Soar Into The Weekend

Founded during the lumber boom on Michigan’s west coast in the late nineteenth century, Manistee has managed to retain old-fashioned small-town charm and lakeside tranquility.

This is the quiet weekend holiday you’ve been looking for. Whether it’s a meandering riverside walk with a cocktail in your hand, a challenging 18 or 36 holes of world-class golf, or a soaring scenic air tour above miles of sandy beaches, look no further than the Manistee area for your next fall getaway.

A town of about 6,000 people, Manistee supports a regional airport that offers direct flights from Chicago (ORD). Off season tickets can be as low as $59 for a one-way flight to Manistee County Blacker Airport (MBL) and the short flight over the blue vastness of Lake Michigan offers passengers an incredible vista of the horizon out the window. There are rental cars available at the airport, but the options are limited, so be sure to book in advance.

While at the airport, book a scenic air tour of the Manistee area with Orchard Beach Aviation. The 30-minute ride will only cost you $40/person, and there are two options to choose from: a flight over downtown Manistee and its Lake Michigan shoreline, or one over Onekama/Portage Lake. It’s a fun and affordable way to see the area and the aerial views are unmatched.

While the uninterrupted shoreline is a sight from the air, you’ll want to be on the ground to explore it. Manistee is the gateway to the storied M-22 Scenic Highway. Heading north, drive through miles of picturesque apple orchards and farm stands toward the small village of Arcadia. Arcadia is most famous for its world-class public golf club Arcadia Bluffs, which has two legendary 18-hole courses, ranked #3 and #7 in Michigan by Golf Digest. Even that new Paradigm driver won’t save your score, here. The north course (#3), a links design set on a stunning windswept bluff above Lake Michigan, has bunkers in excess of six feet deep.

After looking down on the world, prepare to look up. Lake Bluff Farms in Manistee is home to three giant sequoia trees, one of them, the Michigan Champion, is the largest sequoia east of the Rockies. Planted as seedlings in the 1940’s, the trees, native to a small area in the Western Sierra Nevada Mountains, are delighting not only visitors, but arborists as well, showing a genetic ability to thrive in colder climates. This is exciting news to scientists, as sequoias sequester carbon dioxide ten times faster than almost any tree on the planet. The Farms are perched on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan and the farmhouse on property is available to rent.

North of the golf club are several areas that are a hiker’s dream. First, just off M-22, check out the Arcadia Marsh Boardwalk, a 1.9 mile out-and-back trail where you’ll be able to watch hundreds of migrating waterfowl. Keep heading north to the Arcadia Dunes Baldy Trails, the best of which ends at Mt. Baldy, an open dune perched 365 feet above Lake Michigan. For an equally stunning view with a few less steps, pull over at the Arcadia Scenic Overlook where you can climb well-maintained stairs up to Inspiration Point.

Downtown Manistee has numerous shopping and dining options, and if you stop in one for a cocktail, you can take it to go! The ‘Stee Social District is a designated area including downtown and the riverwalk where anyone aged 21+ can purchase an alcoholic beverage from any one of nine participating establishments and sip as you explore the district.

On the subject of shopping, if it’s a gift you’re looking for, it’s worth the 20-minute drive to Onekama to visit MacBeth & Co. The store, housed in a repurposed 100-year-old feed store, has a distinctive selection of merchandise, from baby items to books to clothing and jewelry. Also worth the drive is a jaunt to Thompsonville to visit the Iron Fish Distillery. The distillery sits on 120 acres and grows their own grains to ferment. Along with a vast selection of spirits and craft cocktails for sale, they also have a kitchen that puts out top-notch food.

Where to Stay

Manistee may be a small town, but there are a number of surprising and eclectic places to stay when visiting the area.

Walkable to downtown Manistee and right on the beach is the new Hampton Inn & Suites Manistee Waterfront. Though chain hotel and perhaps not as varied as others on this list, the Hampton Inn is perched right n the sand of the lakeshore. Only a year old, the property is spotless and contemporary, and its fifth-floor restaurant offers spectacular views of Lake Michigan through floor-to-ceiling windows.

If you’ve come to town to golf, look no further than Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club. The Club has several links-side cottages to offer, as well as 26 rooms in two different lodges that overlook the course and Lake Michigan beyond it. The Nantucket coastal estate-style clubhouse is as upscale as any accommodations you’ll find in the region.