Things to Do in Mount Pleasant

For 45 years, Baldwin Canoe Rental has outfitted paddlers with the equipment needed to push off into the tranquility of nature and float through the heart of the Huron-Manistee National Forests. Their current fleet includes more than 400 watercrafts, from tubes to tandem kayaks. The wide variety of vessels enables clients to customize their Pere Marquette River journeys, whether they want to gather a full group of friends together for a leisurely glide in inflatable rafts or embark on soul-searching trips in single kayaks with just enough storage space for power crystals.

A reiki healer and fifth-generation painter, Hannah Manges believes in the power of intuition, such as when she sensed that what her adult art students needed most was to finger paint. Though she's classically trained, Manges never cared for the rigidity and competitiveness that often characterized the art industry. She further saw that teaching her adult students in a classical tradition took the joy out of things; most of them were there to try something new and expand themselves, not master technique. So during a class in which her students struggled to find joy in their work, she put their canvases away and grabbed a stack of paper plates. Thus began her BYOB finger-painting class, which has evolved into an experience in which people "kick off their shoes, have some wine, and have some fun."

Though the BYOB finger-painting course remains among her most popular—it's earned recognition in local press, such as the Midland Daily News—Manges leads other classes that range from couples' painting workshops to watercolor for beginners. She also teaches art via her television series, Painting Pictures with Hannah Manges, on Midland Community Television Network Channel 99. "I'm becoming a celebrity to all the 80-year-old women in town who read the paper and watch public television," she laughs.

To further encourage students and visitors to become more comfortable with art, Manges posts signs throughout her gallery that say, "Please touch everything." She encourages everyone to fully experience each piece of her art, which includes The Healing Tree series, a collection Manges began to connect with her deceased mother.

Part of Sparta’s Harvest on the Ridge festival, which celebrates the township’s colorful crop of fruits and vegetables, the Dirty Apple Obstacle Run sets challengers on a 5K quest through “applesauce” mud pits, defiantly unflipped tractor tires, hurdles, and other agility tests. Whether participants struggle individually, work together as a family, or construct a mud-proof robotic surrogate, the point of the event is friendly competition and general good times rather than time trials. Afterward, racers gather at the festival downtown, where kids might put together a puppet or two, adults can swap stories and sip Michigan brews, and the whole clan can soak up the classic rock of Group Therapy.

Nestled along Northern Michigan's snow belt, Caberfae Peaks Ski & Golf Resort sends visitors careening down 34 different ski runs, offering a total of 485 feet of vertical drop. Its location near Lake Michigan helps the resort average more than 150 inches of annual snowfall per year. Beyond skiing and snowboarding, the frosty harvest enables the resort to offer other wintery activities.

Away from the slopes, visitors relax inside Blackmer Lodge, a cozy facility outfitted with cathedral ceilings, a two-story stone fireplace, and rustic exposed timber. Extended stays, meanwhile, unfold at Mackenzie Lodge, located right at the base of the slopes, where an outdoor heated pool and hot tub await to help guests relax or cook lobsters they brought with them in their suitcases. And, during months when a heated pool isn't necessary, Caberfae challenges golfers with a scenic nine-hole course peppered with wetlands, ravines, and fairways lined with 75-foot trees.