Winter in the quaint town of Harbor Springs is undeniably festive. We’ve already mentioned the Hallmark Tree cam centered on Main Street’s illustrious Christmas tree in a previous blog post. Harbor Springs gets cozy and bright during the winter months to welcome all visitors for the incredibly beautiful season of snow and ice.
It also gets quiet. The hustle and bustle of summer and fall die down. Traffic eases, and visitors can experience how the region relaxes into the long dormancy of winter. Harbor Springs in colder months extends an invitation to slow down, delight in the snow, and truly enjoy your vacation at a leisurely pace.
The great thing about a lot of locals: They’re used to the cold. Many business owners stay put to serve members of the Harbor Springs community. That means there’s plenty to do while you’re visiting the area. We’re happy to show you around one of the most beautiful towns you’ll ever encounter in northern Michigan.
Eat, drink, and be merry
In Harbor Springs proper, you’ll find plenty of fare to satisfy your hunger pangs after a long day of outdoor adventures.
For hearty breakfasts and brunches, try Small Batch at the Cupola. This is a must-try restaurant with truly interesting takes on brunch and lunch fare and enormous serving sizes. If you’ve never had ice cream atop a waffle for breakfast, you need to hit Small Batch.
Benedict’s garden (left) and the King Kong French toast (right) at Small Batch at the Cupola could easily feed a family of four. Plus, who says gelato isn’t brunch food? Photo courtesy: Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau
Birch Tree Bakery and Cafe is another excellent choice for breakfast, with breakfast burritos and sandwiches, along with plenty of baked goods to snack on alongside a cup of coffee.
For casual lunches, dinners, and takeout, options abound. Located in or near downtown, try out Pierson’s Grille & Spirits, Chang Cuisine, Bar Harbor, Turkey’s, Rodrigo’s, or Gurney’s Bottle Shop. The Polish Kitchen is a well-loved traditional restaurant just east of downtown, and Vernales is always popular for a nice sit-down lunch or dinner. Petoskey Cheese, which recently moved to Harbor Springs, carries excellent homemade sandwiches, flatbreads, snacks, and an extensive cheese selection. If you’re feeling a little fancier, The New York Restaurant, Pier Restaurant, The Paper Station Bistro can accommodate you with upscale dishes.
Huge platters of delicious food: That’s what you’ll find at Turkey’s in downtown Harbor. I arrived after the lunch rush and there were still customers coming through the door to order enormous sandwiches and salads. Photo credit: Jen DeMoss
Our region’s wineries are jam-packed during the summer months. Winter offers a different vibe. At Pond Hill Farm, there’s a great winter menu with soups, pizzas, and sandwiches, along with a selection of regular and adult beverages, featuring farm-made wines and ciders. Saturday and Sunday brunch is a favorite among locals, exclusive to the winter, and there’s live music and special events when the cafe is open too.
Pond Hill is extremely family-friendly and outdoorsy. Tubing, sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, fat-tire biking, and a petting zoo: Your kids will be well-entertained.
Out on the town: local art
Local artisans continue to create during winter, when the need for hibernation intersects with a season of deep, creative contemplation. And several Harbor Springs art gallery owners oblige them, and numerous visitors, by remaining open throughout the year.
Metalsmith Hanni Yothers owns Hanni Gallery in downtown Harbor Springs. If you’re looking for art that will evoke memories of your trip to northern Michigan, look no further. Yothers’ gallery is stocked with paintings, carvings, ceramics, mosaics, jewelry, bold furniture, and other colorful artworks from over 200 artists across the country. Her reasonably-priced handmade items draw in both locals and the visiting ski crowd during the winter months.
Hanni Gallery stocks a dazzling array of art from makers across the country in her spacious gallery. There’s a little something for everyone there: lots of jewelry, quirky wall art, tons of ceramics, woodturned pieces and textiles, paintings, wall hangings, leather bags, and more. Photo credit: Jen DeMoss
Yothers makes a line of collectible charms and jewelry from Petoskey stones and Leland blue. Her style is eclectic, ranging from geometric forms to botanical and figurative patterns, with some pieces created from antique dies.
I’ve gotten a few pieces from Little Traverse Tileworks for my mom, and she always loves them. Located just a block off Main St. in Harbor Springs, these folks fashion ceramic tiles of all sizes, from tiny two-inch squares to large framed tiles, house numbers, dishes, magnets, and seasonal ornaments that often sell out. The artists can create custom tiles for your home or other projects. They also carry ceramics, woven bags, candles, wall art, jewelry, and other pieces from local artists in their beautiful shop just behind Kilwin’s.
It’s hard to get a good picture of the interior of Little Traverse Tileworks, since the space is so packed with art. It’s a great store to find that perfect art tile for a gift, but don’t overlook their other items, like ceramics, and jewelry, made by local artists. Photo credit: Jen DeMoss
I stopped by for a peek at the lovely glass pieces at Boyer Glassworks, a downtown Harbor institution owned by artist Harry Boyer since 1984. Glassblower Mary Cash gave me a demonstration, shaping a glass bird one tiny bit at a time. She said the studio makes its largest pieces in the winter, when they can crank the heat up to 11. The colder months are also the only time of year the studio takes custom orders. For some orders, visitors may be able to watch their pieces being created. Cash suggested stopping by during winter to get a closer view of glassblowing demonstrations, which happen all year round, or even just to warm up after a long day on the slopes.
Mary Cash, glassblower at Boyer Glassworks, shows off a bird she’s just shaped from molten-hot glass. The Glassworks carries pieces of all sizes, from small sculptures and ornaments to larger vases and statement pieces, and everything in between. Photo credit: Jen DeMoss
Ahrens Gallery and Studio, located just a mile and a half from downtown Harbor Springs, is open in the winter by appointment. The gallery carries abstract impressionist paintings by Neil Ahrens, a local artist with an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. With a guest cottage for artists and beautiful grounds, it’s a popular place for artists to visit. Ahrens also carries pottery, jewelry, and wood cutting boards created by Michigan artists. Liz Ahrens said visitors often stop by to pick up ceramics as gifts, especially to thank friends for the use of their vacation cottages. “It’s hard to pick a painting for someone’s home, but people love receiving small pottery items,” she said.
Photography is the main focus of 119 Studio. Photographer Anita Cousino moved to northern Michigan in 2014, and beyond the gallery, she offers photography sessions and custom interior design services. In her gallery, you’ll find gorgeous photos of nature and village life, printed on aluminum surfaces with canvas or photo paper options available. She also stocks jewelry, décor, apparel, gift items, and other artful pieces at the downtown storefront.
For the outdoorsy
We know you’ve come here to ski. Lots of people jet up for a weekend or a few weeks to take advantage of the slopes. That’s because we’ve got two fabulous ski resorts in Harbor Springs: Nub’s Nob and The Highlands Resort.
Family-owned Nub’s Nob encompasses 53 slopes and miles of cross-country and snowshoe trails. They also offer gear rentals, repairs, tuneups and boot fittings. When you need to warm up and grab a bite to eat, visit the Main and Pintail Peak Lodges, with a cafeteria, pub, winter garden, coffee, or grab-and-go options, depending on which lodge you visit. And families with kids will be happy to discover Nub’s Cub Daycare with childcare options for skiing day and night.
Main Lodge at Nub’s Nob at night on a clear night. Photo credit: Nub’s Nob
The Highlands at Harbor Springs offers rentals for skiing and snowboarding across their 55 runs and three terrain parks. You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the slopes. Make sure to ask about their private and group lessons if you’re feeling a little rusty on your skis. Or skip downhill skiing altogether and head out for Nordic skiing or fat-tire biking.
Harbor Springs nonprofit Little Traverse Conservancy is responsible for caretaking many of the preserves you’ll encounter while you’re in the Harbor Springs area. Goodhart Farms, The Hill, Allan and Virginia McCune Nature Preserve, and Offield Family Viewlands are regularly groomed for skiing as the weather permits. But even the ungroomed trails have their charm. Elmer Johnston Preserve is hilly and fun to snowshoe. When I lived in Harbor Springs, I often tromped through the well-traveled trails at the Offield Family Working Forest Reserve, where I rarely needed snowshoes to get around.
Snowmobilers enjoy access to northern Michigan’s extensive snowmobile trail system. The Harbor Spring Snowmobile Club grooms over 100 miles of trails that make up the Moose Jaw Trail System, and they welcome folks along on group rides.
Harbor Springs Ice Fest brings crowds out to see the hand-crafted ice sculptures and enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides, games, and other family fun. It’s held in downtown Harbor Springs every February, and is a huge draw for kids.
No matter what season you arrive to our Up North paradise, you’ll find something to do for the entire family. Just don’t skip quiet, contemplative winter, the most overlooked of seasons to visit Harbor Springs and the rest of the Petoskey area. There’s so much more waiting for you than could ever fit in a blog post, and you’ll be happy you can for a more laid-back northern experience. Browse the art, grab a bite, and experience a dramatic landscape transformed by snow.
About the Author: Jen DeMoss is a newcomer to the Petoskey area, and she loves all things northern Michigan. You can catch her paddling a canoe, hiking a trail, or swimming in Lake Michigan as often as the weather cooperates. She’d love to help you make the most of your time in this paradise she now calls home.