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Camping Petoskey State Park

Sunset at Petoskey State ParkPetoskey State Park is another campground I have been wanting to visit for years now. Located between Petoskey and Harbor Springs on Little Traverse Bay, Petoskey State Park is connected to the neighboring towns by the Little Traverse Wheelway, a 26-mile paved bike trail. The sites at Petoskey State Park are all modern with electric at the site and modern bathhouses.

We camped at Petoskey State Park in the fall, the last weekend the Dunes campground was open for the season. We had a site in the outer loop (site 3), like I always try to get a Michigan State Parks and this one was huge and was actually pretty private, separated from the neighboring sites with trees and a brick retaining wall.

Leggs Inn Historical Marker

Petoskey State Park has a great location for seeing the sights of Northern Michigan. From the campground, we drove the famous Tunnel of Trees to Cross Village to try one of the most iconic restaurants in Michigan, the Leggs Inn. Maybe this is blasphemy for a Michigan travel writer to say, but I didn’t get the appeal of the Tunnel of Trees. There are other scenic drives in Michigan that offer better views. I did enjoy checking out all the houses along the drive, though. But if you’re looking for a great drive to experience fall colors, I much prefer Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in Sleeping Bear Dunes.

View from the Leggs Inn Lawn

View from the Leggs Inn Lawn

While I wasn’t impressed by the Tunnel of Trees, the views at the Leggs Inn blew me away! Opened in Northern Michigan in the 1930’s, the unique building is a tribute to nature built with stone and wood. We were told it would be about an hour wait when we arrived, so we had some time to hang out on their lawn overlooking the lake and it was just beautiful! As a person with Polish heritage, I was excited to try their Polish food, a lot of which is not available at the typical Polish restaurants of Metro Detroit. Everything we had was delicious and we ate so much we were not hungry for the campfire dinner I had planned that night. It is important to note that the Leggs Inn is open seasonally, typically from May-October. To avoid long waits, I would recommend you visit on a weekday and at an off time. I was surprised it was so busy after Labor Day.

Skybridge MichiganAfter a very filling lunch, we headed inland to Boyne City to check out the SkyBridge Michigan (left). Open a little over a year now, SkyBridge, the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge, is located at Boyne Mountain Resort. Tickets start at $25 if you buy them online in advance and allow you unlimited access to the chairlift and the bridge. The 1200 foot long bridge hangs 118 feet above the ground and I was surprised how many people we saw on it that were obviously afraid of heights. We were early for peak fall colors, but the view from the bridge was beautiful and hard to capture. The bridge itself reminded me of Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, but one big difference is once you walk across SkyBridge, there isn’t really anything for you to see or do on the other side unless you want to buy overpriced food or drink. I don’t think we spent more than an hour here from when we parked the car to when we got back. For me, its probably a one and done kind of thing, unless they add more to see and do on the other side, although the pictures of it lit up for Christmas does look pretty spectacular.

Overall, I enjoyed our stay at Petoskey State Park. It really was a great home base to explore the sights in Northwest Michigan. I would camp there again in a heartbeat! I would love to have time to explore the area by bike as well. Reservations can be made six months in advance at MiDnrReservations.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Trail from Above

Lighthouse Trail from Above

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Vineyard on a Hill

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Empire Bluff Trail in the Shade

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn at the Falls

Cumberland Falls

Camping at Cumberland Falls

Cumberland Falls KentuckyWay back in May we ordered a mini camper. Because of supply chain issues and high demand thanks to COVID, it took about twelve weeks for it to be ready. Both our summer road trip and our Labor Day Weekend getaway were planned with the camper in mind. Good thing we’re seasoned tent campers since our camper wasn’t ready until mid-September. I will post more about our toy in a few weeks!

There are no dealers in Michigan that sell this camper so we decided to take a road trip down to a dealer in Tennessee to pick it up. On the way back, we camped at Cumberland Falls State Park near Corbin, Kentucky. The campground at Cumberland Falls is very small. The campground only has 50 sites all together. The sites with electricity are very small and very close together. The maximum length for a rig on the site we were on is only 23 feet so that rules out most campers. The site was the perfect size for our tiny camper for one night on our way home, but I don’t know that it’s a place I would be able to camp at for longer than a weekend. What is great about this campground is how convenient it is to the falls. It is less than a mile from the campground to the parking area. If you are not the camping type, the park is also home to a modern lodge with a restaurant.

The 69 foot tall Cumberland Falls is known as the Niagara of the South. The falls can be viewed from many platforms accessible from the parking. The platforms each give you a different perspective to see the rushing water. Cumberland Falls is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where a moonbow is regularly visible. Similar to a rainbow, a moonbow forms around the time of a full moon over the mist of the rushing water from the falls. Visit the Cumberland Falls website for dates where the moonbow is visible at the park. Overall, I highly recommend a stop at this beautiful natural gem in southern Kentucky!

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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