Old Mission Peninsula guide highlights park, lighthouse and scenic trails

Mission Point Lighthouse stands at the north end of M-37 on Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse County, with Old Mission State Park nearby. A well-planned day here starts at the park, continues to the lighthouse, then uses the Old Mission Point Park Trail to connect shoreline, forest and bay views.

Start with Old Mission State Park

Old Mission State Park sits at the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, “smack dab on the 45th parallel,” as Traverse City Tourism puts it. The park has several miles of developed trail and about 40 acres of forest and abandoned orchard, which gives it enough variety for a short walk or a longer linger.

Old Mission State Park is a day-use property, and that is the easiest way to approach it. Build it into a daytime itinerary, use the shoreline and picnic opportunities, and treat the park as the natural base for a larger peninsula loop.

Follow M-37 to Mission Point Lighthouse

Mission Point Lighthouse is one of Traverse City’s most recognizable icons. It has long marked the end of a scenic drive through cherry orchards and vineyards, which makes the route itself part of the experience. The lighthouse sits between the lake and forest, so the approach feels as much like a corridor through the peninsula as a final destination.

The lighthouse is volunteer-run, and its schedule gives visitors a useful seasonal rhythm. The lighthouse is open May through October, and some weekends in November, with interior hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Tuesday. The park itself is open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., so even when the building is closed, the site remains available for viewing and photography.

The U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office dates Mission Point Light to 1870, when it was built and first exhibited, exactly on the 45th parallel. The first lighting was on September 10, 1870, and the site was decommissioned in 1933. After decommissioning, the lighthouse site suffered vandalism and neglect before later preservation efforts restored its standing as a public landmark.

Use the trail to tie the stops together

The Old Mission Point Park Trail is the best way to turn these separate attractions into a full day. The route is a ten-mile loop through both parks, mixing footpaths and old two-tracks as it winds along both the West Arm and East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay before returning to the trailhead. That makes it useful for hikers who want distance, trail runners looking for a longer shoreline route, and families who want to stitch together multiple stops without getting in and out of the car all day.

Footpaths and old two-tracks give it a more lived-in feel than a polished promenade, while the bay views keep the route anchored to the water on both sides. Because the loop returns to the trailhead, it also works as a clean, self-contained outing rather than a one-way trek that needs a shuttle or complicated logistics.

When to go, and what each stop is best for

Timing on Old Mission Peninsula comes down to what you want to see inside and what you want to photograph outside. If you want the full lighthouse experience, plan around the May-through-October operating season and avoid Tuesday, when the lighthouse building is closed. If you are interested mainly in the setting, the park’s 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. window gives you a much wider range, and the lighthouse can still be seen and photographed after interior hours end.

A practical one-day route looks like this:

• Start at Old Mission State Park for shoreline access, a picnic break and a short trail walk.
• Drive to Mission Point Lighthouse on the north end of M-37 for the landmark view and, when the schedule allows, the interior.
• Finish with all or part of the ten-mile Old Mission Point Park Trail if you want the peninsula’s most complete walk.