Biking in Downtown Petoskey
Northern Michigan is a great place to explore, and what better way to do this than by bicycle? As we head into the middle of spring and look forward to a nice, warm summer, now is the time when we northern Michiganders can safely put away our shovels and salt and break out the porch furniture, lawn mowers, and yes, bicycles. Sure, Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts has brought you blogs pertaining to biking in the past. Just two years ago, Kandace wrote a great blog talking about biking in and around the area. She talked about the Little Traverse Wheelway and the North Western State Trail both of which are huge attractions for bicycle enthusiasts in the area as well as the hundreds of thousands of guests that travel up north each year to bike these and other magnificent trails. (To reread that blog, you can click here). For this blog, I want to talk more about the benefits of biking in downtown Petoskey.
I think anyone who has visited Petoskey can agree that the Gaslight District is one of the best places to shop in all of Michigan. We have amazing stores with perfect gifts and necessities, and we also have over a dozen delicious restaurants. I think most of those people would also agree that one of the worst things about shopping in downtown Petoskey in the summertime is the parking. Sure, there are lots of parking spots right downtown and on nearby streets, but during the busy season (anytime between Memorial Day and Labor Day), at times you can be very hard-pressed to find an open parking spot. Thus, one of the best parts about riding your bike downtown is that you do not have to try to park your car. And, there are plenty of places that you can safely park and lock your bike. There are permanent parking spots for bikes, that can be seen by clicking here. In addition to those spots, there are extra bike corrals that the city puts out in convenient locations during the summer months. This summer you can find those at the corner of Bay and Petoskey, (perfect for grabbing a pretzel at Petoskey Pretzel and then shopping at your favorite store Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts); on Howard Street near Vogue Salon and the entrance to the Petoskey Farmer’s Market; on Lake Street in front of Symons General Store; and on Howard Street in front of Gaslight Group Properties. And, they are planning on adding more when the construction downtown is complete. In addition to the parking structures in the immediate downtown area, you can also park your bicycle at Waterfront Park at one of the various corrals there.
Don’t have a bike or not sure if you are ready to commit to purchasing one? No problem, there are three stores very close to the downtown Petoskey area where you can rent bikes.
- Latitude 45 is known as northern Michigan’s premiere bike shop. It is family owned and operated, and in addition to offering bike rentals for both e-bikes and regular bikes, they sell every kind of bike you would ever want. They carry cycling clothing and accessories as well. They also sell exercise equipment and offer bicycle repairs.
- Boyne Country Sports, which is a part of Boyne Resorts, is mainly an outdoor outfitter store with lots of winter skis and ski apparel in addition to summertime adventure wear and accesories, but they also offer bike rentals for both e-bikes and regular bikes.
- Bahnhof Sport is a family owned and operated ski and sport shop that has been in business since 1963. In the summertime they specialize in warm-weather adventures like biking and kayaking. You can rent bikes and e-bikes from them.
