Fall in Charlevoix Michigan
The leaves have been changing, the fall vibes are in the air and we head to Charlevoix for awesome paddling, biking, hiking and more! Let's start with a three lake paddle that started on Lake Charlevoix.
The weather was perfect for a fall paddle, which is one of our favorite ways to take in the fall color. We started on Lake Charlevoix. If you have never been to Lake Charlevoix, it is 17,000+ acres which makes it the third largest inland lake in Michigan. One of the best parts about this lake is that you can go into Round Lake, which is where downtown Charlevoix sits, and then out to Lake Michigan. So that is exactly what we did. After paddling the clear water of Lake Charlevoix, we made our way into Round Lake. We always enjoy the experience of being able to paddle though a downtown area. One thing that stood out as we went through downtown was how delicious one of the restaurants smelled! Anyone have an idea of what it could have been???
@mi_playground 3 lakes one paddle ##miplayground ##charlevoix ##lakemichigan
♬ Mud Flow "the Sense of me" ( Soundtrack Life is Strange) - DOLKINS
With the conditions right, we were able to paddle down the channel and out past the Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse into Lake Michigan. After spending some time paddling in Lake Michigan we made our way back to end a great time on the water.
Next up we traded our paddleboards for our bikes and made our way to the Little Traverse Wheelway. This trail is 26 miles long and goes from Charlevoix to Harbor Springs with much of the route right along the shores of Lake Michigan. We passed many people searching for what had to have been Petoskey and Charlevoix Stones. We made a few stops along the way to take in the views and have a cocktail at Mammoth Distilling in Bay Harbor.
@mi_playground Riding along Lake Michigan ##miplayground ##charlevoix ##lakemichigan
♬ original sound - mi_playground
With a little bit of time before catching the sunset, we played disc golf at Mt. McSauba before making our way out to the beach. When we were in Charlevoix during the winter, we did the candlelit hike in this area so we knew we wanted to go back and check it out without the snow cover. After the sunset we made our way downtown and happened to walk across the Charlevoix drawbridge at the perfect time when the sky was still bright orange with the lighthouse in the distance. As we didn't plan for this exact moment, it really stood out as a highlight!
When it is fall and we want to see fall colors, we often go for a hike. It is a great time of year to be on the trails and there are a lot of great options very close to downtown Charlevoix. For this one, we went to the Charles A. Ransom Nature Preserve as we were told this is one of the best spots to get great views while standing 320 feet above Lake Michigan in the distance. Not only was the view from the parking area great, we hiked the 1.5 mile loop. Inside of the trail is quite hilly which makes for a fun hike. The colors on the tops of trees were great with fall color and there will still greens at trail level so there is still time to get our and enjoy the colors in this area!
That is a wrap from our fall visit to Charlevoix! We cant wait to return to the area and we have some ideas in mind for a future visit. Here is a hint!
Check out our full video from our visit to Charlevoix!