Traverse City Travel and Things to Do Guide

Find Yourself in a Pretty Great Place

Historic and modern, rustic and refined, this is the dynamic lifestyle of Traverse City, Michigan. Known as the Cherry Capital of the World, the land is bountiful, paving the foundation for inventive culinary experts, craft brewers, winemakers, and distillers. The 40+ wineries line the rolling shoreline, a year-round canvas of adventure for thrill seekers or casual explorers. Whether a fall hike between lighthouses, a winter snowshoe along the beach, a spring round of golf, or a summer kayak along the lakeshore, the seasons serve up new recreation alongside a beautiful, evolving landscape.

Traverse City’s event venues are well equipped and within walking distance of a diverse, sophisticated cultural scene almost unthinkable for a town of 15,000. There's a leisurely pace to life here, and a cosmopolitan range of dining and entertainment blends with a genuine, small-town warmth. The area is a can't-miss for meeting planners looking for a place to hold incentives and executive retreats in the heartland.

Three large resorts anchor the region. Grand Traverse Resort and Spa (85,000 square feet of meeting space, 500+ guest accommodations) is found just eight miles from downtown. In addition to an award-winning spa, multiple restaurants, and three golf courses, the resort also boasts another 15,000 square feet of seasonal outdoor spaces with pavilion or tent coverage.

In the Chain of Lakes region northeast of the city is Shanty Creek Resort. As a four-season golf and ski resort facility, Shanty Creek offers three distinctively different hotel and conference center venues including a 9,600-square-foot grand ballroom and over 1,100 guest accommodations. Finally, to the west is Crystal Mountain. Another ski, spa, and golf hub, Crystal boasts the 16,000-square-foot Crystal Center, a 4,000-square-foot lodge, and two outdoor meeting locations, including a pavilion and an outdoor amphitheater tucked inside the Michigan Legacy Art Park.

In-town locations include the historic Park Place Hotel just steps from downtown Traverse City's vibrant shopping and entertainment district, West Bay Beach (a Delamar Resort) located on Grand Traverse Bay, Hotel Indigo found in the heart of the Warehouse District, and Great Wolf Lodge waterpark hotel with 10,000 square feet of conference space. Other in-town meeting facilities include Cambria Suites Hotel, Comfort Inn, and Bayshore Resort.

In addition to Traverse City’s hotels and resorts, Northwestern Michigan College’s Great Lakes Campus offers the 6,000-square-foot waterfront Hagerty Center. This facility is flanked by West Bay Beach and Bayshore Resort, creating a unique campus concept right on the water. The conference center features state-of-the-art conference and exhibition space and facilities that can be configured to accommodate trade show exhibits, conferences, and banquets. Its main meeting space comprises 5,810 square feet, which can accommodate up to 380 people for banquets and is divisible by four.

Traverse City also offers unique meeting venues, like the City Opera House, restored to its 1892 glory with space for 650. The Cathedral Barn at Historic Barns Park sits on the grounds of the historic Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a former state hospital now converted into a cultural gem of shopping, dining, and recreation. The Corner Loft sits above Traverse City’s downtown on Front Street, offering a modern vibe to any event. And the wineries, breweries, and distilleries of northern Michigan always make memorable venues for teambuilding and happy hour events.

Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), two miles south of downtown Traverse City, offers non-stop and one-stop flights all over the country, and is served by Delta, United, American Airlines, and Allegiant. The state-of-the-art airport, built in 2004, routinely receives praise for its striking beauty, with a design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and the north woods lodges of Traverse City.