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Northern Michigan
The Ultimate Urban Escape By Laura Blattner
Now, what to do with the kids while Mom and Dad are off enjoying a round of golf or a much-needed massage? Never fear, the staff of Boyne Highlands has got you covered. Not only will you enjoy your time alone, the kids will have a blast in the Young Explorers Club, the Highlands' summer children's program for kids ages 4 to 12. Your kids will have great fun exploring the Highlands in a variety of activities ranging from climbing Mt. Olympic to sailing hand-built ships across the great trout pond! Kids can join the Young Explorers for a morning, an afternoon or all day. Family discounts are available, so be sure to ask about it if you have more than one child!
After a busy day enjoying the outdoors, relax in the main dining room for a delicious dinner with a view of the beautiful resort property. Don't be scared off by the thought of having to corral your kids into a "dining room." We had a 4-year-old and a 9-month-old with us, and the staff couldn't have been friendlier or more accommodating! Our daughter was delighted when the hostess brought out a stack of paper and some crayons for her to color with while we were ordering. In fact, when we finished our dinner, the hostess took one of the drawings, hung it up on the wall near the entrance of the dining room and asked our daughter to be sure and come back to say hello! Little did the hostess know, we would be going back to visit the "art display" practically every time we came even remotely close to the dining room!
Another option for family dining is to travel to nearby Petoskey, where you'll find just about every restaurant chain and family-style eatery around. Since we had rain during several days of our visit, we discovered The Jungle Family Fun Center located in downtown Petoskey. There we enjoyed a great round ofindoor miniature golf on this "jungle" coursecomplete with cascading waterfalls, tropical plants and an erupting volcano! When our game was over, the fun didn't end. We spent the next few hours playing in the arcade, which had lots of traditional arcade games, including skeeball, pool, pinball, foosball and Wac-a-Mole! Our daughter loved playing the games and collecting tickets, which she then redeemed for prizes at the main counter. This entertaining and smoke-free environment is a great option for family fun.
