Things to Do in Traverse City in Winter: A Local's 2026-27 List

We host nine homes around Traverse City, and every November the same question starts showing up in my inbox: what is there to actually do up there in winter? A lot, it turns out. This is my working list of things to do in Traverse City in winter for the 2026-27 season, the stuff I actually send guests to, roughly ordered from snow-covered to indoors. If you want the bigger case for why winter is the best-kept season up here, I made that argument in our winter-in-Traverse-City post. This one is the to-do list.

1. Ski Downhill at Hickory Hills and Mt. Holiday

Traverse City has two small ski hills inside town limits, and they're the kind of places where local kids learn to ski after school. Hickory Hills, on the west edge of town, has been owned and run by the city since 1952. It has 16 runs from beginner to advanced, a terrain park, and lift tickets that cost a fraction of what the destination resorts charge. On the east side, Mt. Holiday runs downhill skiing and a tubing hill in winter, with a lodge for food and drinks when your legs give out. Our Holiday Hills neighborhood guide covers everything around it.

Neither hill will be confused with Colorado, and that's the point. You can ski for two hours, be back in town for lunch, and nobody waited in a lift line. If you want bigger vertical, Crystal Mountain is about 30 minutes south and Shanty Creek about 40 minutes northeast.

2. Cross-Country Ski or Snowshoe the VASA Pathway

The VASA Pathway, on state forest land east of town, is the Nordic skiing hub of the region, with groomed loops for both classic and skate skiing, including 10K and 25K options. It hosts races all winter, but on a regular weekday morning it's just you, the hardwoods, and the sound of your own skis. Snowshoers get their own routes, so nobody is trampling the tracks.

Hickory Hills grooms its own cross-country trails too, more than 5K of hilly terrain plus a lighted 1K loop for night skiing, which is a genuinely fun thing to do after dinner.

3. Hike Sleeping Bear Dunes in the Snow

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore stays open year-round, and winter might be its most underrated season. The Empire Bluff Trail, a 1.5 mile walk to a 400-foot bluff over Lake Michigan, is a completely different experience with snow on the boardwalk and ice forming along the shoreline below. Summer crowds are gone; some days you'll have the overlook to yourself. One planning note: the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive closes to cars for the season and typically doesn't reopen until spring, so winter visits are about the trails, not the car overlooks.

Dress warmer than you think you need to. The wind off Lake Michigan at the top of a dune in January is serious. From our A-Frame near Lake Ann, the Empire trailheads are about a 26-28 minute drive, which makes a morning hike and an afternoon in the hot tub a very reasonable plan.

4. Fat-Tire Bike the TART Trail

The TART Trail network doesn't shut down when the snow flies. Fat-tire biking has taken off here, with winter-maintained routes in town and groomed singletrack out at the VASA. Brick Wheels downtown rents fat bikes if you didn't bring one. Riding a quiet, snow-packed trail through the woods on four-inch tires is sillier and more fun than it has any right to be.

5. Go Ice Skating

Two rinks cover the skating itch. Howe Ice Arena at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center runs public open-skate sessions through the winter, and Centre Ice Arena has indoor public skating programs and rentals year-round. Both are cheap and family-friendly, a solid plan B on the rare gray day when the snow turns to drizzle.

6. Try Ice Fishing

Once the inland lakes lock up, the shanty villages appear. Boardman Lake sits right in town, and Long Lake, Green Lake, and Elk Lake are all popular ice fishing waters within an easy drive, with perch, pike, and walleye the usual targets. If you've never done it, this is a hire-a-guide activity: several local outfitters run guided ice fishing trips with gear and shanties provided, and they know where the ice is safe. Never walk out on ice you haven't verified; conditions change week to week.

7. Eat and Drink Your Way Through Downtown

Winter is when downtown Traverse City belongs to the people who actually live here. The restaurants with hour-long summer waits seat you on a walk-in basis, Front Street is strung with lights, and the shopping is unhurried. My winter rotation: a slow dinner downtown, then drinks somewhere warm. The Parlor does craft cocktails in a vintage room, Low Bar is a basement lounge below 7 Monks that feels like a speakeasy, and The Little Fleet keeps outdoor firepits and a heated yurt going through the cold months. Our full Traverse City food and drink guide has the complete list, from breweries to bakeries.

8. Taste Wine Without the Tour Buses

The wineries on Old Mission Peninsula and across Leelanau County don't hibernate. Most tasting rooms stay open through winter on reduced hours, and the off-season visit is the better visit: you get a seat at the bar and an actual conversation with the person who made the wine. Snow-covered vineyard rows against the bay are their own reward. Check hours before you drive out, since winter schedules vary by winery, and consider lining up a driver if you're making a day of it. Our Leelanau wine country weekend guide maps out a route.

9. Spend an Afternoon Inside the Grand Traverse Commons

When the weather goes sideways, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons is the move. The restored 1885 asylum buildings hold restaurants, a winery tasting room at Left Foot Charley, coffee, bakeries, and a warren of boutique shops in the Mercato, all connected indoors. Book a guided historic tour to see the original tunnels, then surface for lunch and a glass of wine without ever putting your coat back on. The farmers market even runs Saturday mornings in winter.

10. Sweat It Out in a Sauna

The sauna-and-cold-plunge habit has caught on in northern Michigan, and winter is exactly the season for it. Hearth Sauna offers bookable sauna and cold plunge sessions, the kind of thing that pairs perfectly with a morning on the ski trails. And if you stay at our Holiday House on the east side, you don't have to book anything: it has its own cedar barrel sauna in the backyard.

Things to Do in Traverse City in Winter: Practical Notes

• The snow is usually reliable from late December through early March. We sit in the lake-effect snow belt, so storms can roll in off Lake Michigan on short notice and dump fast. Early December and late March are a coin flip; the heart of the season rarely disappoints.
• Lake-effect driving is its own skill. The roads here are plowed constantly and locals drive in it all winter, but give yourself extra time, especially on the rural stretches out toward the dunes. An all-wheel-drive vehicle isn't required, just helpful.
• Pack for wet, not just cold. Waterproof boots and a spare pair of gloves cover most sins. Every one of our homes has a washer and dryer, so soaked snow gear is a one-evening problem.
• Book dinner ahead on Saturdays. Winter weekends downtown are busier than people expect, between ski traffic and locals reclaiming their restaurants. Weeknights, walk in anywhere.

Where to Stay for a Winter Trip

Pick your base by how you want your evenings to end. If the answer is a hot tub in the snow, the Roost A-Frame near Lake Ann is the winter cabin: two bedrooms, sleeps four, a private hot tub on the back deck, a firepit, snowmobile trail access nearby, and a 200-acre nature preserve out the back door for snowshoeing. It's about 25 minutes from downtown and well positioned for Sleeping Bear hikes and Crystal Mountain ski days. I wrote a whole post on what a winter stay at the A-Frame looks like.

If your winter trip is more restaurants-and-wine-bars than snowshoes, stay at the Grand Traverse Commons and walk to everything. Historic Hearth is our one-bedroom condo for two inside historic Building 50, and Spiral Sanctuary sleeps six across two bedrooms and a loft. Snowy evening, dinner at the Commons, no driving: that's the whole pitch.

One more practical note: winter is the easiest season to book up here. Rates are at their lowest and calendars are open. Book direct with us and you get the best price, the best service, and a host who will tell you which trail was groomed this morning.

Related Guides

• Winter in Traverse City: Why the Off-Season Is the Best-Kept Secret
• A Winter Stay at the Roost A-Frame
• Traverse City Food & Drink Guide
• Grand Traverse Commons Neighborhood Guide
• Why Book Direct

That's the list. Pack more layers than you think you need, and ask me what the snow is doing the week you arrive. I check it every morning anyway.