themightymittenthemightymittenhttps://www.themightymitten.com/news-shows3 Reasons why Frankfort is the perfect HQ for your "Up North" travels]]>Brianhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2020/05/12/3-Reasons-why-Frankfort-is-the-perfect-HQ-for-your-Up-North-travelshttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2020/05/12/3-Reasons-why-Frankfort-is-the-perfect-HQ-for-your-Up-North-travelsTue, 12 May 2020 18:18:46 +0000
The Mighty Mitten loves all things northern Michigan, but when we go up north our homebase is often Frankfort. It’s smaller and quieter than Petoskey, Charlevoix or Traverse City, and offers a great jumping off location for tons of awesome Michigan activities. Here are some of our Frankfort favorites:
1.) Frankfort itself!
There's so much to do in such a small space, but let’s check the classic off the list right at the top: The Frankfort beach.
This is one of the biggest in-town beaches on this side of Lake Michigan and is perfect for all of the beach-going activities you might be dreaming of: swimming, sandcastle-making, lounging under an umbrella, throwing a frisbee, exploring the shoreline, walking out along the pier to the lighthouse, picnicking… you name it. Its proximity to town makes it crowded but convenient, and it’s always fun to find a spot to hang out, people watch, and enjoy the day. On 4th of July, the Frankfort fireworks can be viewed from the beach and even though it really is wall-to-wall people then, the atmosphere is so fun, festive, and so totally northern Michigan summertime!
Of course, the beach can be a tough place to snag some tasty food and drinks. Whenever we travel to Frankfort, we go to Stormcloud Brewing Company at least once a day. For delicious food, beer, live music, a beer garden in the summer and a curling sheet in the winter, head to the pub right downtown. A mile away is the larger facility where they do their brewing. You can also stop there for beer, food trucks and some bar games. We love Stormcloud!
Birch & Maple is a newer addition to Frankfort, and we were pleasantly surprised when we had brunch there in early 2020. They use local ingredients as much as possible and have healthy and reasonably priced options. And of course, a trip to Frankfort isn’t complete without a stop at The Cabbage Shed, across the bay in Elberta. The ramshackle establishment has a killer crispy fish sandwich, tons of room, and lots of good beers on tap.
We always try to catch our favorite local band Barefoot when we’re up in Frankfort, too. They play at Stormcloud and The Cabbage Shed with some regularity and are also often at St. Ambrose Cellars in Beulah. Lead vocalist Jenni Rae is enormously talented and is backed by a great band. They play acoustic versions of familiar songs and put their own awesome spins on them all.
2.) Frankfort is a great spot to launch day trips from!
Taking a short trip out of downtown to the Point Betsie Light is a staple of a trip to Frankfort. This is one of Michigan’s loveliest lighthouses and boasts absolutely stunning sunsets year-round. We love to go in all seasons to see how the landscape and shoreline change over the year. There is also great rock hunting along the beach at Point Betsie—we found a Petoskey stone there in February!
Not much farther up M-22 there is of course the world famous Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but you don't even have to go that far for a unique adventure. We absolutely love heading just a bit north of Point Betsie to put tubes into the Platte River and float for a few hours. You end up floating right into Lake Michigan! Stock up on provisions (ahem, beer) at the awesome Riverside Canoe Trips general store before you hop in the river.
As often as we go up, we are a little surprised to continue finding more hidden gems within a half hour drive of Frankfort. This past fall we discovered Lake Ann Brewing Company, a great cabin-like spot in Lake Ann with good beer and a yummy pizza place next door where you can get carry out and bring it over to the brewery. We also can’t recommend Northern Natural Ciderhouse & Winery enough! Located in Kaleva (haven’t heard of it? We hadn’t either… it’s about 7 miles south of Thompsonville), it’s an odd little spot with the best hard cider we’ve ever tasted. All of their products are certified organic and you can taste the difference between their ciders and basically any other cider we’ve ever had. They have a classic semi-dry apple cider and a delicious apple-cherry variety along with more unique flavors like orange blossom and lavender.
In the fall, we also love to take day trips up to Traverse City and head up Old Mission Peninsula and Leelenau Peninsula for wine tasting, hikes, and foliage views. Our favorite winery is Hawthorne Vineyards, on Old Mission. We also love to stop at the Jolly Pumpkin on Old Mission—they have a special menu and a beautiful location that’s quieter than the other JP’s. On Leelenau Peninsula, we find Hoplot Brewing to be worth a stop, especially in the fall when the leaf colors in the big outdoor beer garden are out in full. Making it to the tip of either peninsula (Old Mission Lighthouse on Old Mission or Leeleanu State Park on Leelenau) is also always worth it for us!
3.) Frankfort is the perfect jump-off for outdoor adventures.
We love hiking and trail running and have a few favorite trails close to Frankfort. Right down the road in Elberta is the Elberta Dunes Natural Area, which features a relatively short but steep hike through dunes and forest until you pop out at the top of a ridge to see stunning views of Lake Michigan. Our favorite! The Green Point Dunes Nature Preserve is a few miles further south and is an incredible hike in all seasons. On this hike you get lots of terrain changes too, and multiple opportunities to see lake vistas. You used to be able to go down to the beach at one point on this hike but unfortunately due to erosion, beach access has been removed. Still a great bet if you’re looking to get some exercise!
We also love biking on the Betsie Valley Trail right from downtown Frankfort past Crystal Lake and into Beulah. We stop for a pint or three at The Corner Pub or Five Shores Brewing and then turn around to head back, stopping to jump in Crystal Lake at Mollineaux Beach. The bike trail is lovely and offers lots to see—woods, ravines, creeks and, as you get closer to Beulah, lake houses and the beautiful turquoise waters of Crystal.
The more you’re willing to explore, the more you’ll find to do in Frankfort and the surrounding areas (although we suppose that goes for all of Michigan!). Let the Mighty Mitten know if you need more suggestions of what to do in the area… and don’t forget to snag a Frankfort print or a Point Betsie print while you’re at it!
]]>
Summer Camping Up North Michigan]]>https://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2020/03/06/Summer-Camping-Up-North-Michiganhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2020/03/06/Summer-Camping-Up-North-MichiganFri, 06 Mar 2020 16:30:01 +0000
Here at The Mighty Mitten we love ALL seasons—yes, even the fifth month of winter. The world looks beautiful with its latest coating of snow, and it’s especially amazing how bright things are at night when everything is snow-covered! But, enough of that... even though we love winter, like everyone else, we are starting to think about our summer vacations. And for The Mighty Mitten, summer means lots of time in northern Michigan, lots of great art shows, and lots of camping!
We’re excited to hit some of our favorite camping spots this summer, and to test out some new ones. Here are our Michigan summer camping destinations so far:
D.H. Day - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - Glen Arbor
D.H. Day is one of our favorite campgrounds in the whole state. We were a little worried when two years ago they switched from their first-come, first-serve campsite acquisition method to reservation-only, but it looks like they ironed out the kinks last summer because we had no trouble booking our site this year! D.H. Day is just a few miles from Glen Arbor and is right smack dab in the middle of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The campground itself offers a big, beautiful beach perfect for swimming, rock-hunting, and beach fires, and the Sleeping Bear Heritage Bike Trail cuts right through the park. If, like us, you love long bike rides, D.H. Day is the perfect jumping off spot to hop on the trail and bike as far as you’d like. We also love to tube the Platte River while we’re camping at D.H. Day and snorkel in the Crystal River. Both are just a short drive away! And of course, it’s practically essential to close out each sun-filled, water-soaked day with a refreshing beer at Art’s Tavern, right in downtown Glen Arbor.
Fisherman’s Island State Park - Charlevoix
We camped for the first time last year at Fisherman’s Island and we’re excited to return this summer! This campground is a few miles outside of Charlevoix proper, but feels very private and remote. It is not on an island, but rather gets its name from the island that sits a couple hundred meters offshore. You could swim to it on a nice day, if you’re brave! At times of lower water, this island has turned into a peninsula but with the current high water levels, it's definitely back to an island this year! Unfortunately, these same high water levels have made the southern part of the park, where we camped last year, totally inaccessible because the water has covered the road. We were amazed when we drove in last summer at the waves crashing up onto the road (and onto our car!) and wondered aloud if the road would still exist in 2020. And now we have our answer! Still, the park is absolutely stunning--densely wooded with large campsites and very peaceful and quiet. If you’re looking to be close to town but have more privacy, Fisherman’s Island is a great bet!
(Video of Lake Michigan splashing the road to the campground)
(Fisherman's Island in the background.
Taken from where Inwood Creek meets Lake Michigan.)
Presque Isle Campground - Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
There are many different areas to camp within the Porcupine Mountains and it can be challenging to figure out what’s best! This year we settled on the Presque Isle Campground, which is right on Lake Superior and has the Presque Isle River running directly through it. If that isn’t enough to explain our choice, you can also easily access tons of trails right from the campground and it has a whole loop that is generator-free, so for tent campers like us the peace and quiet is amazing! We’re looking forward to doing some great hikes and exploring all the beauty that the Porkies have to offer, but no visit to would be complete without seeing Lake of the Clouds!
Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground - Grayling
We’re also looking forward to returning to a hidden gem that we discovered last year while camping during our annual participation in the Great Lakes Relay. Located six miles from Grayling, Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground was one of our favorite camping experiences in 2019. No large RVs are allowed in this campground, as all the sites are rustic. Lake Margrethe is absolutely beautiful, very clear, and extremely shallow.
When we were there in mid-July, we spent almost two hours standing waist deep in the lake hanging out and enjoying the sunset. You can walk right into the lake from the campground and there are lovely picnic areas to relax at as well. Wildly, while we were enjoying the lake, we saw a boat slowly following behind what at first we thought was a large water bird, but it turned out to be a fawn that had accidentally swam very far out into the lake and gotten lost! The boaters were not amused by our suggestion they get a bigger net, but they kindly guided the fawn back to shore where it jumped out and took off into the woods. We hope it found its mama!
We were only able to stay at Lake Margrethe for one night last year, but we hope to extend our stay this summer.
One of The Mighty Mitten’s favorite things about Michigan is how there is still so much to discover in our beautiful state, even after living here for our whole lives! Please stay tuned for more camping experiences and recommendations!
]]>
Aint it Grand!]]>https://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2019/08/27/Aint-it-Grandhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2019/08/27/Aint-it-GrandTue, 27 Aug 2019 21:07:26 +0000
Phew! Its been a super busy summer with lots of great art shows all over the state. Luckily, in between shows and enjoying all that our beautiful state has to offer this time of year, there was time to create a couple NEW PRINTS!
Today, we’re excited to showcase one of these brand new prints: Grand Haven! This is one that customers have been inquiring about eagerly, and we're so excited that it's finally ready! Hailing from southeast Michigan, we don’t get over to the southwest side as much as we would like, and Grand Haven is a true gem that we wish we could visit more often. The beach, the shops, the state park, Grand Haven Lighthouse…. Not to mention that half of the beer we’ve drank this summer has been Wheezin’ the Juice, from Grand Haven’s own Grand Armory Brewing.
Speaking of Grand Haven Lighthouse, lighthouses are one of The Mighty Mitten’s favorite things to feature in prints so the Grand Haven print boasts the town’s signature bright red light. A classic view down the distinctive pier (wow did those tiny lights take a long time to draw!), this boldly colored print will look great in the home of anyone with a soft spot in their heart for lovely Grand Haven.
Stay tuned to see what other new prints The Mighty Mitten created this summer!
]]>
New Product: Full-color stickers!]]>Brianhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2019/04/03/New-Product-Full-color-stickershttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2019/04/03/New-Product-Full-color-stickersWed, 03 Apr 2019 16:10:22 +0000
I'm excited to announce that The Mighty Mitten is back in the sticker game and hoping to make colorful splash with our new Michigan-shaped, full-color vinyl stickers.
The first batch is 3"x3" and is available for sale (with free shipping) in the shop, but more designs and sizes will be added soon, so stay tuned!
]]>
New Print: Michigan Stadium]]>Brianhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2018/11/23/New-Print-Michigan-Stadiumhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2018/11/23/New-Print-Michigan-StadiumFri, 23 Nov 2018 16:32:00 +0000
Another addition to the Ann Arbor travel art collection! This will be the first in a series dedicated to iconic Michigan athletic buildings.
]]>
Spreading the PeninsuLOVE, Vol. 6]]>Brianhttps://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2018/04/25/Spreading-the-PeninsuLOVE-Vol-6https://www.themightymitten.com/single-post/2018/04/25/Spreading-the-PeninsuLOVE-Vol-6Wed, 25 Apr 2018 15:27:02 +0000
Good news, Everyone! You can now find a wide selection of Mighty Mitten prints and cards at Made in The Mitten in beautiful downtown Royal Oak.