Fun things to do in Petoskey: 11 fun attractions and activities

This park is really beautiful. Gorgeous lawns, a neat waterfall area, loads of waterfowl (happy and surprised to see no goose poop), along with some community buildings, etc. I also really like that they had bathrooms that were clean and safe. As I said in my video, whoever is running the show at this park and Petoskey in general, they really seem to know what they’re doing because this is a well run, really attractive public space.

Awesome place to stop and watch the salmon run!!! We also took a walk along the wooded trail, and went down to the lake. So amazing in the fall!

We stopped here for a little walk and loved it. The park was so clean and beautiful! There is a nice walking/ biking trail here with amazing views.

Bayfront Park in Petoskey is an absolute gem! The park sits right along the beautiful Little Traverse Bay, offering stunning lake views and some of the most peaceful sunsets you’ll ever see. There’s plenty of space for walking, jogging, or just relaxing by the water, and the landscaped gardens make the whole place feel so calm and inviting. I loved strolling along the paved pathways that connect the marina, playgrounds, and scenic spots — it’s perfect for families, couples, or anyone just looking to unwind. There are plenty of benches to sit and enjoy the views, and the park is kept very clean and well-maintained. If you’re in Petoskey, this is a must-visit spot for a relaxing afternoon, a picnic by the bay, or simply soaking in Michigan’s natural beauty.

Easy parking. Train museum was cool. Pier out was windy but neat. Lots of rocks on the beach. Fun watching the softball game!

We were just passing through to see Lake Superior. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate for us to hang out at the beach, because the beach was really nice. The park is definitely geared more toward campers and RVs and requires a fee to enter. The park ranger on duty the day we visited was exceptionally nice and allowed us to enter for 5 minutes to see the lake without having to pay the fee.

What an amazing local park. Very close to lots of things to do. Free parking!! No over night parking. Clean bathrooms

Wonderful trail system. Love the river and wildflowers. Not many people. Trail is close to downtown so grabbing a snack at grain train is always my first choice.

Beautiful trails, well maintained, waterfalls, and not super hard of a hike! Also NTC goes through here its like playing tetris trying to navigate the southern trail into Petoskey 😭

Nice hiking trail beautiful scenery Nice pavilions for gatherings paved walkways and dirt trails alongside a white water rafting river a nice adventure.

Great place to walk near downtown. Feels like you're miles from a city, but you're right near everything. Beautiful scenery. There's plenty of benches and very pet friendly. Love this spot.

Hidden gem that was great for walking our dog. The trails also take you to Bayfront park.

Had a very nice hike along Bear River. Trail is in good condition.

Very nice walking trail along the river, they also have clean bathrooms.

A lovely arts center with terrific displays and wonderful people. It is worth checking this place out. You can walk thru in 1-2 hours. No charge to get in but a donation is appropriate.

Beautiful art gallery. Different art mediums displayed in various places throughout the museum. Lovely artwork. They have events scheduled throughout each month. They have art classes for adults and children. Yes you can buy artwork here for your home, office or as gifts. Support this art gallery.

With the rotating art displays and community classes from ballet to painting and pottery, Crooked Tree Arts Council is making a difference in the Petoskey Area. I enjoyed seeing the art on my visit. It’s free but a $5 donation is suggested as they are a nonprofit. I took pictures of the theater side as it was so beautiful.

This is our second visit and it verified our first impression of this lovely gallery. Local artists are featured in the open galleries on the first and second floors. The main gallery has rotating exhibits. Even without art, the building is worth visiting. Formerly a Methodist Church, the stained glass windows add a beautiful effect to the galleries and auditorium.

Finally got out to the Petoskey Crooked Tree! I love the one in Traverse City so I’m happy I finally got to visit the original! It’s inside a renovated church and is absolutely gorgeous. So many artists with lovely artwork! A must see when in town!

A converted church with an a theater, an Art Gallery, spaces for Pottery and music classes. The building itself is very cool and well designed. However the curation is pretty poor. They have 2 larger gallery spaces on main floor along with a hallway with displayed art. Also a small gallery in basement and also the classrooms. Now here's the problem they had the 2 large galleries empty at the same time while they exchange exhibits. Except they are taking their sweet time. Also why do both at once. Also bottom gallery seemed like an afterthought with only a few pieces. Not well curated at all. The service was also non-existent. Only worker was on phone the entire time. Overall a 2 star.

Excellent place to see some art for your home, jewelry, etc. Also enjoyed just browsing around before making a small purchase.

Small museum but full of local history, especially about Chief Petosky and Ernest Hemingway.

Artifacts and stories from the folks who put Traverse City and Petoskey on the map. Exhibits covered founders, fashion, Hemingway and early 20th century social clubs when we visited.

Our family had a great time visiting and learning about the history of the area.

We bicycled in from Harbor Springs and bike trail lead us to this wonderful lakeside park and what a bonus to go through this museum! Highly recommend taking the time to experience.

A fun place to visit to learn the history of the area with nice exhibits and helpful staff.

Enjoyed talking with the lady managing the museum. Very knowledgeable about the museum and area. Particularly liked learning about Chief Petoskey and Hemingway's early years here.

Excellent museum to get an quick history of Petoskey. For example, in the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway vacationed there. It later on became a ski resort until Boyne Mountain opened in the 60's. The Petoskey Stones have become a legend of its own. The Museum has an excellent natural, e.g. unpolished, sample. See photos.

Petoskey center town park. Music in the gazebo and music on the opposite side of the park when Blissfest sponsors music on Fridays in the summer. Charming all the way around

I've spent a lot of time in PA Park, as a long time, on and off, resident and employee of the downtown area in Petoskey. It's a perfect place to sit with food and have a picnic with the kids or eat your ice cream from one of the 3 ice cream shops within a city block radius. There is a well kept public restroom, plenty of seating, lush grass and beautiful trees in the middle of the historical Gaslight District of this cute little town. Dogs are often around and friendly, which is perfect since Ruff Life butts up to the park. There are restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores and bars all within a block of this central spot.

Beautiful Park. Very large and interesting. It’s a Blue Star Park honoring our military and has a statue for Earnest Hemingway.

It just before it start getting really cold here in Northern Michigan, but I've really enjoyed hanging out in the park watching everyone walking their Dogs and eating ice cream and other various things. And there is me next with Ernest Hemingway lol

We were dropped off there in Petoskey half way thru the color tour and then picked back up there by bus to the train. Beautiful park, awesome veterans monuments. It was too bad it rained on the trip up.

Great park we played some Bluegrass Music 🎶, had a nice time

Lovely park with plenty of shade. We always stop on our way to Mackinac island.

Free sledding/tubing hill with a downhill slope next to it with a skating rink with rentals and a nice indoor fireplace to warm up at. Staff was friendly and this place is a blast! We will be back again just to show summer that winter can be fun too!

Love the huge sledding hill and the large ice skating rink surrounded by beautiful pines! Skate rentals are super affordable and the skate helpers are really nice for my little guy. There is also a small hill for snowboarding, a separate hockey rink, warming shelter, and bathrooms.

This place is decent. The staff are always very nice and friendly. The snacks and drinks are always decent. It's very cheap to rent skates (only $5), but if you have your own skates it's free to skate. The sledding is okay. The inside is very nice to warm up and dry off in with a fireplace.

Lots of fun and open space to skate. Nice hockey rink if that's your thing. Pretty good sledding hill. Wish they had the tow rope up and running, and the prices for rentals and food are a tiny bit steep. Overall great experience and good people and customer service.

I loved it. This was my first experience sledding and skating and have to say, $5 to rent skates was amazing. There's a nice cozy place to warm up, a football sized ice rink, and concession for snacks. The skates I rented were also in very good condition. However, the ice rink wasn't very smooth, but it was free so I can't complain.

Such a lovely place for the community. Ice rink was huge and surrounded by trees. There’s a well kept fire to warm up by outside. Sweet hockey rink. Really good sledding hill (they have a few sleds you can use) and a designated beginner ski and snowboard area so you don’t have to waste money on a lift ticket if you can bring your own gear. Indoor warm up and hot chocolate spot too. The best part is how nice and well kept everything is. Thank you!

The ice was beautiful! We love coming here for the long track races: low key and super nice people.

The Sage Restaurant is not worth the price. The service was poor, the Oktoberfest menu was nice but had no October beer available with the German meal offerings. We were there on a Wednesday afternoon/evening, 2/3rds of the restaurant was empty. But still it took the server 10 minutes for our drinks as she had go to the other bar for my bottle of beer. Our food was good but over priced for the meal. Also the food was delivered on cold plates so by the time my pork medallions arrived they were cold. Also I had to go to the server station and get my own salt and pepper as we only saw the server when she delivered our drinks and brought us the bill. I have worked in food service all my life, this restaurant was very disappointing!

Nice casino, we didn't stay in hotel. We played slots, didn't do good or bad but did get adequate game play. Was very clean, friendly staff and customers. Only visited for a few hours so not a really indepth review. We wouldn't go out of our way to come back here but if we were in area anyway we would definitely stop in.

I love the Casino because it is smoke free and just feels cleaner!! I like that you can win here!! The machines do pay out!! Met some other players who were very nice and friendly! The workers at the Casino were also friendly and helpful! The hotel room was clean and the bed was comfortable- the TV was easy to use! The breakfast buffet in the morning was pretty good! Bagels, English muffins , cereal, fruit, and peanut butter and jelly! The coffee was ok!! I had a yogurt and toasted English muffin with jam and peanut butter and an apple!! 🍎 it filled me up!! I have happy memories at the Odawa Casino and hotel!! Oh and they do have a pool and hot tub!!

Alright. Come or coole bucks ahead. See what happens next time. The pizza lady was real nice. Gave me a deal on pizza just before closing. Thank you pizza lady.

Save your money and avoid this casino. Been going here for years and would at least win a little or get a hand pay once in a while. The floor wait staff used to be great, and you hardly see them. We are good tippers if they deserve it.The last 2 years have been a joke. Don't waste your time or money.

I truly don't know why or how but I am uncommonly lucky at casinos. I rarely go but I have some pretty good techniques for gambling. I've only been here 3 times and I left with close to what I started with twice and walked away with $1200 more than I started with once. DON'T TAKE THIS AS SOLID ADVICE! Most people lose...a lot. Best advice is to not go. Second best advice is give Odawa Casino a try. It's clean, fun and you just might run into me, Mr. Lucky!

Located off 131, behind Gordons', it was a little tricky to find. We followed a casino bus after we had missed our turn....twice...thanks to gps and digital maps. Typical casino with machines and eating options. Plenty of parking. We used complimentary tickets from our hotel and played the penny machines. Different from the Mackinaw Odawa, this one "keeps the change" when you want to switch machines with a low amount still available on your voucher. The desk attendants and cashier were friendly and helpful.

Beautiful location and winery. The wines we tasted were all really good and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Nice outdoor patio.

I was somewhat disappointed right from the start here, as I sensed a bit of an attitude from the server, whom I now believe was the owner. When she brought the tastings to our table, she tripped and spilled some of the wine from one of the glasses. Granted it wasn't alot that spilled, but it was enough to where I expected she would replenish the glass. Nothing was mentioned about the spill lying beneath the table, and she did not even offer to refill the glass. Not a good way to treat a customer in my opinion. As far as the wine, I don't expect much from a Michigan winery, especially for red wines, however, I will typically purchase a bottle if it's half way decent. Needless to say, I wasn't overly impressed with the taste of their wine, and didn't make a purchase. Nice atmosphere though.

Disappointed in the wine! My husband and I drink a lot of wine & do wine tasting very often. This spot had a nice view but the wine was not good at all. We both are wine lovers, wine on the weekend is our thing. All of our samples tasted like they had apple cider in there or something. Didn’t purchase any bottles which is shocking for us. Nice view & friendly service though.

I always love visiting this winery! All of their wines are fabulous, but I am especially excited about the Sunshine Daydream—it has such a unique and fun flavor!

On a recent trip to Italy I met the owners of Walloon Lake Winery and can’t wait to visit them in MI! They are passionate, wonderful people and it was a delight to see these winemakers break bread and share trade secrets amidst a Tuscany winery as the backdrop

Awesome wine complex flavors but not too bold! Great to see a local winery not over sweeten their wines and allow the quality of the local grapes shine! Friendly service and nice environment! Did not plan on it but had to buy a few bottles :)

Owners and staff are always so great. Best wine!

Nice little park adjacent to Lake Charlevoix in downtown Boyne City. The Garden Club's beautification dedication is phenomenal!

Very nice park and was very busy with people. It is dog friendly so there were multiple dogs. Many areas to sit or picnic at. There was also a waterfall and wooden bridge. Lastly, they had a public restroom which seemed relatively clean.

Lovely little park. Gets busy at sunset so come a little early if you would like to see it! Easy parking, a short path around the perimeter to take a stroll, beautiful views, a few picnics tables to have a rest or have a snack, plus a set of stairs down to the waterfall area and Bayfront Park. If you’re in the area for sunset I recommend making a pit stop here! 🌅 Bring a jacket because it can get windy!

Gorgeous view. We actually could view entire rainbow 🌈

Great area to park and watch sunset and have a snack.

I love the convenience of these roadside parks with beautiful views and Picknick tables and, most of all, clean restrooms. With just 35 miles from Marquette MI, it was a refreshing rest before exploring Marquette and the Superior Lake.

Beautiful place to catch a sunset!

Went to Petoskey to see the fall foliage and discovered this quaint but stunning park across the street from our hotel. The trails are beautiful & well-kept, the trail we took has a gorgeous pavilion with a small waterfall & stream leading into beautiful Lake Michigan. The park is free, complete with restrooms, a new parking lot, a large pavilion for your family gatherings, picnic tables, public grills, and a playground. The grounds work & foliage is immaculate. If you’re in the area and looking for a spot to picnic by the water, look no further!

Just beautiful! Easy to find and just down the road fast food plafes

Beautiful park! It is high on a cliff, overlooking the lake. East Park is the kind of place that makes you want to draw up a chair and stay. The picnic shelter is large enough for a good sized group and is well taken care of. Nice, fairly clean bathrooms are found near the shelter. Plenty of parking. It is a relaxing and lovely place.

Family romantic getaway. Let your kids fly in swings over a magnificent bay, run with them here at the top of the world, land on one of those picnic tables for fresh air snacks. It is free for a million dollar sunset.

Simply gorgeous! I always find time when I'm in town to stop by to enjoy the views and walk the trails. This time was special though because I got to bring my pup up to visit. Dazie approves! I've it here and some of the best views in Petoskey. Don't miss out on this beautiful park.

This is a wonderful park to go for a walk, run, or bicycle ride. It has plenty of parking and nicely maintained trails. The views of the water are also really beautiful. The access to the water is not so great. They have tons of big rocks that make getting to the water difficult. I'd definitely come back to do some exercise in nature. It was really peaceful

Beautiful just needs more benches.

This is a nice place to nature hike or run. There is about 5 miles of trails in an old glacial cut forest.