Every year, for our "Great Little Beach Towns" feature, we comb the country for choice destinations--those special towns where families can both get away from it all and find plenty to do surrounded by sand, sun, and water. One such treasure is Traverse City, a midwestern freshwater playground. If this whets your family's vacation appetite, we suggest you grab a tall lemonade, get barefoot, and read on to find out more.
DRAMATIC DUNES AND MORE
For years, our family drove through Traverse City, Michigan, on the way to visit relatives, stopping only to put gas in the car. As we cruised along the main drag, we'd spot families ordering tall milk shakes from a drive-in restaurant, playing miniature golf, and pitching tents at the roadside state park. And that was only one side of the road. If we looked to the other side, we saw people playing and relaxing on the beach of the East Bay.Well, last summer my husband, John, and I, and our children, Amanda, age 9, Trevor, 6, and Lauren, 4, decided to join the fun and make Traverse City our summer vacation destination. Located in the glacier-carved northwest corner of Michigan's lower peninsula, Traverse City stretches across portions of the East and West arms of Grand Traverse Bay, which brings Lake Michigan's crystal-clear, sparkling blue water into the city. The result is a town overflowing with freshwater recreational opportunities, more than 180 miles of sandy beaches, and proximity to the best sand dunes in the Midwest.
We chose the no-frills AmericInn, where the nightly summer rate for a spacious king suite is $112 to $159, as our home base. The hotel provided a complimentary continental breakfast, but we were on our own for lunch and dinner (call 800-634-3444 for reservations).
Even though the weather on the first day of our stay was overcast, that didn't stop us from kicking off things with a 90-minute Kids' Cruise aboard a 43-passenger catamaran owned by Nauti-cat Cruises. Amanda, Trevor, and Lauren hula-hooped on deck, blew bubbles to Disney tunes, helped raise the sails, and played skipper behind the wheel as the boat glided through the West Bay's calm waters ($13 per person; 231-947-1730 for reservations).
Having worked up an appetite on the cruise, we went to Detroit Red Wings hockey legend Gordie Howe's Tavern & Eatery for lunch. (Gordie still has a house near Traverse City.) The kids played air hockey, tried to spot professional athletes, and sat in the life-sized penalty box while we waited for our food. (call 231-929-4693 for food price range info.)
We wrapped up the day at Pirate's Cove Adventure Park, where the water gun-equipped bumper boats were a huge hit. "Whoever gets the wettest wins," declared Amanda. We also played miniature golf, and afterward, Lauren drove a miniature car (call 231-938-9599 for prices).
