here. Sutton’s had the best “downtown” on the peninsula in my opinion as well, with several restaurant options and shops to wander

    • The beach at Sutton’s Bay is not overly impressive though, as a heads up

  • Be sure to get into Traverse City while you are in the area! Check out my guide to TC here! Heading a little further south? Check out my Frankfort recommendations here!

Adventures & Ales Top Leelanau Peninsula Recommendations: ​

  • Hop Lot Brewing: A cool ‘outdoorsy’ brewery in Sutton’s Bay. They have a plethora of games, a fire pit where you can make s’mores, and frequent live music.

  • Mitten Brewing: The ‘Up North’ outpost of the popular Grand Rapids brewery. Snag a flight on a cute Michigan shaped board! They’ve got a small snack menu (the pretzel is MASSIVE as a heads up!) as well as an onsite food truck. Located in downtown Northport.

  • Peterson Park: A great spot to hunt for Petoskey stones on the rocky beach or to catch a Lake Michigan sunset!

  • Tandem Ciders: An adorable cidery in a converted house. They offer a large variety of delicious ciders on draft and in bottles, as well as a small snack menu.

  • Sutton’s Bay Ciders: Soak up amazing views of Lake Michigan from this cidery. They’ve got a meat and cheese board if you’re hungry to accompany your ciders!

Peterson Park

Northern Michigan Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

  • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park: A gorgeous park to explore! The entrance fee is $25 if you don’t have a National Park Pass, which gets you access to both entrances (below) for a week.

    • Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive: A 7.5 mile loop drive with scene viewpoints and trails

    • Dune Climb: A must! If you want to go beyond the initial dune you see be prepared that it can be hot and intense! If you want to get down to Lake Michigan over the dunes plan 3-4 hours. It took approximately 45 minutes round trip to get to the top of the fourth dune where you have nice views of Lake Michigan.

    • Glen Haven is a historic little village with a beach that is part of the National Shoreline as well

  • Fishtown in Leland: Another historic little village with touristy shops, and you guessed it, fish!

  • Explore the Wine Trail! Northern Michigan is full of wineries! Be prepared that Ubers/Lyfts can be hard to get in this area so if you are planning to get “irresponsible” explore the various winery tour options

    • Mawby Vineyards: My favorite winery in the area! They have all sparkling wines which were delicious. Sex (yes that’s actually the name) is their best seller, but everything was fantastic!

      • Big Little Wines is next door on the property and has still wines if that is more your vibe than sparkling

    • 45 North Winery: Solid wines, a pretty view of the vineyard

    • Shady Lane Cellars: A nice outdoor area with glasses, flights, or tastings. This spot is one of the only wineries I’ve seen where you can do a tasting outdoors versus having to stand at the bar inside

Hop Lot Brewing

Other Leelanau Peninsula Things To Do:​​

  • Leelanau State Park: I was not super impressed, but the water levels were very high when we visited so there was no “beach” to wander so that could change the experience. The lighthouse is very average as well. If you don’t have a state park pass I would definitely not spend money to enter

  • Knot Just A Bar: A bar/restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan in the tiny town of Omena

    • Leelanau Cellars is next door and has FREE wine tastings! They have limited hours though so be sure to plan ahead!

  • Lake Ann Brewing: Located in Lake Ann at the bottom of the peninsula, this brewery has lots of outdoor space, frequent live music, beers, ciders, meads, wines, snacks, cabin-y vibes, and lots of board games

A Weekend Exploring Michigan's Thumb

The Thumb is a beautiful area of Michigan surrounded by Lake Huron and the perfect place for a weekend escape!

To best explore the thumb, drive M-25 around the coast with stops at the various small towns and roadside beaches along the way.

This route starts you in the furthest southeast point of the thumb, Lexington, and heads north, but you could also do this in reverse if you’d like!

Lexington

  • The Wind Jammer: A restaurant right on the marina with lunch, dinner and sushi.

  • Wander the cute little town full of shops and restaurants.

  • Tierney Park: Beach access with picnic tables

Port Sanilac

  • Check out the lighthouse and walk the marina seawalls

  • 4 mile scenic turnout: a roadside park with nice views of Lake Huron

Bird Creek Farms

Port Austin

  • Kayak to Turnip Rock: Rent a kayak from Port Austin Kayak & Bike and explore Lake Huron! Be sure to check the weather conditions as rentals are frequently cancelled due to the conditions.

  • Bird Creek Farms Restaurant and Tap Room: A farm-t0-table restaurant with a large selection of craft beers and delicious food. They have a very cute setup with picnic tables, string lights, hops, and yard games.

  • Pak’s Backyard: A beer garden and restaurant that is open seasonally behind Port Austin Kayak. It is a nice outdoor space with beers, cocktails, wine, and burger menu. They also have coffee, smoothies and pastries in the morning.

  • Port Crescent State Park: A beautiful state park with sand dunes, beach access, hiking trails and a Dark Sky Preserve. You will need a Michigan Recreation Passport to enter. It is $10 for a day pass for non-Michigan residents or $36 for an annual pass. Michigan residents can purchase an annual pass for $12 with their license plate registration renewal or $17 any other time.

  • Bird Creek Park: A nice beach area and park. They have a splash pad for kids, a boardwalk and bathrooms with showers.

  • Veterans Waterfront Park: Another area for beach access with bathrooms and a pavilion. Here you can walk out on the long jetty into Lake Huron.

  • On your way into Port Austin check out the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse, a historic lighthouse and park.

Brew Moon Caseville

Caseville

  • Brew Moon Coffee House and Gallery: A coffee shop with pastries along with a shop full of Michigan creators. They also have a cute back garden area!

  • Thumb Brewery is located here with a solid beer selection and full food menu.

  • Sleeper State Park: Another state park on Lake Huron. This is more wooded with different hiking trails. You will also need the Michigan Recreation Passport to enter here.

After Caseville there are a few small industrial towns and a plethora of farms, but no other great stops along the shore of the thumb.

Frankenmuth Brewery

Frankenmuth Brewery

Frankenmuth 

Frankenmuth is not technically part of the thumb, but if you are driving downstate it is worth a stop to explore this Bavarian Village! It is a very unique town with a bunch of different themed shops and restaurants to check out.

  • Frankenmuth Brewery: A solid brewery and winery with a full food menu.

  • Zehnder’s: A restaurant, hotel and splash village known for their family-style chicken dinners.

  • Bavarian Inn: A restaurant and lodge also known for their family-style chicken dinners.


Have you explored Michigan’s Thumb? Let me know your favorite spots in the comments! Cheers—Alexis

2 Days in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan—also known as Beer City USA— is one of my favorite places to visit! It can be overwhelming to plan a visit to Grand Rapids because there are just so many great breweries and fun parts of town to explore.

Check out my blog on the best breweries in Grand Rapids here!

I’ve put together this guide for a two day trip to hit the highlights of this fantastic Midwestern city. If you’ve got more time to explore check out my full beer and travel guide for Grand Rapids here!

The beer garden at The Sovengard

The beer garden at The Sovengard

Day 1: Downtown & The West Side

For your time in Grand Rapids I highly recommend staying at the AC Hotel Grand Rapids Downtown. This beautiful hotel is in the heart of downtown, it is walking distance to everything on the itinerary for day 1.

Start your day at Madcap Coffee right in the heart of downtown on Monroe Center Street NW. This popular roastery has several locations in the city and makes a delicious brew.

After your coffee, walk across the street for brunch at Littlebird. This cute little spot has delicious breakfast and brunch all day every day. Enjoy a breakfast cocktail on the patio with a sandwich or a toast.

From brunch walk around the corner to the Grand Rapids Art Museum for some culture. Tickets are $10 to tour the extensive art collection.

After the museum head to lunch at Grand Rapids Brewing, a quick 5 minute walk away. This is the city’s oldest brewery with great beers and delicious food. They’ve also got a game room in the back to have some fun while you’re waiting for your food.

From lunch walk 12 minutes to Atwater Brewery, right near the river. This is the second location for this popular Detroit brewery. They have a large tap list and are best known for their Vanilla Java Porter.

After Atwater walk 8 minutes across the bridge to the poppin’ West Side neighborhood! Your first stop is Jolly Pumpkin Brewing. This is another very popular brewery with quite funky beers.

From Jolly Pumpkin walk across the street to New Holland Brewing—The Knickerbocker. This is the Grand Rapids location for New Holland Brewing, based in Holland, Michigan. Be sure to try some of their Dragon’s Milk variants.

Dinner time! Walk up the block to The Sovengard. The Sovengard is a Scandinavian restaurant and beer garden with a farm-to-table menu and a plethora of beers and cocktails to choose from.

After dinner, choose your own adventure:

City Built Brewing

City Built Brewing

Day 2: The East Side & a couple of outliers

Decide how you’d like to start your second day in Grand Rapids—a full brunch or a delicious bagel: Terra is a yummy brunch spot or Terra Bagels, right next door, has bagels and bagel sandwiches. Both are located on Lake Drive in the heart of Eastown.

From breakfast head further East to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, a 12 minute drive. Tickets to this massive park are $14.50. Check out the sculptures, horticulture, and notable gardens.

After the park it’s time for lunch back in Eastown at Brewery Vivant. This brewery is located in the chapel of an old funeral home with a farm-scratch food menu and farmhouse-style beers.

From lunch walk 10 minutes to Outside Coffee on Wealthy Street. This adorable outside coffee shop has great vibes with frequent live music and Wealthy Street is a fantastic street to explore bars, restaurants, and shops.

On Wealthy Street be sure to visit Speciation Artisan Ales for some of the best beer in Michigan and Elk Brewing for a PB & J’ale’y on the patio.

After your time on Wealthy Street I would recommend dinner at one of the following options, all just a quick drive/Uber away:

  • Seven Monks Taproom: A fantastic beer bar with an extensive tap list and a menu full of sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, and apps.

  • City Built Brewing: A great brewery with a Puerto Rican Food menu.

  • Mitten Brewing: A baseball themed brewery with delicious pizzas and solid beers.

From dinner head to Arvon Brewing Co. for some of the best beers in the city. Arvon specializes in Hazy IPAs and Sour Ales.

That’s it! You’ve survived & thrived for 48 hours in Grand Rapids, Michigan— AKA Beer City USA! Have you been to Grand Rapids? What are your favorite spots? Let me know in the comments! —Cheers, Alexis

The Best Breweries in Grand Rapids

The Grand Rapids area has over 80 breweries making it a beer drinker’s Mecca! If the pure number of breweries isn’t enough to entice you that you have to visit, the city also was voted Beer City USA, Best Beer Town, and Best Beer Scene from USA Today and other national polls. Narrowing the list of best breweries in the area was tough, but I managed to drink my way through the city and compile the top 4 breweries below, in ranking order.

Check out my full beer and travel guide for Grand Rapids here!

Speciation Artisan Ales

Speciation is the absolute best stop on the Beer City Ale Trail and my favorite brewery in Michigan! They specialize in Wild Ales and Natural Wines and are the only brewery in the area to do so. Speciation has a unique approach to brewing and you can always expect funky and distinct flavors. Their taproom is located on the popular Wealthy Street in the heart of town.

Arvon Brewing Co

Arvon Brewing Co.

Arvon is located just south of downtown Grand Rapids on Division Street with a cute and cozy taproom that they opened in 2020. Prior to 2020 they only distributed their beers from their production-only facility in nearby Grandville, and they did not have any options for onsite consumption. Arvon was able to grow their name and flagship beers through this method, but having a taproom has really expanded their beer selection and boosted their popularity. They specialize in Hazy IPAs and Sours, but they do well with every style of beer.

Lost Art Brewhouse

Lost Art Brewhouse

Lost Art opened in 2020 and they are already taking the Grand Rapids area by storm. They are right across the city line in Walker, MI and are putting out some incredible beers! Their different variations of IPAs are definitely their strong suit—whether it’s a single IPA, a Double IPA, or a Milkshake IPA they do it to perfection.

Odd Side Ales

Odd Side Ales

Odd Side is located near Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, Michigan just outside of Grand Rapids. Their large taproom is a popular destination, especially in the summer months. Odd Side makes a wide variety of beers and are best known for Bean Flicker, a coffee blonde. Their Barrel Aged Stouts and Fruited Sours are the best styles they make.

Have you been to Grand Rapids? What do you think are the best breweries in Beer City USA? Let me know in the comments! —Cheers, Alexis

Check out my full beer and travel guide for Grand Rapids here!

Michigan's Best Breweries

Michigan's Best Breweries

The best breweries to visit in the state of Michigan! Brewery hop your way across the Great Lakes State. My favorites include classics like Bell’s and smaller spots like Speciation!