What to do in Petoskey, Michigan
Let’s talk Petoskey! Just when I think I have my Northern Michigan “spots” all figured out, we stumbled upon this little slice of heaven. Naturally, I made a list.
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Petoskey is the ultimate place for beauty and relaxation. Petoskey means “ray of light.” You can see these “rays of light” reflected in the state stone, the Petoskey Stone, which is unique to this part of the world. There is also a bit of literary history as well but I’ll save that for another post. Tourism began back in the 1800’s; in fact, by 1900, there were enough hotels (14) to house up to 2000 guests. Perhaps one of the most famous summer guests was Ernest Hemingway (but again, more on that later). Without further ado, here is my list for visiting Petoskey.
Where to Stay:
While there are many, many options, I believe the top two have to be the historic Stafford’s Perry Hotel in downtown Petoskey or the Inn at Bay Harbor (which is part of Boyne Resorts and also a franchisee of Marriott, so if you happen to be a Marriott rewards member…). An additional benefit for guests of the Inn is enjoyment of the amenities of sister resorts, Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain; there is also a concurrent rewards program you can check out here). The Inn is a short drive or bike ride from town. Both are beautiful in their own way. On this trip, we stayed at the Inn. I have to admit, the views of Little Traverse Bay were pretty spectacular.
There are cabanas, a patio overlooking the water, hammocks, a pool, kayaks, bicycles, nightly s’mores and bonfires, and the all of the views I could wish for. It was hard to get motivated to leave the hotel to go explore the surrounding towns. When we finally left our Adirondack rockers, we discovered the Little Traverse Wheelway. This path is one of the top jogging paths I have been on. Just look at these views (again!).
Where to Eat:
We used the cinema-tastic complimentary hotel bicycles to ride about 3 miles into town. There may have been some singing of “In the Summertime…” from Wedding Crashers. Here are my recommendations for Petoskey eating…
Brunch: We enjoyed our anniversary brunch at Chandler’s. Chandler’s is an unassuming restaurant but is definitely one of the more upscale eateries in town (you can still show up in your athletic gear). You enter an alleyway bistro with lights strung overhead and a gas lamp burning. In addition to this eating area, there is also a more casual bar area in the building to the left and a fancier wine cellar for a swankier feel to the right.
Lunch: North Perk Coffee is a coffee bar that would be great for a light lunch or a latte to go. The inside is trendy and keeps with the Northern Michigan rustic feel.
Dinner: Palette Bistro offers outdoor patio dining overlooking the streets of downtown Petoskey or you can eat inside with stunning sunset views from the large windows. The food is amazing!
Where to Wander:
Above Chandler’s is the classic, Symon’s General Store, which was established in 1956. Since the beginning, the goal appears to be gourmet. There is a candy counter, local goods, and beverages.
We also discovered McLean and Eakin Bookstore and browsed in this book shop for quite a long time. The book store was impressive with unique sections, including Hemingway, Michigan, Book Club, and Staff recommendations. The staff was incredibly helpful. We ended up purchasing quite a few books that have nothing to do with travel or Petoskey, but also bought The Legend of the Petoskey Stone for our children.
And to go along with the book, we bought a couple of Petoskey stones from another cute store downtown. They even came with an insert about the history of the stone. Petoskey Stones are a prehistoric fossil and have a 350 million year history. We did stop to try to find our own stones in the bay and found some fossil rocks but were glad that we had our backup store-bought stones. (I later read that the best place to find them is in the spring on the shores of Lake Michigan.)
We decided that we couldn’t leave without trying at least one of the wineries on the Bay View Wine Trail. We chose Walloon Lake Winery and took advantage of the hotel’s complimentary shuttle service to travel to and from the winery. Just 4 years old, Walloon Lake Winery’s wine is wonderful and the owners are friendly, knowledgeable, and welcoming. Everything about the vineyard has been done by hand and kept within the family. From the vines to the building, this family has done the work. Even the beautiful ash table tops inside are repurposed from a dying ash tree that was cut down just around the corner from the winery.
Back at the Inn, we took advantage of the sunset patio views as well as the s’mores and bonfires. Sitting by the water, watching the sun explode before slowly fading beyond the horizon, and enjoying our campfire dessert with The Way You Look Tonight playing at the idyllic wedding celebration behind us, there was an unspoken understanding that life doesn’t really get much better than this.
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20 Comments
Beth Blum Burleson
I’m a SOuth Carolinan who as a child spent all my summers “up north” I love this area and even though I only make it up once every couple of years, it is a part of me and a secret treasure to those of us lucky enough to experience this beautiful area of north west Michigan.
Mackinaw Road
How wonderful! And, yes, I love that you described it as a treasure- it really does feel like you are discovering something so so spectacular 🙂
Kelly
We love Petoskey! I haven’t tried that brunch spot, definitely adding it to our list – thanks!
Mackinaw Road
So fun! We still want to make it back up once more before it gets super cold. Yes- Chandler’s was great (good Bloody Mary’s too ;)).
evagabrielacontreras
What a charming destination! Love the Bay Harbor Inn and their striped umbrellas, and the town looks quaint and serene… Thanks for sharing, Marta!
Mackinaw Road
Thanks so much, Eva! Yes, I love all of their stripes at the Inn, too, and the charm that carries all the way from the Inn into town 🙂
Priya Stemler
Love this post! My husband & I travel to Traverse City a lot but would love to try a new Michigan destination….Petosky is now on our list! Thanks so much for the helpful tips, especially accommodations and restaurants!
Mackinaw Road
Thanks, Priya! 🙂 It is worth the extra drive for a night, even if your main trip is in TC 🙂
Anjali Shah
We fell in love with Petoskey when we first traveled there for a wedding! The Inn at Bay Harbor was beautiful and the ceremony took place on the lawn on the lake front which was stunning. We really enjoyed Chandeler’s for the rehearsal dinner! Unique ambiance and loved the food. Definitely coming back to this city again!
Mackinaw Road
Sounds like we hit up all of the same places 🙂 Looks like a Petoskey vacation is in our future 😉
Queens of Virtue
I absolutely love the meaning of Petoskey. I only wish I could pronounce it lol. Looks like such a beautiful place. I would love to do a cross country road trip and I would so visit here when I stop in Michigan.
Mackinaw Road
Haha- that’s great 😉 It is stunning and definitely worth putting on your road trip map!
Jill R Buehrer
It’s pronounced Puh ta (like ta tas) ski …a VERY beautiful place to visit!! I long to get back there.
Mackinaw Road
It is amazing!!! We’ve started going every September for our anniversary and have had the most beautiful weather!
interNATionalcaty
How cool is this? I never heard of the city but there are tons of things to do. The city is also very beautiful
Mackinaw Road
There really is so much to do and so much of it allows for being outdoors and soaking in all that nature has to offer!
tanamerarumbai
You are the second blogger I know writing about Petoskey recently. I have to agree that the city is beautiful. And yes, I especially want to see the Petoskey stone.
Mackinaw Road
It is beautiful! The area and the stone 🙂 I’m on a mission to go back in spring and search with my kids.
Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau
Thanks for the great story about Petoskey. For those interested, there is a lot of information about the town and surrounding resort communities of Harbor Springs, Bay Harbor, Boyne City, Alanson and Walloon Lake available at http://www.PetoskeyArea.com.
Mackinaw Road
Thank you! Yes- http://www.PetoskeyArea.com is very informative and a great resource.