September 1-3, 2026
Frankfort channel
Pretty uneventful drive from Good Harbor Bay to Frankfort, Michigan. A number of the marina towns along the west side of Michigan have large channels which typically flow into a lake. On a busy weekend or in good weather, the boat traffic can get quite busy. Frankfort wasn’t that bad on a Tuesday morning, but there must have been 20-30 fishing boats inside the channel all trying to catch pink salmon. Anglers typically target pink salmon because they are scrappy fighters using light tackle. They are also of good eating quality.
Pink salmon
Howie docked the boat with able assistance from the admiral (Linda) and the dock master who was quick and efficient. Once we were settled, we walked down to Stormcloud Brewing Company and had a nice lunch on their patio.
Frankfort Municipal Marina which was right next to the downtown.
Stormcloud Brewing Company
Found that Bella actually owned a cafe in town-who knew?
After a stroll through town (lovely shops), Bella and I headed to the beach for a swim. It was a busy afternoon as the kids are enjoying their last few days before heading back to school next week.
As we were staying two nights, I decided to take a bike ride the next day. Little did I know what was in store. Leaving the marina I saw a path that headed through a park and then behind some buildings. I thought, well, I’ll just follow this out to the street. Wonder of wonders, the path just kept going. It followed the Betsie Lake and Betsie River and then went through lovely forested areas to Crystal Lake. It is a 22 mile trail, though I turned around about 11 miles in.
Crystal Lake on Betsie Valley trail.
I don’t know if it was the beauty of the trail, the wonderful weather, the interesting homes and nature to look at, but it was truly the best bike ride I have had in a LONG time. I went about 22 miles and had a fabulous time.
We ate out at a busy restaurant in town called “Vita Bella” which had pretty good food. This was the second restaurant in town called Bella.
The next morning we did a pump out and got fuel before heading to Manistee, MI which I didn’t see much of due to a major rain downpour while docking the boat.