Visiting Leelanau State Park near Northport, Michigan – June 23 – 25, 2014
After leaving the Betsie River Campsite we had a nice 1 hour and 45 minute drive north on M-22 up to Leelanau State Park. The rain stopped, but it stayed cloudy so it was a good moving day. By the time we were all setup in our new campsite it was late afternoon and the sun was out. We just decided to relax for a little while and then have an early dinner. We had such a big breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe in Elberta before we left that we skipped lunch.
Leelanau State Park protects over 1,300 acres right at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. The park is split into 2 separate areas. The small part right at the northern most part of the peninsula has the 52 site rustic campground and a day use area by the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum. Access to the main acreage of the park is a 5 mile drive south of the campground. This where you will find all of the parks 8.5 miles of hiking trails and 1.5 miles of sandy beach along Cat Head Bay.
Leelanau State Park Campground:
We stayed in site 19 in Leelanau State Park. It was a nice site that was fairly well secluded out on the far end of the loop.
Looking at our site from the back. Most of the campsites in the lower part Leelanau State Park are fairly small.
The view of Lake Michigan from the back of our campsite. With the current lake level there is about 200 ft of vegetation between the campsite and the water. However, there were a few trails that did cut through to the lake.
The upper campsites were larger and many were surround by tall grasses. We assumed that this would make the bug situation worse up here. We had some mosquitoes by our campsite, but they were not too bad.
When booking our stay all of the campsites with a view of Lake Michigan were either already taken or would not fit our camper, so we had to settle our spot in the corner. If you can get one, I think that campsites 21 to 28 on the Lake side of the road are the best in the park.
The “lake” access area in the campground.
The girls usually are worried about the pit toilets when we rustic camp, but they were so impressed with the facilities here that they named it their “dream house.”
After dinner we biked over to see the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. The kids were more excited to see the playground in the day use area.
By the time we made our way over here the lighthouse and the gift shop were closed so we walked around the grounds and down to the water. In the summer the hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Looking back to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse from the fog signal building.
Regan tying to dry her wet flip flop after slipping in.
Reesey staying on the higher ground.
After checking out the lighthouse we let the kids play for a little while. It doesn’t matter how old or small the playground is, they must play on it.
The Leelanau State Park Map. If the map does not show about click here >>
Northport, Michigan:
In the morning it was cool and foggy so we decided to postpone our hike until the afternoon and go back into the town of Northport. It takes about 15 minutes to drive from the campground to town.
Northport is a great little town with a few restaurants, shops and nice park and marina on the waterfront.
Checking the caboose that is being restored near the marina.
After walking around town for a while we stopped at The North End Eatery.
The pizza here was excellent. The crust was on thicker side and very good. The girls were actually asking if they could have our crust. The sauce was fresh and must be homemade. They have several specialty pizzas that looked interesting, but no one else in our group was brave enough to try one so we had an all meat and a cheese. With the 2 pizzas for our family of 5 we had plenty leftover for an afternoon snack.
More reviews for The North End Eatery on Trip Advisor >>
Our plan for an afternoon hike was looking good because by the time we were done with lunch the sun was out.
e had to make one last stop at Barb’s Bakery before heading back. I am not sure how old Barb’s is, but when you step inside and see all the wooden display cases it feels like a place that has been around for a while.
We picked up donuts for breakfast the next morning. They were huge and still very good a day later. The next time we are up here we will definitely be back for a cup of coffee and a fresh cinnamon twist.
More reviews for Barb’s Bakery on Trip Advisor >>
Hiking at Leelanau State Park:
After stopping back at the campsite to get our hiking supplies we drove back down to the Leelanau State Park trailhead off from Densmore Road by the airport. All of the parks 8.5 miles of trails are accessed from this trailhead.
Little did we know that we were headed right into some of the thickest mosquitoes we would encounter on the trip.
We started out east along Mud Lake and then at the first intersection we went left and into the dunes.
Almost all of the intersections had maps and several had benches.
Our plan was to do a short loop and the spur trails that went to the overlook and the beach on Cat Head Bay. Even with what must be an unhealthy dose of bug spray the mosquitoes were still swarming us as we walked. To try and escape the bugs, mom and the kids skipped the trail to the overlook and headed straight to the beach.
This was probably a good choice because as you can see above the fog was back ounce again and there was not much of a view at the overlook. I took a quick photo and hurried on to catchup with everyone at the beach.
A bridge on the way to the beach spur trail.
Resting at the beach access.
Walking through the dunes and down to the beach.
The beach on Cat Head Bay. Unfortunately it looks like the shoreline algae is back again.
The trail from the beach back to the car is just over a mile. I didn’t get any photos because Reid was up on my shoulders so we could move fast and try to stay ahead of the mosquitoes. Above are the GoPro photos from our hike.
The track of our hike in Google Maps.
Find more on the hiking in Leelanau State Park in: Explorer’s Guide 50 Hikes in Michigan: Sixty Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks in the Lower Peninsula
After dinner the fog moved back off shore and the sun came out. Reid had fun cleaning all the rocks that he found on the hike.
Walking around on the rocks by the campground. The girls made game of trying to get to a spot without touching the ground.
Reese working on her Summer Bridge Book by the fire. She was already half way through all of the summer activities in 5 days of camping. The books were really nice to have for driving and when we wanted to have some down time at the campsite. Reid was excited that there was one for his age too.
Click here to see all Summer Bridge Books available on Amazon >>
Grand Traverse Lighthouse Tour:
The next morning it was time to pack up and move on again. Before hitting the road we stopped to do the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Tour. The admission is reasonable at: $4 for adults, $2 kids with 5 and under free. The inside was furnished similar to most of the other lighthouses that we have been in, but they did have a nice scavenger hunt set up for the kids to do.
Checking out the view from the top of the tower.
Looking for things in the lens room.
Reid and I walked around on the rocks down by the water while the girls finished the scavenger hunt.
Getting the answers to the last questions at the top of the tower. For completing the scavenger hunt correctly they gave the girls a certificate and a small prize.
More information on visiting the Grand Traverse Lighthouse >>
After this we got back in the truck and completed the final stretch of M-22 into Traverse City. We only booked 2 nights at Leelanau State Park and this seemed to be about right for what we wanted to do in the area. Our final stop was at Traverse City State Park for 4 nights.
Continue along with us to our final stop at Traverse City State Park >>
Our Favorites:
Best Hikes with Children in Michigan
With 3 small children this has become one of our favorite hiking guides. This is really a good book for anyone looking to get out and find short, but interesting hikes all over the state. Like all of the books written by Mr. DuFresne there are well written trail descriptions and nice maps of each outing.
Find the Best Hikes with Children in Michigan on Amazon >>
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