Northern Michigan is absolutely gorgeous in the summertime!  Join us for a stunning tour, as we bike excellent trails through majestic scenery.  This is a trip with water views every single day – streams, bays, rivers, ponds, and of course, the Great Lakes Michigan and Huron.  We will meet in Traverse City and explore several trails in the area: the Leelanau Trail and the Heritage Trail in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.  Then we head north and bike the North Central Trail from Indian River to Mackinaw City, where we'll spend 2 nights, with views of Lake Huron.  One of the tour's highlights is our day on Mackinac Island, where you'll be free to bike the 8-mile loop around the island, look for the best fudge or take in the historical sites on the island.  To finish it all off, we'll ride the Little Traverse Wheelway, all the way from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix, yet another amazing cycling experience.  All trails are paved except the North Central State Trail, which is crushed limestone. 

Meet riders at our starting hotel - the Bayshore Resort on Lake Michigan in Traverse City for our introductory meeting and dinner.

16.5 or 33 miles – Today we will bike right from our hotel on the Traverse Area Recreation Trail (TART) and connect with the Leelanau Trail, biking north to Suttons Bay, where you'll find plenty of lunch options. Either bike back or hop in the van for a lift back to the hotel.

 25 miles – We van to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to spend the day. Bike the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail and/or take a van sightseeing tour of the dunes on stunning Lake Michigan. Lunch in Glen Arbor on your own, then we'll regroup and take the short van ride back to our hotel. 

35 miles – Today we'll take a van ride up to Indian River and bike the northern section of the North Central Trail. You'll have gorgeous views as the trail winds along the banks of Mullet Lake heading toward Cheboygan. We’ll have a picnic lunch at the Cheboygan trailhead. The ride northwest from there to Mackinaw City is through pine woods with occasional brief glimpses of Lake Huron. We bike to our night’s lodging which is on the waterfront of Lake Huron. 

Optional mileage – We bike and take the ferry for the scenic ride to Mackinac Island. It’s 8.5 miles on the road that circles the island, plus there are other routes that go inland, up and over the island's hilly center. The traffic here is horse drawn, foot traffic, and cyclists. Bicycle Heaven. NO CARS!

27 miles – We'll get an early start to van over to Harbor Springs and ride the Little Traverse Wheelway along the Lake Michigan shore down to Petoskey, which has a variety of eateries and at least one chocolate shop.  We'll stop here for an early lunch and then continue down the trail to Charlevoix. We will load bikes at the trailhead, then we hop in the van for the 1 hour ride back to our opening hotel in Traverse City where we'll say our farewells. It's been a fun tour!