Traverse City is a beautiful place. This is a great place to go in the summer. You can spend the whole day here with your family. This park is absolutely beautiful! They also have the cherry festival and that's always fun, too. Plus, they've got fudge...& who doesn't like fudge, lol.
Travese City offers alot of family fun year round, but my favorite time is the Cherry Festival. Occurs during the 4th of July weeks and there are events day and night for all ages, like Pie Eating Contests, Best BBQ's, Classic Car Show, Big Wheel Races, Tea Parties, Teen Movies...you name it. The whole strip fills up with vendors selling a little bit of everything. And everything is CHERRY, CHERRY, & More CHERRY. The Blue Angles air show is a Must See, but you should bring ear protection for the little ones (Very Very loud!!!) Lots of screaming kiddies :( Lots of walking and bring extra sun screen as the festival is all along the water. You should book your hotel/cabin early as vacancy fills quickly. And if you happen to have a classic car the Cherry Car Cruise around the penninsula was a BLAST!!! We saw alot of Beautiful Cherry Orchards and parts of Travese City that typical tourists might not see!!!
On a drive up to Makinaw Island we drove through Traverse City and fell in love! My family has been going here for years. We stay at stay at the Pinestead Reef Resort. We go in July during the National Cherry Festival. This summer I had the joy of bringing my 1 year old to my favorite vacation place and he loved watching the sunset on the beach and feeding the ducks.