An Afternoon in Harbor Springs
Hi All and Happy Fall! While Northern Michigan is stunning in the summer, it is equally fabulous in the fall. We recently returned from a trip Up North and I really can’t say this too many times… Northern Michigan is one of the United State’s best kept secrets. We had wonderful, summer-like weather on our long anniversary weekend. Heading up to Petoskey, Bay Harbor and Harbor Springs is the perfect way to wave our sad goodbyes to summer and usher in fall. (Last autumn, we were able to spend a weekend in the same area and I created a guide that you can check out here. )
(This post contains affiliate links.)
While we revisited many of the same places that quickly became our favorites last year, we added a few more to our repertoire. This year, we stayed at Bay Harbor Village Hotel (click here to check it out) and had a few meals at Knot Just a Bar… The clam chowder was amazing with huge chunks of seafood.
This year, we also decided that we would like to venture farther on the Little Traverse Wheelway. We rented bikes from Latitude 45 in Petoskey (check them out here). Their rental prices were reasonable and the service was very friendly. On the way, we debated which way we should go on the bike trail. While Charlevoix is a definite favorite (see this post), 40 miles round trip seemed to be a bit more than was feasible in 4 hours. We decided that the 20 mile round trip to Harbor Springs would definitely be something we should try.
It was suggested that we stop at Petoskey Brewing Company on our way. Given that it’s always a good idea to break up the trip with a stop, we decided to give it a shot. Petoskey Brewing was the perfect place to stop, complete with bike racks to lock the bikes, an outdoor patio, bean bag toss, chili, burgers and a sampler of beer.
Then, it was on to Harbor Springs. I’m not sure we followed the bike path entirely upon entrance into the village but our wandering did lead to these gorgeous views of the water.
We stopped in for drinks at Stafford’s Pier Restaurant. It was a beautiful day to sit on the outside deck and observe all of the wedding party photos being taken on the docks.
As we had the previous year, we strolled through town a bit and then somewhat reluctantly (turns out we weren’t really dressed or in proper biking shape for 20 miles- haha!) we hopped back on our bikes to return to Petoskey.
We took several photos in Harbor Springs last year too, but I realized that I only shared them on my Instagram and not over here on the blog, so I thought I’d share some of the photos below. They are the perfect example of Travel-Inspired Design, One Trip at a Time.
As you can see, Harbor Springs is the perfect place to spend an afternoon. Of course, that night at dinner we went through our Northern Michigan destinations and provided our favorite aspects of each town. What about you? Have you been to Northern Michigan recently? What are your favorites and why?
If you aren’t headed to Michigan this autumn, check out this post for other great places to Chase Fall.
And if you’re curious about my “biking” outfit that might be better for casual biking or wandering around town, it of course is no longer available (except for the shoes) but you can find something similar (I like it just as much if not more) with the links below:
Pants (similar) | Top (similar)| Shoes
