MAKE IT A MECCA SUMMER
Five things that make visiting the Gaylord Golf Mecca in the summer the best trip ever!
1. TREE-MENDOUS GOLF
For 31 years the top golf courses in the Gaylord area have marketed together as the Gaylord Golf Mecca and gained a great reputation. It’s because the area truly offers one of, if not the best, combinations of quantity and quality of golf in the Midwest. There are multiple courses in multiple places to fit any group from two to 202 or even more. The Loon Golf Resort, Treetops Resort, The Natural at Beaver Creek Resort, The Pines at Michaywe’, Black Lake Golf Club, Indian River Golf Club, Gaylord Golf Club and we can go on. Better yet, come count for yourselves and play golf at the same time. Robert Trent Jones, Tom Fazio, Rick Smith and even the legendary Wilfrid E. Reid designed holes in the Mecca. The Gaylord Golf Mecca is a true tour of great golf.
2. LOTS OF LODGING OPTIONS
The Gaylord Golf Mecca has 20 lodging partners, who together count over 1,300 rooms, which means you can have anything you want or desire, from luxurious to rustic, from traditional to modern, from camp fire to a fireplace that starts with the flip of a switch. Start with the resorts, where at Black Lake and Treetops Resort you will find recently remodeled rooms; The Loon Golf Resort, which offers perfectly designed options for golf groups; The Natural at Beaver Creek Resort, where wonderfully modern cabins have the perfect fire pit out front and again we can go on and on. Prefer hotels? Baymont Inn & Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn and the newly opened Holiday Inn Express among others are partners. Prefer something completely different? Just tell the folks at Pine-Cone Accommodations and they will make it happen.
3. PLACES TO EAT FOR ANY AND ALL
In the handy Gaylord Area Visitor’s Guide you can pick up at the Gaylord Area Convention & Tourism Bureau, 319 West Main, there are 36 restaurants listed in the dining section. The headline says ‘Eateries, Traditional to Eclectic,’ and it is a perfect description. Gaylord has it all, and the list includes the many options at the golf resorts and courses along with the suddenly extra-large selection of downtown dining destinations. A quick top five of my favorites in alphabetical order follows, though I must confess I have not hit all 36 on the big list yet: Alpine Tavern and Eatery is essentially a casual American fare sports bar, which fits a casual American like me. The Bearded Dogg Lounge, which has a cool name and it admits an out-of-the-ordinary style. Michaywe’ Inn The Woods, which is, well, back in the woods and perfect for a relaxing dinner. Snowbelt Brewing Co. is downtown, offers multiple handcrafted beers and flagship beers and some good eats, too. They had me at beers. The Summit Grill at The Ridge, part of The Loon resort properties, has hand-tossed pizzas, great wings and other options. Perfect after-golf spot.
4. LAKES FOR A SPLASH OF FUN
Michigan is the Great Lakes State, and Gaylord holds up its end of the bargain with Big Bear Lake, Big Bradford Lake, Big Lake, Dixon Lake, Thumb Lake, Lake 27, Otsego Lake and of course short trips to Burt Lake, Black Lake, Lake Michigan, Lake Charlevoix and more. Swim, water ski, do all types of fishing, relax on a pontoon, canoe, kayak or jet about on water craft of all sorts. These are just some of the water sporting adventures available. Otsego Lake County Park and Otsego Lake State Park are sweet places to check out, too.
5. EXTRA-LONG DAYS FOR ACTIVITY – AND DID WE MENTION THE GOLF?
Play golf until almost 10:00 p.m. We are not kidding. Gaylord is located in the heart of Northern Michigan and in the Eastern Time zone where Daylight Savings makes you wait just a little longer for a beautiful sunset over the many lakes and golf courses in the region. Those sunsets are worth it, especially if you are on the way in with a great round of golf or sitting on one of the decks that overlook the world-class collection of 18 holes at the member courses of the Mecca. Oh and there is hiking on great trails in the Pigeon River Country State Forest, and even one called Deadman’s Hill. Yikes! Come visit. Learn more AND PLAN YOUR TRIP at gaylordgolfmecca.com
-Greg Johnson
