Things to do and see Near Crystal Lake:

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