"A lot of these racers will come to our community months leading up to the event," Frankfort City Superintendent Joshua Mills said at the September 1 public hearing on whether the city should keep hosting the Ironman. "They come back at different times of the year because they fall in love with the beauty and the reason why we call this place home."
Those other times of year begin now. On Sunday, September 20, the race used Betsie Bay for its swim and ran its half marathon through Frankfort and along the bay into Elberta. Over the next three weeks that same corridor carries three other things: Chinook salmon moving through the harbor into the Betsie River, a 5K on the Betsie Valley Trail into Elberta, and the Fall Festival parade down Main Street. The race left town with no decision yet on whether it returns. October will show how the waterfront runs when nothing is closed off.
The Sunday That Closed Main Street
The 2026 race was IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan, the half-distance format. The course was a 1.2-mile swim in Betsie Bay, a 56-mile bike leg on M-22 and nearby Benzie County roads, and a 13.1-mile run. The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported that nearly 1,900 athletes started and 1,588 finished before the course closed at 5 p.m. Sean Saxton won in 4:01:14. Emily Bonawitt won the women's race in 4:29:55 once officials sorted out a timing-tracker problem.
In an UpNorthLive story published Thursday, September 17, Mills described what race morning would look like downtown: "Sunday morning expect the entire Main Street corridor to be closed." Concerns like that dominated the earlier hearing. Opponents said the event brings heavy traffic and disrupts daily life for people who live and work in Frankfort. Supporters pointed to thousands of visitors and the business they bring.
Where the 2027 Question Stands
This was the last race under the current contract. Frankfort and the surrounding communities are deciding whether to sign on for another three years, and UpNorthLive reported on September 17 that there is no deadline for that decision. After the hearing, city officials said they would weigh the public's comments before deciding whether to pursue an agreement covering 2027 through 2030. The posted agenda for the September 15 city council meeting did not list the Ironman under old or new business. Local coverage also disagrees on how long the race has been in town. One UpNorthLive story calls it a six-year run, and the other calls 2026 the fifth year.
So the question is still open, and the next few weeks give a clear picture of what the race shares that ground with.
The Week the Water Turned
The Michigan DNR's weekly fishing reports show the change after race weekend clearly. On September 23, the report for Frankfort and Lake Michigan said mature Chinook were still being caught out front and off the shelf in 120 to 160 feet of water, but overall numbers were low because the water was warm. Pier anglers reported low catches, and most Chinook had moved into the Betsie River.
A week later the September 30 report read differently. Cooler water had moved in along with Chinook and coho. Chinook kept moving into the Betsie in lower numbers, and anglers reported good action in deeper holes. Pier anglers casting spoons and rigging alewives reported very good fishing in the late evening and early morning, and boat anglers offshore found good numbers of 2-year-old Chinook, coho and an occasional steelhead.
That means the harbor fishing improved within ten days of the swim leg, while the river kept getting a steady flow of fish. Both are weekly snapshots, and the next report could look different again.
The River Access Points, From the Breakwall Upstream
All of these sit on the same water the race used, from the harbor mouth up to the first dam.
| Spot | What's there | Detail for October |
|---|---|---|
| Frankfort North Pier and North Break Wall | Walking and fishing where the river meets the harbor | This is where the September 30 pier report came from |
| Elberta Historic Waterfront Park | Fishing deck on Betsie Bay | Across the bay from downtown, on the run course into Elberta |
| Homestead Dam access, 2388 Dam Road, Benzonia | 50 parking spaces, vault toilets, carry-down launch, fish-passage structure | DNR calls it popular with salmon and steelhead anglers |
Homestead Dam has two rules worth knowing before you go. The DNR closes the Homestead Dam site, the US-31 parking lot and the Grace Road parking lot to use or occupancy from 1 to 4 a.m. Fisheries Order 204.26 also bars fishing within 300 feet upstream and downstream of the Homestead Dam lamprey barrier and fish-passage facility from August 1 through November 15. The buffer shrinks to 100 feet from November 16 through July 31. The order says it takes effect October 15, 2026. The DNR's 2026 fishing regulations remain in effect through March 31, 2027.
The dam is an access and fish-passage site. It is not an egg-collection station. The DNR's list of its weirs names the Little Manistee, Lower Platte, Boardman, Medusa Creek and Swan River, and the Betsie is not on it. A Manistee County Tourism Authority river guide also maps walk-in access at River Road, Grace Road, the US-31 Launch and Fred's Landing. That map dates to a 2024 update, so check current conditions before planning around it.
October 10 Uses the Same Course
Three Saturdays after the triathlon, the Fall Festival brings people back to the same streets and trail, this time on foot and on the town's own schedule.
- 9 a.m., Port City Run 5K. Starts at Open Space Park and loops along the Betsie Valley Trail into Elberta and back.
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., craft fair. Open Space Park, 800 Main Street. Vendor spaces are sold out.
- 10:30 a.m., parade lineup. Father Marquette Circle at the west end of Main Street. The parade steps off at 11, and entry registration is due October 5.
- Through the afternoon, festival grounds. The Downtown Frankfort listing includes the Mutt March, the Scottville Clown Band until 2 p.m., more live music, face painting, food trucks, cornhole, pumpkin decorating, Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm and the giant pumpkin drop.
The West Michigan Tourist Association adds the Frankfort Farmers Market, carriage rides, a Kids' Game Tent, live pumpkin carving by Lord of the Gourd, a beer, wine and spirits tent, and airplane tours, which are new this year. It names three food vendors: TC Taco, Elberta Pizza Co. and Lake Bowls. The sources disagree on start time. Downtown Frankfort lists festival hours as 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the WMTA article lists 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On race day the corridor was closed to local traffic. On festival day, the 5K, the parade and the pier are all open at once, and the festival grounds are a short walk from the North Pier, where the DNR's latest report put the dawn and dusk bite.
The Calendar Around It
Some of the season's regulars are wrapping up while the river picks up.
- Thursday, October 1: The Elberta Community Farmers Market's last scheduled Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon at Penfold Park, 1098 Lakeside Blvd.
- Saturday, October 3: Frankfort Farmers Market at Open Space Park, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the last month of its May-through-October season.
- October 15: The fishing rules in Fisheries Order 204.26 for Homestead Dam formally take effect.
- Saturday, November 28: Holly Berry Arts & Crafts Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Frankfort-Elberta High School, 534 11th Street. Gym booths are already sold out.
Stormcloud Brewing's Parkview Taproom at 366 Parkview Lane has posted that it is closed for the season, thanking guests for a great 2026 and promising to see them next year.
When the city takes up the 2027 to 2030 agreement, the question will be about this same corridor: Betsie Bay, Main Street and the trail into Elberta, which the race used for one Sunday in September and which hosts the salmon run and the festival for the rest of the fall.
If you own on the Frankfort side of Betsie Bay or are thinking about it, Peter Fisher can talk through how the bay, the event calendar and the seasons affect a property there. Schedule a Leelanau County consultation, and we can cover Benzie County too.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
