[PuraVida]

This thread is for sailors to share information and experiences sailing the Michigan coast of Lake Michigan. Please feel free to share images, stories, local knowledge, etc... Next summer, I will be sailing from Grand Traverse to
Saugatuck and then back to Grand Traverse. After the 4th of July we'll set sail for Beaver island and then to Mackinac Island. Beaver and Mac will be new experiences.

 

[PuraVida]

If you enjoy great food and wine, make Grand Traverse a priority. Northport chich is located at the tip of the Leelanau peninsula is a beautiful little town with great food and entertainment. Visit the Lelu cafe if you like a very eclectic menu, but always delicious. The Garage is another good place for food prices are good and the whitefish is GREAT.
Northport marina is FANTASTIC. It's quiet at night, but regularly has free live music in the park on Friday evenings. Also, the grocery store is about 100 yards from the marina with a great wine and beer selection.

Just 5 miles south in Grand Traverse Bay is the VERY little town of Omena. No marina, but a great protected bay in which to drop your hook. You can also enjoy good food at the Knot Just a Bar. Well, those are my initial plugs for Grand Traverse. Who's next?

 

[schoolmarm]

Need to keep in mind when the Mac races are for slips at the island and Mac City. We have had great experiences at the municipal in Mac City. The newer one is also very nice just farther from town. The island is definitely worth one night. When you head south consider stopping at Portage Lake. There isn't anything much to do except the beach and ice cream parlor but one of the nicest harbor masters we have run across on Lake Mi. You can anchor at Pentwater easily too. Eldeans in Holland is beautiful but pricey and watch the surge! Be careful going into Saugatuck -easy to rub the bottom. Hopefully all this snow and ice will improve conditions this summer!

 

[Rhys05]

I am also interested to hear about cruising the Lake Michigan shores. Trying to decide whether to drag the boat up to Traverse City or over to Port Clinton on Erie this summer for a 1-2 week cruise. Have been to Leelanau before, and it IS beautiful..just a longer drive.

 

[ctl411]

Don't know what your draft is but Saugatuck is shallow. It would probably be easier to find a spot during the week. Plenty of room to anchor in Holland in several spots depending on wind direction.

 

[Sn0wman]

Suttons Bay, just south of Omena, is also a nice place to hang out at. Very nice beaches, plenty of art/tourist shops to mull around in, plenty of restaurants, shopping. Their is also the Inland Seas Education Assoc. Nice place to stop in, learn about the ecosystem, let the kids play with crayfish.

I also second Northport, and the Music in the Park, on friday nights. Nice beach, great park. The kids loved climbing the tree's and running around after a week of mostly being cooped up in a boat. Loved the wood fired brick oven pizza at the North End Eatery.