Category Archives: Sports & Recreation

EVENT LISTING

National Coho Festival

August 20, 2008 – 10:20 am

The Coho QueenThe National Coho Festival, held in Honor, runs this Thursday-Sunday (Aug 21-24, 2008). The festival features a wide variety of entertainment, food & drink, kids events like a rubber duck race and games, contests and of course the parade at 2 PM on Saturday. Much more at the link below!

The National Coho Festival web site explains that Coho Salmon were introduced to the state of Michigan in April, 1966 with the first planting from the Platte River Fish Hatchery, located just east of Honor.

Three local men soon developed the idea of having a festival to promote the Coho Salmon and Benzie County. The first festival was held October 7 -15, 1967…

The second festival was held in September of 1968 and was considered a great success. By this time the National Coho Salmon Festival, Inc. was an official organization. In 1968, the first National Coho Queen, Claudia Eberly, was selected.


By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community, Events, Food & Dining, Honor, Lodging & Travel | Comments (1)

Blocking The View

August 18, 2008 – 7:50 pm

Blocking The View

Blocking The View, photo by jbnuthatch.

jbnuthatch writes Channel marker base on the northern stub pier of Frankfort Harbor. The channel is the entrance into Betsie Bay - a.k.a. Lake Betsie

Sorry posting has been light this month - too much fun stuff to do outside!
Speaking of lighthouses, if you haven't already, take a look at The Town Between Two Lighthouses video!

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community, Frankfort, Lodging & Travel, Media & Internet, Photo, Video | Comments (0)

Otter Creek aka Esch Road Beach

July 11, 2008 – 7:33 am

Empire Bluff from Esch Road (Otter Creek)

Empire Bluff from Esch Road (Otter Creek) , photo by jsorbieus.

For my money, one of the world's best beaches is Otter Creek in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The park calls it Esch Road Beach and it's the site of the former logging village of Aral. (we'll tell you the story of Aral someday).

The photo is part of Jim's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore set (slideshow) and like all his photos, it's available "biggie-sized" to grace your desktop!

Here's Otter Creek/Esch Rd Beach on the betsiebay.net map!

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Lodging & Travel, Map, Photo, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Stories | Comments (0)

The Betsie Valley Trail in Benzie County

June 30, 2008 – 11:07 am

The Betsie Valley Trail is a 22 mile long, hard surfaced trail. The asphalt portion is six miles long and goes from Frankfort, through Elberta, along Crystal Lake to Beulah - perfect for biking, rollerblading and walking. From Beulah to Thompsonville the trail cuts through woods and farms. This portion is 13 miles long and is a compacted aggregate surface that is great for mountain biking and all kinds of pedestrian uses (it's. Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail's great trail tour page (with photos) begins:

The Betsie Valley Trail is built on the bed of the former Ann Arbor Railroad, which carried freight and passengers from Toledo through Ann Arbor, Owosso, Cadillac, Thompsonville and Beulah to Frankfort and Elberta. From 1892 until 1982 the freight cars were carried across Lake Michigan on car ferries to Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Passenger service was discontinued in 1951 and freight service in 1985. The railroad was abandoned in 1994 and, in 1998, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) bought the rail corridor. Benzie County and the Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail have been working with the DNR since 1992 to build the Trail.

You can even ride the trail one way if you make reservations with the Benzie Bus service who will take you, your friends and bikes to any spot on the trail for $2 ($1 for seniors). For info and reservations call 231-325-3000 or visit BenzieBus.com. Here's the Betsie Valley Trail map and you can also check it out on the betsiebay.net map!

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Beulah, Community, Elberta, Frankfort, Media & Internet, Thompsonville | Comments (0)

Fun in the Sun: Early Season Surfing, Paddle-surfing, Kayaking & Kiteboarding in Frankfort

June 10, 2008 – 2:12 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlgmE9abn9I

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Frankfort, Lodging & Travel, Media & Internet, Video | Comments (0)

Manistee River Looking West by photoshoparama

June 8, 2008 – 10:48 am

Manistee River Looking West, photo by photoshoparama

This is a 3-exposure HDR photo (High Dynamic Range).

Wikipedia's entry on the Manistee River says:

The river's name comes from the Ojibwa word Manistiqweita, meaning "Crooked River".[1] Historically, the upper river was renowned for its outstanding grayling fishery, among the finest in the world, as catches in excess of 1000 fish per weekend outing were commonly reported up until the 1880s, when extensive logging in the area ruined the habitat. Logging in the area commenced in earnest between 1880 and 1910, with peak production occurring in the 1890s. The rivers relatively large size, stable flows, and dearth of cataracts or other difficult passages made it ideal for the transportation of lumber. During this period huge numbers of white pine logs, some as large as six feet in diameter, were floated down the river to the port at Manistee and eventually on to the lumber markets of Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Chicago where the wood was used to build the cities and towns of the Midwestern United States

Dan has a lot more photos from all across the region in his Up North Michigan set (slideshow)

By ken | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community, Lodging & Travel, Manistee, Photo, Stories | Comments (0)

Benzie area golf course map

June 4, 2008 – 7:17 am

the 18th green

the 18th green, photo by numstead.

Our region is blessed with some amazing terrain and golfers know that when terrain isn't making you hurl your clubs, it's creating a challenge that sharpens your game and enjoyment.

In addition to our sponsor Champion Hill Golf Course (map), we have listed many more of the region's great golf courses including Crystal Mountain (pictured above), Bear Lake County Highlands, the Dunes Golf Club and Arcadia Bluffs.

Check them all out on the betsiebay.net map ans also see the Golf Benzie from the Benzie County Visitor's Bureau.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Lodging & Travel, Media & Internet, Photo, Stories, Thompsonville | Comments (0)

Sleeping Bear Dunes General Management Plan meetings

May 30, 2008 – 3:44 pm

From the current edition of the Glen Arbor Sun:

In early June, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service) will hold three identical public meetings on consecutive days to present four action alternatives, including the Park's "preferred alternative," for a new General Management Plan (GMP), and solicit public comments in the process. The Park will hold meetings on June 3 at Platte River Elementary School in Honor; June 4 at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City; and June 5 at the Glen Arbor Township Hall — all from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The public can also comment on the alternatives at the Park's website until June 13.

Read the rest in Park unveils revamped General Management Plan to public from the Sun.

View the alternatives, make your comments and get all the details on the GMP from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The proposed plans include options such as a bike path, a 30 mile bay-to-bay hiking path stretching from Platte Bay to Good Harbor Bay and some changes to recreational use (though not nearly as extreme as the last round).

Photo credit: Sleeping Bear Dunes - photo by Don Miller/Glen Arbor Sun

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Business, Community, Lodging & Travel, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Stories | Comments (0)

Walking the Old Indian Trail

May 22, 2008 – 10:29 am

A video tour of the Old Indian Trail in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzQihHiJiho

By ken | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Lodging & Travel, Stories, Video | Comments (0)

Visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes

May 9, 2008 – 3:47 pm

At the Mouth of Otter Creek, Autumn, 2007 by John Clement HoweOver on Absolute Michigan there's a nice feature on visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It features some thoughts about fun things to do in the park along with a ton of links & photos. Check out Dig Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes.

While there's a tendency to think of the park as a Glen Arbor or Leelanau park, much of the acreage is in Benzie County and Benzie played a significant role in the early days of the park as you can read in the online book A Nationalized Lakeshore: The Creation and Administration of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:

The first lakeshore headquarters was in Frankfort, Michigan, at the site of the former State Savings Bank, a terra cotta trimmed commercial building located on Main Street. Martinek, a former Traverse City resident, would have preferred that location as a temporary headquarters. But the park service had already committed itself to Frankfort, besides, Benzie County had a number of long-time supporters of the project and Martinek was informed they were offering space in the bank for free. The space had to be thoroughly renovated, teller cages removed and carpets put in, and ended up costing the agency $700 dollars a month in rent. Of greater assistance to the lakeshore was Ted Carland's offer to the superintendent to publish in the Benzie County Patriot a series of columns (eventually titled "Bear Facts") to explain park service policy and give readers an update on the development of the lakeshore.

…Although all owners of property within the lakeshore boundaries were notified of the existence of the park project immediately after the passage of Public Law 91-479, they were generally at sea concerning how it would affect them. Property owners had to come down to Frankfort and discover what classification their tracts had been assigned. If their land was projected for public use it was rated "Category I" and it was doomed to be lost to the government.

We've also added a ton of trails and other items of interest to the betsiebay.net map!

The photo is At the Mouth of Otter Creek, Autumn, 2007 by John Clement Howe, part of his amazing Benzie County set (slideshow).

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community, Empire, Frankfort, Lodging & Travel, Media & Internet, Photo, Stories | Comments (0)