Winter Weekend in Petoskey, Michigan

My happy place is northern Michigan, specifically Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Glen Arbor. I have been going since I was a tiny tot with my parents. Everything from ski weekends to weeks renting bare bones cottages in a summer community in Petoskey called Bay View. Summer weeks up there were slow and deliciously lazy and full of sunsets, mint ice cream, bike rides, and the sound of crickets chirping during the roasting of marshmallows on warm evenings. I love the fact that we’ve continued the tradition for our son by creating memories with him in both of the winter and summer.

This past weekend we went up to Petoskey for a quick ski weekend and I wanted to share some of what makes our time up there so special in the snowy months. I plan to write a summer version of this (wait for it… this summer!) but there are a few things we like to do in the winter that are different than our summer traditions. We try and make it up there at least 2-3 times as our son has a passion for skiing that reminds me of my own love of the sport when I was his age.

Welcome to a snapshot of a typical ski weekend for us up north! We live in the metro Detroit area, and it normally takes us anywhere from 3 1/2 – 5 hours to drive up, depending on the weather. This particular weekend it was freezing rain and I white-knuckled it for a majority of the 4.5 hour drive.

Winter Accomodations in Petoskey

We like to try and stay somewhere that’s $175 or less a night, which, with just the three of us, usually rules out any Airbnb or VRBO rentals, as some of the local hotels and B&Bs are so much cheaper than third-party rentals. When we are with larger groups, we almost always rent something through VRBO. Our three inexpensive but great accommodations go-to’s are Stafford’s Bay View Inn, The Perry Hotel, or The Terrace Inn. This winter we’ve stayed at The Bay View Inn twice already. But last winter, we were at the Perry Hotel for the majority of our stays.

We prefer the Bay View Inn as they have super cute and comfortable rooms, a very family feel, and a couple of common room areas where we can chill out at night as a way to get our of our hotel room. The best part? It’s usually really quite in the winter and sometimes we feel like we have the entire place to ourselves. The rooms themselves do not have tv’s (which I actually find refreshing) but the second floor common room has a huge tv as does the lounge area down in the reception. They host a happy hour each day starting at 4pm where you get a free drink and they put out appetizers like cheese and crackers or the BEST smoked whitefish and salmon spreads. We often don’t make it back for the happy hour as we’re at the ski hill until about 5, but it’s such a lovely personal touch.

If you book in advance, we can often get a room with a queen or king bed and a pull out couch for less than $160 a night. (Our personal favorite is room number 31!) The entire Inn is so homey, comfortable and truly feels like home away from home. I cannot recommend it enough! And we love the night manager. She often lets our son take an ice cream free of charge from the cute little freezer in the lobby, and the staff, as a whole, are incredibly accommodating and friendly.

We checked in around 8p and headed to the Noggin Room for a pizza. Not a ton is open super late in the winter months and you really can’t go wrong with Noggin Room pizza! The Noggin room is located inside one of our other favorite place to stay that I previously mentioned, The Perry Hotel, another Stafford property. Don’t forget to get the popcorn!

We woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast at the Inn. If you are going to eat there? Two recos – their sticky buns and the Eggs Benedict. Chef’s kiss all around. We got ready and headed out to ski. We normally prefer and LOVE Nubs Nob. It’s super family-friendly, and I personally like the layout of the hill, the cozy vibe of the lodge, and the ski runs. However, we chose to go to The Highlands (our second favorite) as we heard a bunch of ski clubs were headed to Nubs, and we wanted a less crowded experience. Note: none of the northern MI ski resorts ever really get “crowded” outside of holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, and Presidents’ Weekend. Boyne Mountain is another great option, but if you have kids, it’s geared more toward a party scene, college students, or couples’ weekends. Don’t get me wrong, Boyne Mountain is great! They have the best ski-in ski-out accommodations out of any of the northern MI ski resorts in my opinion, but it’s definitely more of a party atmosphere than Nubs Nob or The Highlands.

We had an absolutely beautiful day for skiing, a bluebird day which you don’t always get in Michigan. My son is in the 5th grade, and anyone with a 4th or 5th grader in Michigan should most definitely take advantage of the Cold Is Cool passport program. For $30, you can get the Cold Is Cool passport, which allows your 4th or 5th-grade student to ski for free at a number of different ski hills in Michigan with the purchase of an adult lift ticket. We’ve used it three times now (once at Nubs and twice at The Highlands) so it’s already saved us about $225. I’ve linked the program information here.

An absolute must at The Highlands is to get a waffle from the Waffle Cabin. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and stopped mid-afternoon to grab a waffle. So so good! We also stopped at the warming hut at the top of the hill. I have a really great pair of mittens, but my fingers get cold really easily so we sat in the warming hut for 20 minutes to thaw out a bit.

After we finished skiing, we grabbed a quick dinner on our way back to the Inn. We normally like go to back and shower and head to one of our favorite restaurants in town but we were starving so we hit an inexpensive favorite – The Sidedoor Saloon. Their French onion dip is a must, and the smoked whitefish quesadilla is phenomenal.

If you do go into town a few other of our favorite places to eat are:

• Chandler’s: Food is always great and a good option if you’re looking for something a little fancier.
• City Park Grill: You can’t beat a place that Ernest Hemingway used to sit at the bar. They have great biscuits that are complimentary and a rotating specials list. Don’t miss their french onion soup!
• Mitchell Street Pub: My personal favorite, this is a simple place that serves easy delicious food and pours a good pint. As a pescatarian, they have a surprising amount of options for vegetarians.
• Palette Bistro: We tend to go to this one more in the summer (I’m not sure why), but if you’re looking for Mediterranean food, this is the spot.

The next morning we got up and decided to forgo skiing again and wanted to shop around town. The last time we came up to ski we didn’t get a chance to shop and during the winter, after the holidays, the stores often have a great sales. Want a great cup of coffee? Stop at Roast & Toast. I always pick up a bag of their beans because their coffee is SO good.

After we fueled up, we hit my favorite bookstore where I picked up a book that’s been on my list to read, Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang.

We popped into Grandpa Shorter’s which is my son’s favorite store. Lots of fun stuff for both kids and adults and the best part? There is a candy shop in the basement! Another great store for children is Cheekade Meekade across the street. We always end up picking up a new game at this store to play during our dinners out.

I like to support local artists whenever possible, so I bought some goat’s milk soap and lotion made by a woman in Wolverine, a neighboring town. While my husband and son went into the Rocking Horse Toy Company, I swung by my absolute favorite store in all of Petoskey, Flora Bae Home. I almost always walk out of there with something and this trip was no exception. I found an adorable gold hand can opener, a day planner with tear-away pages, which I’m overly excited about, a straw basket I plan to use this summer to go back and forth from the lake, a journal, and some cute Valentine socks. If you’re interested in the day planner with tearaway pages, I actually found it and have linked it here.

A few other places we always pop into:

• Cutler’s: A fabulous home goods store. They have everything from floor mats to juicers to beautiful martini glasses.
• Threads: Chic clothing for women. I can usually find something great on sale.
• Symons General Store: Outside of the ridiculously good sandwiches, this is a fun general store that carries speciality teas, jams, candies and other dry goods.
• Haystacks: There are several of these stores in and around northern Michigan and have beautiful unique women’s clothing.
• Petoskey Pretzel Co: No stop up north would be complete without a stop at the Pretzel Co. I always go for the plain but my son loves the cinnamon and sugar.

Last but not least, on our way home we swung by an antique store I absolutely adore. They have some of the best finds! I was looking for a new set of lamps for my foyer. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any on this trip but it was fun to poke around and see what they had. Had we had the room in our car, I would have gone home with this picture!

I hope this overview helps you plan your own ski weekend in Petoskey, and if you need any other recommendations, please do not hesitate to reach out! I’m happy to answer any questions.