Brian Walters
Bob Butz, Adventurist
Author
Bob Butz, Adventurist

The Trail Trekker Challenge

Get the backstory and advice to help you join a rare group of sightseeing adventurers. The Sleeping Bear Dunes had over 1.7 million visitors last year, but only 36 can lay claim to hiking every mainland trail in the park proper—that’s 13 trails that cover almost one hundred miles. It’s called the…

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Enjoy, Explore the Great Outdoors

That thrill you’ve been seeking? We have the coordinates. The woods, water, and wide-open spaces in and around the Sleeping Bear Dunes deliver options for outdoor recreation few other Midwest destinations can match. From challenging to family-friendly, here’s a rundown of five favorites to get your…

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Fish. Foreage. Hunt

Farmers markets won’t be hopping for weeks. But adventurous chefs know a feast of wild edibles thrives around us year round, especially in the springtime woods and waters in and around Sleeping Bear. If you’re into stalking more than supermarket aisles for real, honest food, read on... Steelhead &…

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Guided X-Country Ski at Palmer Woods

Beautiful winter scenery. Freshly groomed snow. Save your spot for Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 1pm when preserve experts with The Leelanau Conservancy will be hosting a guided ski tour at their largest natural area. Here’s the scoop on how to sign up… By Bob Butz Last month in Leelanau County, the…

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How to Watch the 2019 TC Ironman

The much-hyped triathlon competition happening in Traverse City this Sunday (August 25th) will not be televised. Downtown roads—along with select backroads and sections of M-22/M-72 in the surrounding townships and counties—will be closed or become one-ways. So how's a person check out the action…

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Hike the Newest Sleeping Bear Trail

After seven years of planning, work recently wrapped up on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s newest hiking and ski path. Be one of the first to check out the three-mile Kettles Trail. Here’s the scoop on the trail’s “glacial” significance and directions on how to find and explore this…

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Your Manitou Island Connection

If your idea of bliss is staring at a campfire instead of a television, hiking in big woods with spotty mobile phone coverage, or kayaking along miles of desolate Lake Michigan shoreline, then the Manitou Islands will feel like paradise. Ferrying people to and from the islands for the day or an…

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Time For A "Brew-Ski"

By Bob Butz | Adventurist Whether you live here or just visit, there’s a secret to loving the long, cold winters of the 45th parallel. Discover something you enjoy doing in the snow. Find an activity. Have some adventure that gets the heart pumping and maybe taxes muscles you forgot you had. An…

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