5 Best Sights in Traverse City, Michigan

Visual and performing-arts exhibits here range from historical art to contemporary works by artists of statewide, national, and international stature. The museum's Power Family Inuit Gallery, a permanent display of sculptures, prints (including stonecut and chine-collé), tapestries, and drawings by the Inuit artists of the Canadian Arctic, is among the largest and most historically complete collection anywhere. An outdoor sculpture garden features works by Michigan artists. Also at the museum are a hands-on children's gallery—the Thomas A. Rutkowski Discovery Gallery—a movie theater showing Thursday-night films, periodic performances in the Milliken Auditorium, and an impressive gift shop.

Visible from many points along the peninsula, the lighthouse in Leelanau State Park is a distinctive landmark, with its white exterior and red roof. It has been a welcome sight to sailors, and guided their ships, since it was built in 1858. Visitors can climb the spiral staircase to the tower of the lighthouse, and its location at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula practically guarantees gorgeous views of Lake Michigan's and Grand Traverse Bay's shoreline.

One of Michigan's few remaining stands of virgin pine is protected in this 187-acre state park, adjacent to the esteemed Interlochen Center for the Arts, and 15 miles southwest of Traverse City. Snug between Green Lake and Duck Lake, it also has picnic areas, a campground, and activities such as swimming, boating, and fishing, while the mile-long Interlochen-Pines Nature Trail is suited for hiking and cross-country skiing. Established in 1917, the park was Michigan's first state park.

Self-guided historical tours here include a peek at what operations in the once-functional lighthouse were like during the 1870s. Perched on a small hill, the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933. Surrounding it are the 5 acres of wooded land and hundreds of acres of parkland of the Old Mission State Park, with trails for hiking, running, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing; there are also picnic spots and bird-watching opportunities. It's not uncommon to spot an "Indian tree" while on the trails; these were purposely bent by Native American as trail markers. Visitors can also check out the historic Hessler Log Cabin and walk along the park's beachfront on Old Mission Peninsula.

A replica of the tall ships that once traveled along Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay during the 1800s, Schooner Manitou is 114 feet tall and one of the largest tall ships currently operating on the Great Lakes. Activities on the 59-passenger ship include daily two-hour sails (at noon, and in the afternoon and evening) and a unique, floating, bed-and-breakfast concept with room for 24 guests (in 12 cabins) and including a full breakfast. The evening sail includes a picnic dinner. During September, multiday windjammer sails are offered.