BOYNE Offers Fall Color Horseback Trail Rides and Nature Adventure

Michigan is well known for vibrant fall foliage and BOYNE has two great ways to take in the sights of Mother Nature’s glory as she prepares for her winter rest. New this fall at Boyne Highlands of Harbor Springs is one-hour guided horseback trail rides and a two-hour mountain top scenic tour available from September 24 through October 18. Boyne Mountain located in Boyne Falls, has added a second date to the popular Solace Spa Fall Color Nature Adventure, which bundles a day of hiking and rafting with a spa service to create a memory making day on October 3 and October 10.

Boyne Highlands’ equestrian program launched two summers ago and has been expanded to include fall color rides this season. With more than 4,000 acres, the one-hour trail rides take place on the ground level through pathways exclusive for riders on horseback. One-hour rides are available Thursdays through Sundays at 10 am and noon and are $45 per person. The new two-hour mountain top scenic tour offers brilliant fall color views as riders ascend to the top of Boyne Highlands. Once there, all will break for photos and enjoy a snack of apple cider and donuts. The mountain top scenic tour is $59 and offered Thursdays through Sundays at 2 p.m. Fall color rides are available September 24 through October 18. Riders must be at least nine years of age.

Boyne Mountain’s Solace Spa Fall Color Nature Adventure takes place October 3 and October 10. The adventure includes a group trail hike at Avalanche Mountain Preserve in Boyne City to the mountain’s top for panoramic views of the areas fall colors. After taking in the sights and snapping plenty of photos, the group returns to the base and heads to the Sturgeon River, considered to be the fastest river in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, for a two and a half hour rafting trip and midway stop for lunch. The guides cover everything from sunscreen to snacks and the adventure also includes a 50-minute spa treatment at Boyne Mountain’s Solace Spa. The tour is $175 per person and participants can take advantage of a special package that includes the tour plus lodging on either Friday or Saturday in the resort’s Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa and breakfast the following morning for $233 per person.

Boyne Mountain Hosts New Skitoberfest Event

Boyne Mountain’s newest event, Skitoberfest, is a weekend as unique as the name itself. Happening October 3 and 4, Skitoberfest celebrates the coming winter season with a Snowsports Summit hosted by Cary Adgate and the best of fall’s family offerings in an Oktoberfest style setting. Highlights include a meet and greet with Winter X-games gold medalist, Simon Dumont, and former U.S. Ski Team Coach, Greg Needell; a brewfest featuring a dozen Michigan breweries; bratwurst of 30 varieties plus other gourmet food; live music and dancing; and kids’ art, bounce house and instrument making.

Staged in the Village, the event kicks off on Saturday at 2 pm. Michigan craft brewers including Short’s, Bell’s, Founders, Arbor, Mt. Pleasant, Tri-City, Atwater Block, Michigan, New Holland, Frankenmuth, and Wolverine Brewing, each will be serving up a variety of their best beers from 2 pm to 8 pm. Numerous Michigan wines are also available for tasting. To soak up the frothy brew, there will be 30 varieties of bratwursts homemade and grilled by Tannery Creek Meat Market of Petoskey as well as other food. Admission is $20 and includes 12 tickets for beer sampling and wine tasting. Additional tickets can be purchased.

Skitoberfest attendees can also enjoy local art, family hayrides, a pumpkin patch, fall color chairlift rides, a parade, and more. No need to worry about missing out on the biggest rivalry game in the state; the Michigan versus Michigan State game will be broadcast on a big screen. And the celebration doesn’t end there. A live band will play in the tent from 8 pm to midnight. The Snowsports Summit hosted by two-time Olympian and 2008 U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inductee, Cary Adgate, returns after a year off and is bigger than ever. Offered Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm and again Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm, the Snowsports Summit includes informative sessions on gearing up for the winter season and guest speakers, Simon Dumont and Greg Needell. Dumont is a successful freestyle skier who has won two gold medals in the Winter X-games and holds the current world quarter pipe height record. Needell, a U.S. Ski Team coach from 2002-2008, helped lead the men's team to 43 wins, 105 podiums and 264 top ten finishes. Entry to the Snowsports Summit is $5 per person.