Northern Michigan Scavenger Hunt
Expiration: Oct 13th 2025
Keeping the kids busy during vacation is easy in Traverse City. There are plenty of activities that will keep kids moving and create a spark of imagination. Find family fun and get active together with our FREE Northern Michigan Scavenger Hunt pass. This pass is designed to keep your family moving! Each location included involves exercise – suitable for all ages. Use the pass as a guide to your adventure, and don’t forget to check-in along the way. Checking-in gets you closer to earning a prize! Check-in and WIN! Check-in to five locations and you are eligible for a Grand Traverse Pie Company gift card redeemable for a FREE slice of pie. Gift cards can be picked up at the Traverse City Visitor Center. (Limit one card per person in each family.)
Included Venues
See locations on an interactive map.
Grand Traverse Lighthouse
Explore the outdoors at one of the oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The Grand Traverse Lighthouse is located at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and has guided ships into the Manitou Passage of Lake Michigan for over 150 years. The lighthouse is located nine miles north of Northport in the Leelanau State Park and has extensive hiking areas.
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Great Lakes Children's Museum
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum provides a year-round, indoor facility where children build a foundation for lifelong learning through play-based exploration. Activity sessions provide hands-on, interactive, arts and science opportunities for children and their adults, while the informal environments invite curiosity, encourage participation and celebrate the child-like wonder in all of us. Every child benefits from interaction with adult caregivers, and from having a safe and welcoming place to explore the world around them at their own pace, and in their own way. The museum helps children learn through play, while helping adults learn to play again. Reservations are recommended- reserve your spot now HERE
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Mazinaadin Exhibition: Clinch Park Tunnel Mural
The Mazinaadin Exhibition are reprints of 19 murals commissioned by the Traverse City Arts Commission. Colorado based artist, Bobby MaGee Lopez has works commissioned around the country. The Traverse City work is designed to depict the history and culture of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. All the panels display rich colors and an equally rich story. One panel called “Rites of Passage” shows a proud, reflective Anishinaabe child dressed in traditional regalia. The “Nature and Nurture” panel shows an Anishinaabe mother and child overlooking Lake Michigan. And “Edge of the World” depicts the role elders play in passing on their wisdom.
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Michigan Legacy Art Park
Discover the stories of Michigan’s cultural and natural history brought to life through art at Michigan Legacy Art Park. Our 30-acre wooded preserve offers an art and hiking trail experience together that is uniquely northern Michigan. We are located on the grounds of Crystal Mountain Resort and we are recognized as one the Top 3 Sculpture Parks in the country in 2021 by USA Today. Come out for a hike and find where art, nature and history meet!
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Mission Point Lighthouse
Mission Point Lighthouse is a Traverse City favorite for visitors. Explore the outdoor grounds, walk the beach or hike the trails. Please note the lighthouse building is not open until May.
Point Betsie Lighthouse
Explore the outdoor grounds of this historic lighthouse. Built in 1858, the Point Betsie Lighthouse marks the southern entrance into the Manitou Passage. Ships were guided by a fourth order Fresnel Lens which remains on display in the lighthouse. The Point Betsie Lighthouse was fully automated in 1983 and the light is still fully operating. The lighthouse served as housing for Coast Guard personnel and their families in more recent history.
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Sleeping Bear Dunes Bay View Trail
Park Fees Apply. Click here for details. The 7 mile Bay View Trail is a hilly trail that is divided into several shorter loops through a beech-maple forest, old farm fields, and a pine plantation. The Lookout Point on the loop north of Thoreson Road provides a spectacular view of Lake Michigan. To access the trailhead, northbound vehicles can take the second Thoreson Road junction off M-22, 3.5 miles north of Glen Arbor. Mountain bikes are not allowed on any of the National Park trails. Pets must be kept on a six-foot maximum leash.
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Sleeping Bear Dunes Dune Climb
Park Fees Apply, Click here for details.
Energetic visitors often make it a special point to test The Dune Climb, a challenging but rewarding part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore visitor experience. Those who make it to the top can enjoy splendid views of Glen Lake and Lake Michigan. Restroom facilities are available.
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Energetic visitors often make it a special point to test The Dune Climb, a challenging but rewarding part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore visitor experience. Those who make it to the top can enjoy splendid views of Glen Lake and Lake Michigan. Restroom facilities are available.
Sleeping Bear Dunes Pyramid Point Trail
Park Fees Apply, Click here for details.
The Pyramid Point Trail leads to a high, panoramic view of Lake Michigan, half a mile from the trailhead. This is one of the best views of the waters of the Manitou Passage and the Manitou Islands, which lie five miles offshore. For a quick jaunt, head back the way you came. For a longer hike with some extended uphill heart-pumpers, turn east from the dune overlook for a winding walk through some meadows and hardwood forests. To access the trailhead, take M-22 to Port Oneida Road, 3.7 miles north of Glen Arbor. Follow Port Oneida Road until it ends at Basch Road. Follow Basch Road east to the trailhead.
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The Pyramid Point Trail leads to a high, panoramic view of Lake Michigan, half a mile from the trailhead. This is one of the best views of the waters of the Manitou Passage and the Manitou Islands, which lie five miles offshore. For a quick jaunt, head back the way you came. For a longer hike with some extended uphill heart-pumpers, turn east from the dune overlook for a winding walk through some meadows and hardwood forests. To access the trailhead, take M-22 to Port Oneida Road, 3.7 miles north of Glen Arbor. Follow Port Oneida Road until it ends at Basch Road. Follow Basch Road east to the trailhead.
TART Trails: Boardman Lake Loop Trail
The 4-mile Boardman Lake Loop Trail is a heavily wooded trail that wraps along the eastern and northern boundaries of Boardman Lake. It’s a great place to spend an hour or the day with access to the library, sailing center and lots of places to rest and relax while you watch the world around you. Access and parking at the north end of the Lake is off Hannah Road just south of the Traverse Area District Library, and at the south end of the Lake at Medalie Park in the Logan’s Landing area off South Airport Road. If you’re walking or biking, you can get on the trail from 8th Street near Copy Central, the Oryana Trailhead, Lake Street or 14th Street.
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TART Trails: Leelanau Trail
The 17-mile Leelanau Trail provides a paved off-road connection between Traverse City and Suttons Bay. Running through the last of Leelanau County’s former railroad corridors, the Leelanau Trail features picturesque forests, farms, vineyards, lakes and ponds. There are four trailheads for parking along the trail at Cherry Bend Rd, Fouch Rd, Shady Lane and 4th St in Suttons Bay. There is also parking available at the Leelanau Studios parking lot, just 1/3 mile east of the Cherry Bend Rd trailhead.
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TART Trails: TART in Town
A popular cross-town route for cyclists, in-line skaters, walkers, and joggers, the 10.5-mile-long, paved, non-motorized TART Trail is a paved urban transportation and recreation corridor with an eastern end point at M-72/Bates Road in Acme Township and a western end point at Carter Road in Traverse City, where it links with the Leelanau Trail. Along the way, you'll pass West End Beach, Clinch Park, and the Traverse City State Park. The TART Trail is easily accessible at several points. Bicycle rentals are available at several area bicycle shops. A number of restaurants and attractions are adjacent to the trail. On warm, sunny days, trail users are out in force, particularly along the lakefront section.
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TC Mural Post Card
Take your selfie in front of the TC Postcard Mural!
Created by Darin Knupp of KnUpp North Art this postcard-inspired mural has turned a downtown TC alley into a must-stop for photos. “Greetings from Traverse City,” the mural reads, paying homage to TC landmarks like Old Mission Peninsula, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, and the State Theater. Cherries figure prominently, of course, as do scenes of bays, beaches, and greenery.
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Created by Darin Knupp of KnUpp North Art this postcard-inspired mural has turned a downtown TC alley into a must-stop for photos. “Greetings from Traverse City,” the mural reads, paying homage to TC landmarks like Old Mission Peninsula, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, and the State Theater. Cherries figure prominently, of course, as do scenes of bays, beaches, and greenery.
Wear Your Wings Mural
Local artist Heather Spooner of Ampersand Lettering Lab is known as the woman who gave TC wings. The interactive element engaged the community and continues to do so as people from near and far pose with the wings for social media snapshots and family album photos. The mural’s feathers are inscribed with affirming words like love, acceptance, equality, and unity.
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