Families on a Northern Michigan golf vacation will find fun at Crystal Mountain.

If you’re looking for a family friendly resort for a Northern Michigan golf vacation, Crystal Mountain Resort, in Thompsonville, might fit the bill nicely. It’s decidedly family friendly and especially popular with women.

The charming, small resort has 36 holes of golf (not the best we’ve played, but still fun) and lodging that looks like Scotland by way of Disney World, with Kinlochen, an elegant clubhouse, featuring rental condos above the golf shop.

The Thistle Pub, a Scottish-themed venue, plays Celtic tunes for your delight 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And for the young members of your group who wish to do another type of “playing” on a Northern Michigan golf vacation, there’s an outdoor water park, cycling, tubing, canoeing, a unique “art park,” and a host of nighttime family activities, all of which add to Crystal Mountain’s fun-for-the-whole-family aura.

Lush and green, with elevated tees, wide fairways, and large, contoured greens, Crystal's Mountain Ridge course is a pleasant test that plays back around and along the wooded ski mountain. The oddly named Betsie Valley course is adjacent to Mountain Ridge and shares the same lovely terrain and scenery, but is not quite as strong.

These routings are not overwhelming, which makes them particularly family friendly during a Northern Michigan golf vacation. And even if you plan to tackle the much talked about (and much more formidable) Arcadia Bluffs golf course, Crystal Mountain is still a good resort choice because it's only 20 minutes away.

For dozens more helpful tips, read our free, special report on taking a Northern Michigan golf vacation.

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