Editor’s note: This article was published in Grand Traverse Scene magazine’s Fall 2023 issue. Pick up a free copy at area hotels, visitor’s centers, chambers of commerce or at the Record-Eagle building on Front Street. Click here to read GT Scene in its entirety online.
The sky above is a deep, deep blue. Waves crash across the bow of the boat you’re in, spraying droplets of lake water into the air and onto the deck. The lake glimmers a blue-green beneath you while whitecaps chop around you. The landscape around you isn’t the usual ridge of green tree leaves surrounding Grand Traverse Bay, though — you’re surrounded by reds, oranges, yellows and browns — because you’re on one of this year’s water-based fall color tours. What can you expect on one of these tours and where will you travel?
Jennifer Szunko is one of the new owners of The Discovery boat, offering color tours in their first season. She expects to stay on the water until mid- to late October, which remains comfortable while underway thanks to the enclosed nature of their boat. The Discovery can accommodate about 100 people inside on their two decks (one fully enclosed and climate-controlled), plus about another 50 more hearty individuals who decide to brave the outdoors on the water. “The views should be spectacular with the colors — and we go out in any weather, unless it’s really windy or if it’s lightning,” Szunko says. “We say, ‘It’s always sunny on the Discovery.’”
Each tour starts at $25 for kids and $48 for adults and takes tour goers down the shoreline from the dock at Discovery Pier on West Bayshore Drive. “Primarily we follow the shoreline from Greilickville to downtown Traverse City and then we come up along Old Mission Peninsula. Our longer cruises go out near Power Island, and then over to the Leelanau peninsula and come down that shoreline,” Szunko says.
If you’re looking for a little more than just some seasonal views on your trip, sign up to attend a Wine Tasting Wednesday cruise running through Oct. 18. Each week offers a semi-private wine tasting hosted by a local winery representative along with the views of the bay as your backdrop.
Another option for autumnal boat tours is a trip with the team at the Inland Seas Education Association, on their tall ship, the Inland Sea. Marketing and Communications Coordinator Harrison Fischer calls their fall tour “a classic cruising experience — (tour goers) will go out and help put up the sails, and after that, they can chat with the crew, chat with other passengers and just enjoy the scenery.”
These two-hour sails depart from their dock in Suttons Bay and start at $30 for kids and $40 for adults. Trees usually begin to change starting from the north to the south and from high altitudes first, then down to shore level. Even though no one can guarantee when peak color will hit, these trips offer decent odds for quality colors through mid-October. The route takes up along the Suttons shoreline for some great vineyard views. “It kind of depends on the weather of the day, which way the winds want to go,” Fischer says. “Once you’re off the dock we’ll more than likely head north a little ways, kind of zigzagging back and forth.”
What should you expect when you take to the water for a fall colors tour? No matter the temperature on shore, expect it to be a bit chillier while underway. “It’s anywhere from five to ten degrees cooler on the water,” Szunko says, “and if it’s breezy it’s always good to bring a light jacket.” Fischer says bring your layers: “Hats, gloves, and an extra jacket. There’s nothing to stop the wind, so it’ll chew through you quite quick.”
Even though you’re surrounded by water on these trips, be sure to also bring your own hydration. “You should also make sure that you bring a bottle of water with — it’s easy to get dehydrated really quick when you’re out on the water,” Fischer adds. There’s one other tool that birdwatchers and animal lovers might want to have on hand, according to Szunko: “It’s always good to bring binoculars. If you have a good pair you can really see quite a bit — I think it’ll be really interesting as the bird migration starts.”
If you’re looking to continue your leaf peeping once you arrive back on land, good news — Szunko and Fischer have some tips there as well. Fischer recommends a spot that’s a little more enclosed by foliage than the lakefront but no less lovely. “Last year my wife and I did a little hike by the Commons, by the old orchards up there — the whole city was just covered in golden leaves. Gorgeous, sunny, and it was just perfect.”
Szunko prefers a slightly different pairing, however. “Right between Bonobo (Winery) and Chateau Grand Traverse, there’s this lookout (spot). You can see Power Island, you can really see both bays from up there. That’s a beautiful spot. I love any of the wineries that are high up on the hill. There are several on Old Mission Peninsula where you can see the vineyards and then the fall colors around the grapes — it’s really, really special.”