WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND: IN TRAVERSE CITY, AN AUSTERE BEAUTY REVEALS HERSELF

A Press-Ready Travel Feature 
From the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Michael A. Norton
Media Relations
(800) 940-1120; (231) 947-1120, fax (231) 947-2621
mnorton@mytraversecity.com

Photo credit: Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau
Cutline: A brisk walk along the trails at the 300-acre Grand Traverse Commons campus is rewarded by striking winter panoramas of Traverse City and its setting of lakes, bays and forests.

By MIKE NORTON

TRAVERSE CITY – Every year, millions of visitors come to enjoy the fabled natural beauty of this picturesque resort community -- but almost all of them see it in the lush days of summer or when autumn has covered the steep water-girdled hills with brilliant red, gold and orange.

It’s a rare traveler who has the opportunity to appreciate the region’s glacier-carved charms when winter has transformed it into a place of austere, captivating beauty. Few sights can compare with the view from the Sleeping Bear Dunes on a January morning, where the new snow sparkles like diamonds above the deep blue of the lake, or the unexpected glimpse of an otter frolicking in a dark stream between snow-covered banks.

Fortunately, these experiences are accessible to anyone. Just get outside and take a winter walk.

Walking isn’t nearly as popular a winter pastime in the U.S. as it is in many other countries. In gregarious Great Britain, for instance, walking clubs organize hundreds of winter walks every year. But there are signs that Americans are also beginning to warm to the idea.

“It’s like that song, ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland,’ because this place can be perfectly lovely even without a lot of snow,” says businessman Pete Edwards. “More and more people are learning to enjoy winter walking.”

Edwards should know. His company, SkiWalking.com, specializes in lightweight “Nordic walking” poles that provide walkers with extra balance, added security on hills and icy spots, and the benefits of an upper-body workout – and his sales, like his customers, have been going steadily uphill.

But unlike skiing and snowshoeing, winter walking doesn’t require much in the way of special equipment; just good, warm clothing (hat, jacket, mittens and maybe some long underwear) and a pair of sensible boots.

Perhaps it was only natural that the Traverse City area should become a hotbed of winter walkers. After all, this is a place where cross-country skiers and dogsled racers put wheels on their equipment so they can practice on the nearby trails all summer long -- and many of those same trails can easily be used for casual winter walks.

Here’s a small sampling:

City Sidewalks, Pretty Sidewalks
One relaxing “urban walk” takes winter visitors along Front Street, through Traverse City’s historic downtown shopping district, and into one of its oldest residential neighborhoods: the splendid 19th-century homes along tree-lined Washington Street, a six-block stretch of elegant Victorian buildings. It’s a particularly fine walk on a calm winter evening, when the holiday lights in the downtown trees and the turn-of-the-century streetlamps give the night a magical glow.

A Walk Along the Bay
The slender Old Mission Peninsula thrusts north into Grand Traverse Bay for 20 miles, and at its tip -- precisely halfway between the equator and the North Pole – one can feel as though one is standing at the last place on earth. But the township park at Old Mission Point has a cozy 19th-century lighthouse, a picnic area and a series of walking trails that wander through deep evergreen forest, along rock-strewn beaches and up to a highland plateau where hikers can look out over the bay to the distant shores beyond.

Traverse City’s Central Park
Surrounding the creamy brick castles of the former Traverse City Psychiatric Hospital, known now as the Grand Traverse Commons development, is a network of wonderful public walking trails. Some circle the splendid old buildings of the former hospital; others wander through deep woods and across open meadows past browsing deer, or climb high into the western hills above the city, providing splendid views of the surrounding area.

An Enchanted Forest
About 20 miles east of Traverse City, on Valley Road in the hills of western Kalkaska County, the fast little Rapid River pauses on its way down a steep valley. Here in a forest of quiet cedars is a little-known park (known by locals as the Seven Bridges) where the river briefly divides into several branches that go wandering through the trees, crossed by a series of footbridges. It’s an enchanted, intimate place for a walk, and it’s at its very best when there’s a light snow falling.

A Fierce Beauty
Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes are magnificent in every season, but they can be especially imposing in winter, when snow, ice and light create dramatic effects in the sky, the water and the towering dunes. There are several fine beach walks along the Sleeping Bear Coast, but the most accessible is from the municipal beach in Empire.

To learn about other outdoor adventures, activities and attractions in the Traverse City area (including even more winter recreational opportunities) contact the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-TRAVERSE or on line at www.VisitTraverseCity.com