Happy New Year! I hope 2022 will be a great year for you. Here is my tip to you – watch less news and you’ll be a happier person.
At the end of 2020, the year I moved up north, I had a list of my favorite trails around Traverse City. This year, I’m doing something a little different – I’m listing the five most visited trails in the area. This is heavily skewed to trails in town or on the West Bay because that’s the area where I live. While I wouldn’t rank some of these as the best trails, they are the ones I frequent the most. Let’s start the countdown.
#5 DeYoung Natural Area
On Cherry Bend Road is the small but lovely DeYoung Natural Area. The 1.5 mile trails on the west side of 633 wind through the old farmstead of the DeYoung family. It is mostly a field trails with a smidgeon of woods thrown in for good measure, and a stream run along the southern section of the trail. This has been my go-to trail when I need a trail break on my lunch hour.
#4 Hickory Meadows
Nestled between M-72 and Randolph Street is Hickory Meadows. A bit larger than DeYoung, it is correspondingly more busy. The main trails is a wide path through a meadow, and though you aren’t required to visit with an dog, it feels like this is the rule. The southern half of the trail is mostly fields while the northern part is mostly forested hills. You can even spot the West Bay and Old Mission from one of the trail high points.
#3 Boardman River Trail
One of my favorite trails from my inaugural year in Traverse City has remained on the list of most-visited trails. You really can’t go wrong with this one. Starting at the YMCA parking lot on South Airport, if you were to follow it to the end, you could walk all the way to Beitner Road, with views of the Boardman River all along the way. Fantastic scenery of the river valley abound.
Boardman River Trail
#2 Boardman Lake Trail
This trail brings me home with fond memories of our first few months living in TC on Eighth Street. The trails almost encircles the Boardman Lake, but by the summer, that “almost” will become a “does” with the completion of the trail behind NMC on Cass and at Logan’s Landing at Medalie Park. Plenty of places to park to get access to the trail.
#1 Leelanau Trail
This trail will be my most visited trail every year. Living less than a mile away, in every season it’s the most convenient place for my walking needs. It is also the best place in the area for a bike ride, of which I do a lot during the summer. Though the area close to town are quite busy, the farther north you get, the less traffic you encounter. The pavement is pristine which makes a road cyclist like me very happy. Because it was once a railroad track, the inclines are very manageable even for less experienced cyclists.
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