Northern Michigan Road Cycling Tour 2027

Fresh Legs is thrilled to offer this seven day tour of Northern Michigan. We’ll begin in the Leelanau Peninsula, riding along the shores of Lake Michigan before heading across the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. Fresh Legs is proud to be the only commercial cycling tour company that includes the UP in our itinerary. We’re equally proud to be the only company that calls this great state home. Making us true locals to the area.

This trip is well suited for riders of all experiences. Most days are 50 miles for the standard option. We are very happy to add some miles for the extra hungry rider, as well as offer our expert advice on how to shorten the days.

What’s Included?

  • Six nights of lodging in boutique hotels.

  • Seven Breakfasts, seven lunches, five dinners.

  • Six days of fully supported riding. This means two guides, one on the bike and one driving a van full of snacks and water, providing aid stations along the way.

  • Shuttles from the start and end of the trip as well as along the way.

Price: $4200

Single Supplement: $800

Trip One: July 17-23 2027 (On sale 8/20/26)

Trip Two: July 25-31 2027 (On sale 8/20/26)

Day 1: Traverse City to Leland

We’ll begin our adventure in Traverse City, MI. Guests can fly into Cherry Capital airport and take a free shuttle to the meeting hotel. On our first day we’ll ride the Little Traverse Wheel-way to Northport, MI and have lunch at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Built in 1858, it is one of nearly 100 lighthouses guiding ships on Lake Michigan. From Northport we’ll continue on to the outrageously charming historic fishing village of Leland, MI where we’ll have two nights of lodging.


Miles: 57 Climbing: 1,564 Lodging: Whaleback Inn - Leland, MI

Day 2: Sleeping Bear Dunes & Glen Arbor

Rolling out from the hotel we’ll head south to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where we’ll ride the Pierce Stocking Scenic Loop before swapping cycling shoes for sandals and having a nature walk in the park. Named for an Ojibwe story of a bear and her cubs swimming across the lake to escape a forest fire. Mama bear became the lakeshore and her cubs became the Manitou islands located just to the North. Fairly new, Sleeping Bear was only designated a National Lakeshore in 1970 and was only created around 12,000 years ago when retreating glaciers left behind huge deposits of sand and rock.


Miles: 41 Climbing: 1,642 Lodging: Whaleback Inn - Leland, MI

Day 3: Torch Lake to Petoskey

After a short shuttle to Elk Rapids, we’ll ride Northwards along the Eastern shore of Torch Lake. Called one of the “Most beautiful lakes in the world,” by National Geographic, Torch Lake is famous for it’s teal coloring and is seen as the Caribbean of the North. We’ll arrive in Petoskey, a town steeped in both logging and literary history. Ernest Hemingway spent his boyhood summers in Petoskey and used it as a setting for his novel The Torrents of Spring. Also famous for Petoskey Stones, after the days ride you’ll have time to walk the shores of Lake Michigan hunting for these 350 million year old pieces of fossilized coral.


Miles: 50 Climbing: 1,500 Lodging: The Terrace - Petoskey, MI

Day 4: Over Da Bridge to Da Yoop

Today we ride from Petoskey, North along a bike path, passing through Harbor Springs and into one of the trips high-light rides. The Tunnel of Trees is a 20 mile stretch of densely forested scenic road where you’ll be treated to bluff views of Lake Michigan and pass through historic villages like Good Hart, MI. The ride will end in Mackinaw City where we’ll pile in the van and shuttle across the Mackinac Bridge over the Straits of Mackinac, which separate Lake Michigan from Lake Huron and into the famed and wild Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Opened to traffic in 1957, at five miles long it is the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world and towers over 500 feet about the water at it’s highest point.


Miles: 53 Climbing: 1,420 Lodging: Superior Motel - Munising, MI

Day 5: Munising to Marquette

After spending the previous night on the shores of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world, we’ll ride along it all the way the Marquette. The UP accounts for 30% of Michigan’s landmass but only 3% of it’s population, allowing for some of the most unspoiled wilderness left in the country. There is something in the UP that cannot necessarily be articulated or quantified, a magic that invites you to immerse yourself in it. Put another way, it is the all time favorite place of the fine folks behind Fresh Legs Outdoor Guides and we are so excited to share it with you. Along the route, we’ll stop for lunch at Lakanenland, a free outdoor sculpture pakr. We’ll finish the ride with a loop on Presque Isle scenic road, maybe even stopping at the famous Blackrocks for a plunge into the lake (see below).


Miles: 50 Climbing: 1,300 Lodging: Landmark Inn or Superior Stay - Marquette, MI

Day 6: Marquette Adventure Day

Marquette is a paradise for cycling, kayaking, fishing, hiking and so much more. Our layover day gives us a chance to explore some off the bike opportunities. Guests will be shuttled to the songbird trailhead and led on a hike along the shore of Lake Superior, if weather allows, we’ll wade across a small channel to Little Presque Isle and hike around the island, a can’t miss opportunity. If you feel like you can’t miss a day off the bike, we’ll happily facilitate a ride for you, there are plenty in the area.


Miles: N/A Climbing: N/A Lodging: Landmark Inn or Superior Stay - Marquette, MI

Day 7: Return to Traverse City

After one more breakfast together we will shuttle back across the bridge and return to Traverse City.