What's a winter wonderland without the white stuff?

A Press-Ready Travel Feature
From the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Michael A. Norton
Media Relations
(800) 940-1120; (231) 947-1120, fax (231) 947-2621
mnorton@VisitTraverseCity.com

Photo Credit: Traverse City Convention & Visitors BureauPhoto Cutline: A pair of snowshoe hikers pause to admire the view of Lake Michigan from an overlook on the Empire Bluff Trail in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, about 20 miles west of Traverse City. 

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – There are places in the world where people greet the onset of winter with glum resignation, snarling at every new snowfall and counting the days until the arrival of spring.

But residents of this hilly Michigan coastal community would prefer more snow, not less. In this region of gently sculpted hills and valleys, winter recreation is a good chunk of the local tourist economy – and to be blunt, Traverse City doesn’t feel as though it’s gotten its fair share of snow during the last few winters.

“I think we’re about due for some decent snowfall this year,” says Jeff Morrison, executive director of the city’s Mt. Holiday ski area. “Winter isn’t really winter without lots of good snow.”

Thanks to its miles of pristine Lake Michigan beaches, championship golf courses and inland lakes, most outsiders know the Traverse City area primarily as a summer playground. But winter is the area’s second busiest season – and once those fat white flakes start floating down from the sky, people start celebrating.

So what’s the attraction? After all, Colorado has higher ski hills, Ontario has more snowmobile trails, and St. Moritz is much more glamorous. Traverse City, on the other hand, prides itself on the diversity of its winter experiences (both indoors and outdoors) and on the sheer physical beauty of its surroundings. The region seems to specialize in presenting a wide range of quality winter recreation for a comparatively moderate price – which appeals to people who don’t want to spend an entire vacation doing the same thing over and over. 

 “There are people who come just because it’s Traverse City,” says outfitter Jamie Bush, whose rental company supplies snowmobiles to hundreds of visitors each winter. “They love the town, they love the casinos and the shopping, and they love being here at the lakeshore, even when the lake is frozen. Besides, you can get some really good deals on rooms here in the winter.”

When it comes to skiing, tubing and snowboarding, the region’s premiere full-service winter destination is undoubtedly Shanty Creek Resorts, a 4,500-acre recreational complex in the beautiful Chain of Lakes region about 30 miles northeast of Traverse City. Ski Magazine rated Shanty Creek the Midwest’s number-one destination in value, dining, lodging, weather and après ski activities. Its ski areas feature a 450-foot vertical with 49 runs for every ability level, plus four snowboarding terrain parks and a tubing park. 

Other skiers have discovered the fun of staying closer to town, taking advantage of low lodging rates and a broad choice of shopping, dining and entertainment options. For them, Traverse City’s two day ski areas, Mt. Holiday and Hickory Hills, provide a welcome alternative. Mt. Holiday is a community-run ski area just east of town with 16 runs, two chairlifts, a tubing run and terrain park, a pleasant day lodge, and awesome views of East Bay. On the other side of the city is Hickory Hills, a small municipal ski area nestled in a deep bowl of tree-topped hills less than five minutes from downtown that offers eight runs served by old-fashioned rope tows that hearkens back to a time when skiing was simpler and just plain fun.

The region is probably best known for the quality of its winter “silent sports:”’ snowshoe hiking and cross-country skiing, thanks to its vast acreage of forest and parkland. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has eight marked trails, some leading up to panoramic overlooks high above the lake. Other marked trail systems include the Lost Lake Pathway near Interlochen, the 3,500-acre Sand Lakes Quiet Area near Williamsburg and the Vasa Pathway, one of the finest cross-country ski trails in the nation. Within the city, the 300-acre Grand Traverse Commons features superb skiing and snowshoeing in parklike grounds among century-old, European-style buildings and stands of old-growth pines.

Snowmobilers tend to head south and east of town, where more than 200 miles of the country’s finest and most diverse snowmobiling wait for them in the enchanted Boardman and Jordan river valleys. There’s something for every taste – whether it’s twisting and turning through dense hardwood forests, touring over hills, bridges, and waterways, or racing across wide-open spaces with plenty of room to enjoy the fresh white powder. Best of all, both trail systems are close to Traverse City’s hotels, resorts and restaurants – an important consideration at the end of a long day of sledding. 

The Boardman Valley Trail, just minutes from downtown, is an 81-mile trail system in the Pere Marquette State Forest, where sightings of turkeys, eagles, deer and other wildlife are commonplace. The Boardman is also linked to several other regional trail systems, offering even more opportunities for extended distance riding. The Jordan Valley Trail, about a half-hour to the northeast, is a network featuring over 130 miles of spectacular trails not far from Shanty Creek and the picturesque village of Bellaire.

On the other hand, one doesn’t have to be an accomplished athlete or own a snowmobile to enjoy some winter thrills around Traverse City. Snow tubing, one of the nation’s fastest-growing winter pastimes, is offered at many nearby ski hills – and it doesn’t require much more skill than the ability to sit down, hang on tight and do a little high-pitched screaming as one hurtles downhill on a large inflated rubber tube. Timberlee, a former ski resort in the hills just northwest of town with breathtaking views of Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Leelanau, is Michigan’s largest snow tubing hill. They even have tandem tubes that allow friends and families to hurtle down the hill together, and an automatic lift to bring them back to the top when the ride’s over.

To learn about other winter adventures, activities and attractions in the Traverse City area, contact the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-TRAVERSE or on line at www.VisitTraverseCity.com