Traverse City, Michigan – Travel and Lodging

The Homestead – Kids 17 and Under Ski and Ride Free

Kids 17 and Under Ski and Ride Free

The headline’s right. We’re making skiing and riding family friendly again. There are only three restrictions and there’s no fine print. The restrictions are:

• The kids and their family must be registered guests at The Homestead.
• At least one parent must have purchased a same day, all day lift ticket.
• Proof of relationship must be presented.

This offer is available every day of the season, including holidays, as there are no black out dates. So that’s it.

This is one of two offerings in America (the other one is at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon, a long drive for a weekend) that’s as family friendly as this offer is. Think about it: your savings could cover most meals and gas. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Post a comment on our Facebook Page.

Visit The Homestead Website >>>>

 
 

The Homestead – Oktoberfest – October 4 – 7, 2012

In 1810, the Crown Prince Ludwig was married to Princess Therese of Bavaria. The party they held was so popular that they decided to repeat it every year. Here at The Homestead, we want to celebrate what Oktoberfest has come to stand for: an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate the bounty of the fall with good company, good food, and good beer.

From October 4th to October 7th, we’ll be doing just that, with a series of events designed to pay tribute both to German traditions and to our own local harvest. Beer lovers will want to arrive for Nonna’s Beer Tasting from 6-8pm on the 4th. Guests will sample a variety of the best local and international beers, all carefully chosen and presented by The Homestead.

The following night (Friday, October 5th), Nonna’s will host a Beer Dinner featuring the micro-brews from Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, carefully matched to a variety of dishes by Executive Chef John Piombo. Beer dinner $65 per person, plus gratuity and tax.

On Saturday, October 6th, Chef Piombo, who trained in Germany as well as Italy, France, and the United States, will offer a cooking demonstration where guests will learn about charcuterie (the craft of smoking, salting, and curing meats). Demonstration is $50 per person, plus gratuity and tax.

On Sunday, October 7th, round out the weekend with some traditional fare such as Weisswurst and soft pretzels, while admiring a variety of vintage cars on the lawn of The Inn. The car show and cook-out from 11am to 4pm. Show participants may register the day of the event for $10 per vehicle which includes lunch.

Weekend lodging packages available including lodging, breakfast buffet each morning, beer dinner and charcuterie demonstration. For availability and reservations, call 231.334.5100.

Visit The Homestead Resort Website >>>>

 
 

The Homestead – Harvest Wine Tour Weekend – October 26 to 28, 2012

After you’ve had a good night’s rest and a delicious breakfast, we’ll take you to four of Leelanau’s wineries.

You’ll meet the winemakers, sample and discuss their wines and purchase what you wish. Come evening you’ll enjoy a winemakers’ dinner for which Chef John Piombo and the winemaker will prepare a menu with wine pairings for a five course meal.

After a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast, you’ll take your memories and wines home. From $152 per person, per night, based on double occupancy.

Visit The Homestead Website >>>>

 
 

Manitou Passage Golf Club – A Northern Michigan Adventure

By Jim Barnes

It may seem unthinkable, even sacrilegious, to make any changes to a course designed by the great Arnold Palmer. Originally opened in 1998 as King’s Challenge, the course languished a bit when Sugar Loaf Mountain Ski Resort closed (the course is built alongside the ski hill), so it needed some rejuvenating and updating. The new owners, headed up by Robert Kuras of The Homestead Resort, have done an excellent job.

From the first turn in the drive and glimpse of the renovated clubhouse, the place feels welcoming. Once you’re on the 1st tee, nestled among trees, natural landscaping, and that big looming “mountain,” you know you’re in for a classic “up north” golf adventure.

Palmer said during the course construction that it was one of the most dramatic sites he’s ever worked with, and he made full use of the extreme terrain. After a few fairly flat holes, he takes the track up the side of the mountain, perches a few holes up on the plateau, and then plunges back down to dramatic effect. The redesign has increased playability by enlarging many of the tee boxes, taking some severity out of a few doglegs, and widening some landing areas. The excellent bunkering throughout the course has been cleaned up and re-cut, giving it the crisp look such a monumental design deserves.

One of the most noticeable and dramatic changes is the No. 8 tee box, where some earth was moved to raise the surface and give golfers a better view. Now, a glimpse of Lake Michigan between Pyramid Point and South Manitou Island is visible, the namesake Manitou Passage. Those who know the historical significance of the Passage and its nickname “the Graveyard of the Great Lakes” can treat this as a sign to “batten down the hatches” and not let their round get shipwrecked.

It’s a beautiful view to begin the course’s signature and probably most challenging hole. The downhill par 5 drops like a black-diamond ski slope, and when it finally flattens out, the dogleg reveals a water-guarded green — with your approach shot dead into the prevailing wind coming onshore from the aforementioned Passage. The pond is teeming with plants and wildlife, you can see the “mountain” in the background, and landing your approach shot dry is a major accomplishment and a great finish to one of northern Michigan’s most exciting golf holes.
Maybe the most striking thing about this course is the variety — of terrain, of fairway slope, of green shape — there is always a surprise and always an interesting feature. On No. 4, you break out of the woods with a sweeping dogleg right that ends at a huge amphitheater green — not a tree in sight. The next two links-style holes are high and dry, a brief respite before you duck back into the forest.

If you’re looking for a golf adventure in one of the most unique settings in northern Michigan, this is the course for you. Be prepared to cast off, trim your sails, and have a rollicking good time navigating this great Arnold Palmer creation at Manitou Passage.

Manitou Passage Golf Club Photos (Click on photos for slideshow view)

 
Visit Manitou Passage Golf Club Website >>>>

Visit Manitou Passage Golf Club Page on Facebook >>>>

 
 

The Homestead – Watercolor Painting Workshop with Edee Joppich – October 4 – 7, 2010

Monday through Thursday, October 4-7, 2010

Students will create a series of 3 to 9 small paintings on a specific subject.  These works will be mounted on a full sheet of watercolor paper with related wash painted on it.  The subject could be a barn.  Each small painting is a view or detail of it.  These are arranged on a large paper prepared with a wash of barn texture.  Other suggestions are trees (leaves, twigs, blossoms, etc.) birds, animals, fish, people, etc.Edee encourages originality and will demonstrate many of her traditional as well as innovative ways of creating beautiful effects with watercolor.  In-depth critiques along with color and design instruction make an Edee Joppich workshop an invaluable opportunity for serious painters at every level of experience.

Edee Joppich graduated from Marygrove College with graduate studies from Wayne State University.  Her inspirational classes are widely sought after.  Edee’s work is in corporate and private collections.  She is a signature member of the International Society of Experimental Artists.  www.edeejoppich.com.

Tuition: $325/members/$350 non-members for the four days (9am to 3pm).  Accommodations not included in tuition.  Special accommodation prices are available at The Homestead.

For workshop registration e-mail info@glenarborart.org or call 231.334.6112.

For accommodations at The Homestead call 231.334.5100.

Visit The Homestead Website >>>>

 
 

Manitou Passage Golf Club Becomes A Destination Course

Arnold Palmer’s “Signature Course” King’s Challenge is reborn in Leelanau County as Manitou Passage Golf Club

Over the past two decades some of the most distinguished new golf courses in America have opened in northern Michigan. Perhaps that’s because the nationally acclaimed golf course architects who designed those courses were inspired by the beauty of region’s hills, forests and waters. Nowhere is that beauty more pronounced than to the northwest of Traverse City in Leelanau County.

This sparsely populated decidedly rural county is made up of 348 square miles of land and 2,184 square miles of water. It is the home of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which is considered by many to be the State’s number one attraction. Its unmatched beauty with a climate tempered by the water made it a perfect setting for an Arnold Palmer Signature Course – the course that King’s Challenge was meant to be.

When a group lead by Bob Kuras, president of The Homestead, purchased King’s Challenge last year they knew it had not been what it was meant to be. They also knew it could be a signature course and, with dedication, could become a destination course featuring exceptional playing conditions and unmatched service. When the group adopted a goal of becoming a destination course they decided that the course needed a new name that would tie it to Leelanau County and portray the unique high-end experience it would offer.

“While working on the new tee boxes for No. 8 we discovered a view of Lake Michigan’s Manitou Passage. Immediately, we realized that name was the tie to Leelanau County. We also realized that the grandeur of the passage would portray what we are doing here: creating a world-class golf experience on a course designed by one of the greatest golfers to play the game”, said Kuras.

To create that experience the new ownership group reestablished a relationship with Palmer and brought in other experts. One was Wadsworth Golf Construction, the most respected golf course contractor in the country with over 800 projects to its credit. The other was Peridian International, a leader in land planning and landscape architecture for resort destinations throughout the world. Together, Palmer, Wadsworth and Peridian envisioned scores of changes, some minor, some major, that would be made to bring the course and facility up to the championship level experience that an Arnold Palmer “Signature Design” is noted for.

Wadsworth worked from early spring until early winter to make the majority of the recommended changes. Renovations included the repositioning, adding and squaring off of tee-boxes, widening of fairways in key landing areas, renovating bunkers, lengthening some holes, restoring areas with native grasses and clearing of trees and brush to open vistas to the area’s natural beauty.

Complimenting the golf course work was a complete renovation of the entry drive, parking area, cart storage, starter’s plaza and clubhouse. The new clubhouse features a tastefully detailed stone and cedar shake exterior. Inside, the newly created library and trophy alcoves, club room, grill and golf shop feature stone fireplaces, luxurious furnishings, oriental rugs, warm rich woods and original art. New patio doors lead to a multi-level patio that affords stunning views of the 18th hole and offers guests’ outdoor food and beverage services.

The completely-redesigned Clubhouse features an outdoor dining terrace with sweeping views of no. 18 and full table service from the Grill Room.

“We adopted a very high goal and are delighted with the contributions that Palmer, Wadsworth and Peridian made toward our achieving our goal of becoming a destination course. We are looking forward to completing the work and providing the playing conditions and service discerning golfers desire and deserve,” said Kuras.

For more information visit: www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com (under construction), www.thehomesteadresort.com, www.sleepingbeardunes.com and www.nps.gov/slbe.

Location: Cedar, MI 20 minutes northwest of Traverse City
Address: 4600 Club Drive
Yardage: 6,734 from back tees
Architect: Arnold Palmer Design Company
Year Opened: 1998, Reopened 2010
Phone: 231.228.6000; 888.656.7572
For More: Jamie Jewell, Senior Manager, The Homestead, 231.334.5524>

Visit Manitou Passage Golf Club on Facebook >>>>

 
 

See Traverse City - Traverse City Area - Sleeping Bear Dunes - Northern Michigan - produced by North Guide Internet.