Traverse City KOA

Fish Hatchery

The new interpretative facilities and trails, the new hatchery complex, lower weir harvest facility and the upper weir egg-take station will all be of interest to the public. The best times to see returning adult salmon in the Platte River are from mid September to mid November at the lower weir (located off Lake Michigan Road 2 miles northwest of M-22) and late September to mid October at the upper weir located at the hatchery. The public is welcome to watch the egg and sperm take operations. Please call ahead to find out when egg takes will be conducted.

Candle Factory

One of America's largest candle retailers. Come and enjoy demonstrations that can be arranged in advance for groups. The historical and artistic ambiance has been developed to entertain visitors of all ages.

City Opera House

Traverse City's handsome second-story City Opera House has been a source of community pride since its construction in 1891. The first building in Traverse City to install electric lights, the Opera House hosted plays, lectures, meetings, balls, concerts and vaudeville acts before closing in 1920. It is being restored to its former splendor, and is now used for a variety of community meetings, dances and other events.

Vineyard Tours

Located on the 45th parallel, Traverse City is home to vintners who grow grapes and bottle wines on the scenic Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas. The wines are fast becoming among the finest offered nationally and internationally. The ideal climate, with vineyards protected by winter snows and conditions moderated by proximity to Lake Michigan, has given rise to a wine industry that has been recognized for its quality and variety since the first winery opened here in 1974. Notable for Rieslings, methode champenoise sparkling wines, Chardonnays and fruit wines, Traverse City area vintners are now also receiving high praise from critics and consumers alike for their red wines, Pinot Noirs, ice wines and other varieties

Dennos Museum Center

The Michael and Barbara Dennos Museum Center features both the visual and performing arts. Changing exhibitions focus on a variety of media and subjects from historical art to contemporary work by artists of state, national and international stature. The museum's permanent display of sculpture, prints and drawings by the Inuit artists of the Canadian arctic is one of the largest and most historically complete collections anywhere. A hands-on Discovery Gallery is especially popular with children. The Milliken Auditorium showcases the performing arts, including theater, dance and music.

Leelanau Sands Casino or Turtle Creek Casino

Owned and operated by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, both casinos offer Black Jack, Caribbean Stud Poker, Craps, Roulette, and over 200 slots including progressives. Enjoy nationally recognized entertainment in the state-of-the-art Sands Showroom.

Historic Perry Hannah House

A massive Victorian Mansion once home to one of the founders of Traverse City.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

Sleeping Bear took its name from an Ojibway legend about its formation. According to the story, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven by forest fires from what is now Wisconsin and forced to swim across Lake Michigan. When the mother bear reached the Michigan shore, she turned to discover that her cubs had vanished. The Great Spirit was so touched by her plight that he had her fall off to sleep there, creating Sleeping Bear Dune, and marked the place where her cubs disappeared by creating the Manitou Islands.

Light Houses

One of the oldest lighthouses on the lakes, the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula has guided ships through the northern entrance to the Manitou Passage for 150 years. Located nine miles north of Northport in the Leelanau State Park, the lighthouse was home to generations of keepers and their families. Extensive exhibits chronicle their lives and the experiences of those who sailed the lakes.

Great Lakes Children's Museum

The mission of the Great Lakes Children's Museum is to surround children and the adults in their lives with a hands-on, interactive and informal educational environment that will invite curiosity, allow exploration, encourage participation and celebrate the child-like wonder in all of us.

Music House

An extensive collection of the finest and rarest automatic musical instruments in live performance is featured at The Music House, located eight miles north and east of Traverse City. The greatest artists of the past come alive in concerts performed upon rare and classic musical instruments of historic significance.