Little Traverse Wheelway - Charlevoix to Petoskey (MI)

Charlevoix, Michigan

We arrived in Charlevoix, MI on Tuesday, September 15 around 11:15 am and just in time for a quick lunch before beginning our ride.  It was 73 degrees with clear and sunny skies promising ideal weather for our 25 mile exploration of the Little Traverse Wheelway Trail.  Charlevoix is located in the northwest of the lower peninsula of Michigan with Lake Michigan on the west and Lake Charlevoix on the east.  It is off season now which makes it easier to get a good price on a hotel.  We stayed at the Weathervane Inn where we had a view of Lake Michigan.  The picture above gives a glimpse of the main thoroughfare of town and of the Villager Pub where we had a salad for lunch.  

Our trail in the Michigan Trails Magazine

The Little Traverse Wheelway begins in Charlevoix and parallels Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.  The 26 mile route ends in Harbor Springs.  If we used the trailhead at Shanahan Park we would have to ride on the street for a few blocks.  We decided to drive to the next trailhead listed on our trail guide which was Nine Mile Point Park.  

Roadside Park near Burgess road

While driving to Nine Mile Point Park we came across a rest area which made an excellent place to begin our ride to Petoskey and back. 

The trail is 8-10 ft wide, well maintained and asphalt.  To the left is Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.  The water is clear and deep blue.  On the right is a pic of construction barricades warning of work being done near the trail, not on the trail.

 In the late 1800s locals used the trail for walking and for bicycling.  Later the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad as well as the Chicago and West Michigan Railway laid tracks along the route.  In the picture on the left you can see the steep hill we have in front of us.  The hill rose to the level of the old train track which we could see at the top of the hill.  It was in the 1990s when the Wheelway was used as a walking and bicycling path again.

 The trail presents a variety of scenes for us to enjoy.  Trees, water, canopy, and even a tunnel near Bay Shore.

One of several resorts on Bay Shore

Pics on the left and right show the view of Little Traverse Bay from the trail.

We have reached Petoskey now.  It is 78 degrees and sunny.  Our trail wraps around the St. Francis Solanus mission and offers a beautiful view of the lake. 

St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission

Behind the Mission

This trail was very well marked and we easily found our way when it became necessary to take to the street for a block or two to rejoin our trail.  

On the left is the former train station.  It is now a museum and for $3 each we took a quick tour to pick up some of the local history.  The museum highlights Ernest Hemingway's life and time spent in the Petoskey area.

Marina in Petoskey

The picture on the right is our first view of the marina.  Near the fire station and this marina we look for Mineral Well Park and the Bear River Trail.  It is denoted by the #13 marker on the Trail Guide map.

We left the Wheelway Trail and proceeded south on the Bear River Trail to check out the rapids.  On the left is the Bear River as seen from town.  It flows into Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.

 






We admired the construction of the bridge pictured here as we biked along the Bear River.

On the left is a picture of our bike parked along the Bear River Trail.  
On the right is a pic of the steps Chris walked down to get a picture of the rapids on Bear River.

We did not ride all the way to the Sheridan Street Trailhead.  Instead, we turned around here and rode back to the Petoskey Bayfront Park and took more pictures there.

The day was unseasonably warm and incredibly beautiful.  When we returned to the roadside park in Charlevoix the temp had reached 81 degrees and we had ridden 25 miles.  This is definitely a trail we would ride again.