Five Activities Near Grayling, MI

Grayling, Michigan ia an absolutely beautiful area to visit for a relaxing, get away from it all,  vacation. We took a truly memorable friends trip there over the summer. Given that it is fairly remote it can be difficult to locate activities to do locally. Especially if like us, your cabin does not have wifi or ability to pick up internet service from our phones. I have collected a few of the activities that we enjoyed so that they are all in one place. I hope that it will save you the hassle of having to try and search for them yourself.

 Tubing the Ausable River

The Ausable river runs through Grayling into the Great Lake Huron. The water flows steady and is pretty shallow. It is not a great body of water to swim in only to wade. It is a good spot to go tubing. If you have never tried it before the trick is to have a vehicle at both your start and stop locations so that you can bring the group back to your car. Then plop yourselves down the river for a relaxing ride. Make sure you don’t attempt this too late in the day since allegedly there are no watercraft allowed on the water once the sun starts to go down. We only learned this when a cranky neighbor informed us of it as we floated along. So save yourself the grief and head out early. Or if you are staying on the river connect your tube to the side and just chill as you relax in your tube with a drink, some tunes and a good book.

Fishing the Ausable River

The Ausable River is a Fishermans paradise. Ryan is a avid angler and fly fisherman and went on to explain that this stretch of river was a dream to fish. Although we found that the time of year wasn’t ideal  for the bigger trout the river is known for, I was still able to hook into a couple of smaller fish and enjoy the very best of what nature has to offer. Out of state fishing licenses are slightly pricey, but considering you are fishing the holy grail of trout waters it was worth every penny, especially knowing the money helps support such treasures for generations to come. We stayed on the north branch of the river, the river ran low making it easily wadable, the boat traffic was low and casting was forgiving even for the novice angler.

Bavarian Falls Park

This Fun Park in Gaylord, MI has several activities you can check out. They have a small go karting track which the boys particularly enjoyed. There is also a mini-golf course which was a great low-key group activity. It also has an attractive waterfall amidst the course which is a nice spot for a photo-op. In the main building there is a  fairly large gift shop and the Call of the Wild museum. The museum reportedly hosts a lot of stuffed animals and a theater.

Tim Hortons & Coldstone Creamery

If you are not familiar with Tim Hortons, it is a very popular Canadian donut and coffee shop. I was excited when I had never seen one outside of Canada. Plus who doesn’t love a good donut? Tim Horton’s donuts did not disappoint. And if that isn’t enough sweets for you it is combined with the goldstone Creamery, our absolute favorite ice cream shop. Be sure to stop in for some sweet treats. It is located in Gaylord , MI.

Escape Room

Our friend had found this activity for us and we had great fun. We visited the Escape the Cabin in Gaylord, MI , approximately a thirty minute drive from Grayling. Make sure you book ahead as you have to sign up for a specific time to go through. Follow the link Here.  It is a small, locally owned business that is well put together with lots of character. We paid $25 per person which I thought was a bit pricey going in but is pretty much the going rate for an escape room.  Then we spent an hour trying to decipher all the clues and puzzles in order to escape in time! They have a cute photo-op area to take your mugshots and send you home with your personalized probation papers and handcuff keychains. There is another escape room location actually in Grayling called Northern Michigan Escape Rooms. We had not had a chance to try them out but you can click link Here to check them out.  It looks like they have several different themed room options.