Thanks to Craig Blakely for all info, maps and photos!
1. Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.
The cottage is on Crystal Lake, about 5 miles south of theSleeping Bear National Lakeshore, which protects about 40miles of spectacular shoreline from development. Itsheadquarters and interpretive center are in Empire, where youcan purchase weekly permits for $10.00 per vehicle. Here aresome of the many things to do in the National Lakeshore,with more detail at their web site: http://www.nps.gov/slbe/The Dune Climb: This is great for kids and worththe effort for adults. Once on top, you can hike tomore secluded dunes and draws off the trail. Withsteady winds from the west, it's a great place to fly akite. Bring lots of water.The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive: This 7 mile drivetakes you through some beautiful hilly woods tosome spectacular views and overlooks of LakeMichigan and Glen Lake. The observation deck sitsabout 450 feet almost vertically over the beach.Spectacular views: Empire Bluffs has one of the bestviews of the National Lakeshore with Sleeping Beardune in the distance. A few miles to the northeast,Pyramid Point overlooks the Manitou Islands fromthe tip of the Oneida Peninsula, a Rural HeritageDistrict within the National Lakeshore where theyhave preserved more than a dozen 19th century farms.Lake Michigan beaches: Esch Beach is one of thebest swimming beaches, but there are several other
wilderness beaches accessible by walking a mile or
two through the woods where you can picnic and
swim entirely away from other people. Boekeloo
Road and Old Indian Trail lead to such beaches.
Leland and the Manitou Islands: North and South
Manitou Islands, a few miles off the coast, are
accessible by ferry from Leland, a small town that
has preserved its old fishing docks.
Maritime Museum: The old coast guard station at
Glen Haven has been converted into a maritime
museum about how the Coast Guard rescues sailors
off of shipwrecks. On a clear day with binoculars,
you can see the 1960 wreck of the freighter Francisco
Morazan off the south tip of South Manitou Island,
part of the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve:
http://www.michiganpreserves.org/manitou.htm
2. Boating
The area offers many boating opportunities from canoeing down one of several local rivers, to sailing onCrystal Lake, to a cruise to see Sleeping Bear by water at sunset.Canoeing down the rivers: The Platte River has afast, tricky upper section near Honor, and a slower,safer section from the National Park Service PlatteRiver Campground down to Lake Michigan, which isa good place to swim. The Riverside Canoe Tripscompany rents canoes, kayaks, and inner tubes forboth sections: http://www.canoemichigan.com/. TheBetsie River also has a faster upper section and aslower, safer lower section. Hanmer’s RiversideResort in Benzonia rents canoes and kayaks:http://www.hanmers.com/canoetrips.html. About 35miles southeast of Frankfort is the Manistee River, afast, clean river with limited road access and longertrips. Wilderness Canoe Trips in Mesick rents boats:http://www.wildernesscanoetripsonline.com/. About40 miles northeast of Frankfort is the BoardmanRiver, which runs into Traverse Bay, with fast, clearwater.Kayaking on Lake Michigan: Sleeping Bear Surfand Kayak in Empire rents solo and tandem kayaksfor the big lake: http://www.sbsurfandkayak.com/.Canoeing on the big lake can be done only when it isinfrequently calm, but when it is, canoeing outopposite Empire Bluffs at sunset can be magical.Otter Lake and Otter Creek: South of Esch Beacha couple of miles is Otter Lake, a small inland lake
that is great for canoeing in the evening. Otter Creek
runs out of Otter Lake to Lake Michigan. Because it
gets very little human traffic, a family of Sandhill
Cranes has taken up residence there in the past few
years. It is a good place to go canoeing at dawn.
Lake Michigan charter boats: A company
operates a cruise boat out of Frankfort that goes
up to Sleeping Bear Dune on a 2 ½ to 3 hour
cruise twice a day, around 11:00 am and again at
sunset: http://www.sleepingbeardunescruise.com/.
The cost for adults is around $33.00. The sunset
cruise leaves around 7:00 pm in June and 6:00
pm in August. Frankfort also has many charter
fishing boats for those who want to fish for salmon
and brown on the big lake. http://www.frankfort-
michigan.com/attractions/fishing.htm
3. Watching the sunset and Fires on the Beach
On the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, watching the sun set over the horizon is one of the main forms ofrecreation.The Frankfort Breakwater: When the waves aren’ttoo high, the Frankfort Breakwater (and the one inElberta on the other side) is a great place to go. Thereare usually some serious fishermen who catchenormous fish. When the waves are too high to walkout on the breakwater, you can sometimes see peoplekite-surfing off the Frankfort beach. Good kite-surfers can race across the waves at 40 miles an hour,and use big waves to launch themselves 15’ in the air.After the sun set, it’s fun to go to one of the two icecream parlors on Main Street, and then walk aroundlooking at the yachts in the marina.The Assembly Beach: The Lake Michigan beach atthe Congregational Summer Assembly is a goodplace to watch the sunset. If you go to the south, youhave fewer cottages but steeper bluffs behind youthan to the north. You can have fires on the beach, ifyou can find any firewood, but fireworks and alcoholare not allowed.Point Betsie: About 5 miles north of the cottage isthe Point Betsie Lighthouse, which was sold by thefederal government to a nonprofit organization,which is restoring it. It's a great place to watch thesun set. http://www.pointbetsie.org/.The Zetterberg Preserve Just north of the
lighthouse is the Nature Conservancy's Zetterberg
Preserve, accessible by going around in front of the
lighthouse and up the beach to the north. It has a
beautiful sandy draw that leads up to a tall sand dune
with a great view of the lighthouse.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/st
ates/michigan/preserves/art17122.html
Wilderness beaches: Any of the wilderness beaches
in the National Lakeshore is a good place to watch
the sun set, but you should be sure to bring flashlights
for the walk back on the trail at night. Old Indian
Trail has a 2.5 mile loop to the beach and back:
http://www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/trailoldindian.
htm. About 3 miles north of Old Indian Trial,
Boekeloo Road on the left takes you on a dirt road to
a cabin that is just a mile from a deserted beach.
4. Other Attractions
There are several other things to do and see in the area, depending on your interests.Leelanau Peninsula Wineries: Because of themoderating lake effect, the Leelanau and Old MissionPeninsulas north and west of Traverse City havedeveloped more than 70 wineries in the past 3decades, 18 of which are on the Leelenau Peninsula:http://www.lpwines.com/ It’s a very pleasant way tospend an afternoon sampling some excellent wines.Bicycling: The paved Betsie Valley Bicycle Trail, inan old railroad bed, runs from Frankfort to Beulah:http://www.betsievalleytrail.org/tour.html. To thenorth, the entire Leelanau Peninsula, with sand dunesthat give it a gentle, scenic terrain, has become afavorite destination for distance cycling and the siteof several races. A detailed map of the peninsula withall the back roads is available at this web site:http://www.tourdeleelanau.com/downloads/CourseInfo.pdfNorthport Fly-In Pancake Breakfast: In Northport,near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, the littleairport with the grass landing strip holds a Fly-InPancake Breakfast every August, with several vintageairplanes. In 2011, it will be held Saturday, August20th, with a rain date the following day.Soaring: The coastal dunes and prevailing westerlies
make Frankfort an ideal place to go soaring. The
Northwest Soaring Club at the Frankfort Airport
offers rides in gliders when the wind is strong enough
from the west. http://www.northwestsoaringclub.org/.
Interlochen Center for the Arts: About 25 miles
east of Frankfort is Interlochen. It started out as a
national music summer camp but has become a year-
round center for the arts. They bring national talent
like Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett to their main
auditorium: http://www.interlochen.org/
Cherry Bowl Drive-In Theater: This family-
oriented, back-to-the-fifties drive-in west of Honor
on M-31 has become something of a phenomenon, as
evidenced by this picture of a couple getting married
beneath the “Monsters vs. Aliens” marquee:
http://www.cherrybowldrivein.com/index.html