Betsie Bay Net :: Benzie County Visitor Information

Benzie Information on: Beulah

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 Community, Elberta, Frankfort, Media, Outdoor Recreation, Thompsonville | Comments (0)

Frozen Fun at Winterfest 2008

February 13, 2008 – 7:42 am

Winterfest 2/9/08 Beulah,Mich., photo by whatever264.

whatever264 says that this photo features kite skiing on Crystal Lake during Winterfest activities. She also has a shot of horse-drawn hayrides in Beulah.

Despite the less than optimal weather, the Benzie County Chamber says that at Winterfest 2008 (held Saturday, Feb 9) :

A fun time was had by all! There were lots of wintertime activities including pancake breakfast, snowmobile poker run, horse drawn hay ride, frozen fish toss, frozen turkey bowl, rubber duck race, chili cook off, parade, fireworks, bonfire on the beach and more! Then after the days events we had a great Benzie Chamber of Commerce Winterfest Party with Live and Silent Auctions, Food, Music and fun! !

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Community, Lodging, Outdoor Recreation, Photo, Stories | Comments (0)

Champion Hill Nordic Ski Trails

January 21, 2008 – 3:27 pm

Ken Lake spent some time Friday at Champion Hill Nordic Ski Trails, a sponsor of betsiebay.net.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Lodging, Media, Outdoor Recreation, Video | Comments (1)

Benzie & Frankfort Fall Festival

September 28, 2007 – 1:16 pm

The annual Fall Festival offers two weeks of fun in Frankfort, Beulah, Benzonia and the surrounding area. The Benzie County Visitor's Bureau has a page of information on the festival and you can get the poster from the Frankfort-Elberta Chamber.
Weekend of October 6-7

Fall food takes center stage with the Fall Soup Contest on Saturday (Oct 6) in Beulah Park and the Honor Lions Club Hillbilly Breakfast from 8:30 – 12:30 on Sunday (Oct 7).

There's also a Sidewalk Art Contest and a Fall Market in Beulah on Saturday and the Crystal Lake Elementary FallFest Fundraiser in Benzonia on Saturday with a full lineup of fun for families including a produce & products market, cider press, carnival with prizes, food, refreshments, petting zoo and fire truck rides.

Crystal Mountain offers scenic chairlift rides to view the fall colors (4-6 PM both Saturday the 6th & 13th) and a haunted forest (6-9:30 PM) on Saturday and then hosts the Betsie Valley Run on Sunday with a 10K Run and Half Marathon Walk & Run. The photo above is Big breeze at Pt Betsie by Jim Sorbie at Point Betsie Lighthouse is open to visit both weekends!

Frankfort Fall Festival
Weekend of October 13-14

At 11 AM on Saturday, October 13 2007, the Fall Festival Parade and Mutt March will take place in downtown Frankfort (costume judging for the Mutts is at 10 AM). Other events following the parade include a Pumpkin luncheon at the Recreation Center, performances by the internationally acclaimed Scottville Clown Band and a ton of fall fun at the Open Space including:

Giant Pumpkin weigh-in (guess the weight and win a bike!)
Mutt Corral with awards and doggy fun
Giant Pumpkin Carving and Auction
A hay wagon ride through Frankfort with a storyteller
The Pumpkin Regatta
Activities for kids including games, pumpkin decorating, face painting, balloon man, straw maze, fortune teller, pumpkin bowling and pumpkin hillbilly golf!

A really cool looking feature is the Pumpkin Chuckin' Catapults at 2:30 PM and be sure to save room for the Frankfort City Fire Dept Fish Fry (3 – 6 PM).

Saturday night also features late night shopping at participating downtown businesses, a Mad Cap Puppet Show at Frankfort High School (6:30 PM) and at 7 PM Bayside Haunting at Old Coast Guard Station.

The photo to the right is Extreme Pumpkin by John Clement Howe (view a set of photos). You can learn more about noted pumpkin carver Ed Moody. That link goes to his web site where you'll find some photos of his amazing work.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Benzonia, Community, Elberta, Food & Dining, Frankfort, Honor, Lodging, Outdoor Recreation, Stories | Comments (1)

Bounty of the (apple) Harvest

September 23, 2007 – 9:54 am

This photo was taken by John Clement Howe yesterday at Eden Hill. He added three more apple-cheeked beauties to the betsiebay.net group too!

You can get some regional apple & farm market information from Taste the Local Difference and also on All About Apples' Northern Michigan page.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Food & Dining, Photo, Stories | Comments (0)