Mineral Well Park

Mineral Well Park is a small lakeside park where a natural mineral spring flows into a stone trough — visitors still come to taste the water, which has a slight iron tang from the local geology. The park is on the waterfront between the Gaslight District and Magnus Park, in a pleasant setting with benches, picnic tables, and a view across Little Traverse Bay.

The park is the starting point for the Little Traverse Wheelway, a paved non-motorized trail that runs along the bay south to Charlevoix (about 26 miles total). Even a short section — to Petoskey State Park north of town, or south along the bay — makes a good afternoon walk or bike ride. Bike rental is available from shops in the Gaslight District.

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A story
Petoskey's mineral spring was the original reason the town became a resort destination. In the 1870s the water was promoted as a health cure for various ailments — a marketing claim that was entirely unsubstantiated but very effective. The spring was enclosed in a Victorian-era pavilion, and thousands of visitors arrived by Great Lakes steamboat specifically to "take the waters." The pavilion is long gone, but the spring still flows.

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