Harbor Springs, Michigan

• More about your Oliver Guide: ANGELA HOWENSTEIN
• Trip type: Adult, Family, Beach
• Activity level: moderate
• Ideal length of trip: That all depends.....

to & from

Harbor Springs is not an easy place to get to!
Driving from Chicago can take 6+ hours and Detroit a solid 4 hours. Holidays and weekends can be full of traffic, so traveling on an off day is best.
Flying to Harbor Springs can be a challenge. Pelston is the closest airport, (20 minutes), BUT, the flights are few and far between and they are expensive! Pelston is also known to cancel flights with little or NO warning. Your other option is Traverse City. TC has direct flights from big cities like Denver and New York. Here’s the catch…..TC is 1.5 hours from Harbor Springs, so make sure you get a rental car 😉

• Pelston Regional Airport
• Cherry Capital Airport - Traverse City

Where to Stay

Don’t get too excited about hotel options in HS! There is really only ONE hotel in town and it is the Colonial Inn. This is no Four Seasons, but it is a quaint inn with only 42 rooms. It’s a perfect blend of downtown (1 mile) and the beach (across the street). The hotel has a pool, but is also has a dock on the lake so you can take the plunge into the crystal blue water anytime!

Boyne Highlands is a full resort with dinner theater, golf, hiking, biking – everything. You can’t walk to town, but you have all of your activities right there.

AirBNB is a great option if you plan to stay more than a week. There are homes in town that get zapped up QUICKLY and for a steep price, but there are houses a little out of town as well. You’ll just need a car to get to town and to the public beach.

The BEST option to find a house to rent is with realtor Lee Ford. Lee has spent her entire life in HS in the summers and she now has a bustling real estate business. Lee knows ALL the secret spots that won’t show up on AirBNB!

• The Colonial Inn - 231-526-2111
• AirBNB
• Lee Ford - Coldwell Banker, 248-229-6490
• Boyne Highlands 844-436-2296