7 Fun and FREE Spring Activities in the Traverse City Area
You may be in a swim suit one day and a snow suit the next, but spring time in the Traverse City area still has plenty of fun to offer! Try one of the 5 free options below and get out there and make some memories!
Take a hike at the Boardman River Nature Center capped off by a visit to Nature Playscape
The Nature Playscape is a natural, free-play area where children can interact with nature through sensory learning experiences that bring nature to children’s daily outdoor play and learning environments. Highlights include a mud-kitchen with running water, play row boat, eagle’s nest, climbable spider web.
Visit the Glen Lake Schools playground
Laker Park and Playground is one of our family’s favorite playgrounds in the area! Located at Glen Lake Community Schools and open to the public during off school hours, the playground includes a 100-foot zip line, covered bridge, tension cord playscape, and a figure-eight track to run, walk, or ride bikes. Built into the natural landscape, there are multiple slides to get kids from one level of the playground to the next. There are even basketball and soccer play areas.
Visit the Curiosity Place at the Grand Traverse Mall!
Make your way over to the new location of the Grand Traverse Children’s Museum at the Grand Traverse Mall! The new location is full of hands-on fun with new features like a real tools exploration area, a new bubble room, and separate imagination zones for creative play.
Check out Live After 5 in Downtown Traverse City Fridays, May 16-June 6 from 5-8pm
Spend your Friday evenings in Downtown Traverse City enjoying Live After 5, a new and free outdoor entertainment series featuring emerging and established performers. Stroll the sidewalks, grab a bite, shop local, and soak in the sounds of live music or watch performers entertain – talented artists will bring the streets to life!
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Hike the Zetterberg Preserve and end at Point Betsie Lighthouse
The majority of this popular 1.2-mile loop is along the trail, the shoreline and Point Betsie Road, with only a half mile of unmarked route through the open dunes. end at Point Betsie Lighthouse, where you can take some stunning family pictures.
Hike Mitchell Creek Meadows: The Don and Jerry Oleson Nature Preserve
Located just outside downtown Traverse City, Mitchell Creek Meadows: The Don and Jerry Oleson Nature Preserve offers family-friendly hiking, bird watching, and… goats!
The universally accessible Looyenga Family Trail invites visitors of all abilities to explore diverse habitats, from wetlands to forests. Spanning nearly three-quarters of a mile, the trail features thoughtfully designed boardwalks and scenic viewpoints, including Glen’s Grove (we loved climbing the cedar trees!) and an elevated platform. It’s a perfect blend of nature and accessibility!
End your trip by saying hi to the incredibly sweet and hard working goats which help to control invasive species and maintain grasses around the preserve. You can also check out the conservations’s
Visitors can also stop by the Conservation Center doing working hours to learn more about the ongoing land protection and stewardship projects and other collaborative initiatives across the region.
Peep the cherry blossoms along the Leelanau side of the TART trail!
Park at the Shady Lane access point and enjoy blossoms galore for a half mile north!
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