SimplyOutdoors has somewhat of a treat today.  We have a guest blog from a blogger that all of you should be familiar with.  So without further adoo here is one of Kristine’s contributions to my Michigan Sanctuaries Series.

Arthur has been patiently waiting for a guest post from me for a while now, and I think I’m finally ready to provide one.

When he started his Michigan Sanctuary Series I volunteered to write a post or two, since I am from Michigan as well. He lives “downstate” and I live in Northern Michigan, so we were able to divvy up the places about which we wanted to write. There were a few “Up North” attractions that weren’t familiar to Arthur, so I said I would write about those.

One of those attractions is Old Mission Peninsula which is right in Traverse City, the town in which I live. Old Mission Peninsula is 18 miles long and divides Grand Traverse Bay into East Bay and West Bay. The peninsula contains approximately 54 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, and has some beautiful scenic drives.

One of the highlights of touring Old Mission Peninsula is the wineries. If you like wine, you can find a wide variety of very good vintages if you take the winery tour. I know from experience that Chateau Grand Traverse makes a great Late Harvest Riesling, if you like white wine. Many of the wineries also have events during the course of the year.  Chateau Chantal has Jazz at Sunset with the Jeff Haas Trio. Several of the wineries also band together to offer things like Blossom Days. These are special events that give the public an opportunity to taste wines and tour the wineries.

The Peninsula is also home to some great restaurants. One of the most historic is the Bowers Harbor Inn which was originally built as a summer retreat for a Chicago lumber baron. The Inn is now a restaurant and also comes complete with a ghost, which is reputedly the wife of the original owner of the Inn. Old Mission Peninsula is also home to the Old Mission Tavern, and The Boathouse. Restaurants range from fancy and expensive, to more casual and less pricey. There certainly is a lot of great food on the Peninsula.

Just in case you’re thinking that wine and food are the only things Old Mission Peninsula has to offer, I should also tell you about the great parks where hiking and biking is available. Peninsula township park has forty acres of forest and orchards that can be explored. The trails are paved and relatively flat, so it is a nice bike ride or walk. There is also Lighthouse Park, which features the Old Mission Peninsula lighthouse, which is on the end of the peninsula. The lighthouse was built in 1870 and was operational for sixty seven years. Currently the lighthouse is part of Lighthouse Park, although the lighthouse itself is off limits to the public and used as a residence by park employees.

The Old Mission Peninsula offers so many different pleasures. You can dress up and go out for an elegant dinner. You can spend part of a weekend touring the wineries and tasting all the great Michigan wines. You can bike or hike the trails or simply sit on the beach by the lighthouse and listen to the waves lap the shore. Whatever your mood, Old Mission Peninsula offers something for you to do and a lot of natural beauty in the bargain.

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