TART Trails

Tour de TART features local food, local entertainment and a zero waste dinner!

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Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails is announcing the 9th annual Tour de TART event. Hit the TART for an evening ride that begins in Traverse City and ends at the Marina Park in the Village of Suttons Bay! The non-competitive event will take place Friday, August 7. Celebrate this rural trail corridor connecting these two northern Michigan communities and experience parts of Leelanau County that you can’t see from the road! This year the dinner in Suttons Bay will have zero waste! TART Trails is working with Bay Area Recycling for Charities to recycle and compost all of the dinnerware and food scraps.
Start anytime between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., enjoy snacks along the 19-mile trail ride, a bayside meal at the Suttons Bay marina park, and then relax on a bus ride back home. Bus service begins at 7:30 p.m. and the last bus departs at 9:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done online at www.traversetrails.org (for a small fee), or pick up a registration form at the TART office (415 S. Union St. in Old Town Traverse City) or at local bike shops. The cost is $25 for adults and $5 for children through August 1, thereafter the cost is $35 for adults. Day of ride registration is also available from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m.

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EuroStop Deli located at 8th Street/ Woodmere Ave in Traverse City, cyclists will ride on the TART and Leelanau trails to the Suttons Bay Marina. The first food stop, compliments of Brick Wheels, will be located 7 miles from the start at Fouch Rd. This food stop will have a “Hawaiian” theme- think grass skirts, pink flamingos and Jimmy Buffett. The second food stop at mile 12 will be catered by Oryana- all organic fare. Twelve miles are paved and seven miles unpaved (hard-packed, two-track). The flat course is suitable for cyclists of all abilities and ages. This year, the youngest rider registered thus far is just two-years old!

The event finish is located in the Marina Park in downtown Suttons Bay and the atmosphere is like a large lively picnic. The park is located directly on the beach, overlooks the harbor and includes a sandy bottom perfect for swimming (bring a towel), plenty of lawn space and playground equipment. It’s a wonderful spot to end the 19-mile journey and relax with dinner catered by Old Town Coffee and root beer floats using Williamsburg’s Northwoods root beer on-tap combined with Moomer’s vanilla ice cream. ‘Acoustic Dynamite’ will be on-hand playing classic hits, so save some energy to dance or tap your toes. Centerpointe Massage will be set up to work out the kinks after the long ride. Release your inner child and join in the fun with Hoopini Comfort Fitness Hoops. Hula hoop demonstrations will be taking place during the dinner in Suttons Bay. Also new this year, each child who finishes the ride will receive a Certificate of Accomplishment and a balloon. We hope many kids will brag to their classmates about riding all the way from Traverse City to Suttons Bay when school starts back up in the fall.


A road ride option is available for riders who prefer pavement and do not wish to ride on the unpaved portions of the trail.

This event occurs rain or shine! All proceeds benefit TART Trails. For more event info, contact TART at 941-4300 or www.traversetrails.org/events/tourdetart

Tags: bike, de, leelanau, ride, tart, tour, trail, trails

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