WINTER 2022 | IT’S SNOW TIME!
Nature Calls
The downhill ski slopes at Treetops Resort overlook the beautiful Pigeon River countryside.
There’s room for everyone to start making some fresh tracks this winter in Gaylord’s snow-covered dreamland
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bout a decade ago, as we sat around a snowy bonfire, I remember Barry Owens — who at the time ran Garland Lodge & Resort, a player in the Gaylord Golf Mecca — telling me how this gateway-to-adventure town was booming as one of Michigan’s favorite winter getaways. He said many visitors seeking to explore the wilds of northern Michigan were telling him the area felt like it was a different world in winter. “Our location along I-75 is so critical. It’s easy to get to, and there’s just so much for everyone to do around here,” he said. Today, as general manager of Treetops Resort, he’s still working on luring more visitors to enjoy the ever-expanding outdoor gems of Gaylord, located in the middle of mid-Michigan’s snowbelt, which spans from Grayling to Indian River. His pitch hasn’t changed, but the experiences keep getting better every season. Owens’ longtime promotional partner, Paul Beachnau, executive director of the Gaylord Area Convention & Tourism Bu60
reau, boasts that over the years, the community has positioned itself as the best winter destination in Michigan. “We have the most consistent snow conditions and the widest variety of quality winter activities in Michigan,” Beachnau says. “We have winter rafting and two downhill ski resorts. We have cross-country skiing and snowshoeing that ranges from rustic, at the Pigeon River Country State Forest — similar to a big, wild adventure out West — to the best-groomed cross-country trails, along with snowmaking, at Forbush Corner, and everything else in between. We have extreme tubing, more than 300 miles of groomed snowmobile trails where you can ride from our town to the Mackinac Bridge, or venture east to Alpena and west to Petoskey. We have cool winter events such as sleigh ride dinners, skiable feasts, guided hiking, dog-sled rides, and winter wine walks.” Beachnau doesn’t stop there. “Gaylord has five major rivers — the Black, Sturgeon, Pigeon, Upper Manistee, and North Branch of the Au Sable — and more
than 90 small lakes. There are many areas where water actually comes right out of the ground to start these river systems, particularly at Treetops Resort, Otsego Resort, and in the Pigeon River forestland, which exceeds 110,000 acres of managed wildlife habitat. “With the highest elevation in the Lower Peninsula, the views are breathtaking — especially when you put 153 average inches per year of snow on top. That’s partly why we’re known as the Alpine Village, in addition to our quaint, small-town charm. It’s all very appealing,” he says. Wintertime in Gaylord brings fun and excitement. That’s why Beachnau and Owens are ever the promoters, inviting snow lovers to visit and partake in the area’s outstanding outdoor pastimes. Read on!
PLAN IT! Gaylord Area Convention & Tourism Bureau gaylordmichigan.net
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GAYLORD AREA CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU
Stories by Ron Garbinski
MICHIGAN BLUE
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12/1/21 10:10 AM
