River Club Glen Arbor closes for the season on Saturday, October 17. Five weeks and six days later, the Holiday Artisan Market fills Town Hall. Glen Arbor doesn't really shut down in between. The coffee closes earlier, the shops move to weekends, Mondays get quiet, and nearly every public event of the fall lands at midday. Once you know when the town keeps its hours, an ordinary week here in November is easy to plan.
The last summer hours end this week
The shift is already underway. River Club cut back to Thursday through Saturday for the week of October 12 through 17. It's open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., serves food from noon, and runs golf until 30 minutes before sunset, according to its own hours page. In early September, the Leelanau Ticker reported that owner Mike Sheldon planned a "big food blowout" on closing day "to clear the fridge." That story gave the date as October 18. The business's own page, updated October 6, says Saturday, October 17.
Kayaking at Crystal River Outfitters ends even sooner, after Monday, October 12. Owner Katy Wiesen told the Ticker that September and October "are always great months for kayaking as the salmon start running the river." The boats come off the water, but the storefronts don't go dark. The Cyclery, M22 and Coastal, the other businesses in the Crystal River Outfitters Recreation District, stay open year-round.
The Mill shows the same split. Its seasonal offshoot, Upriver from the Mill, finished its first season on Labor Day and plans to reopen in mid-May 2027. The Mill itself stays open year-round. In both cases the summer add-on closes and the main business stays.
Where the hours move
The posted schedules below follow one pattern. Mornings and middays mostly hold. Evenings, Mondays and weekdays are what get cut.
| Place | Posted schedule | What shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Leelanau Coffee Roasting | 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, May through October | 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, November through April |
| Boonedocks | Fall hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Closed Mondays; Sleeping Bear Sweets runs Memorial Day to Labor Day only |
| Cherry Public House | Open year-round, daily 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Happy hour 3 to 6 p.m. October through April; live music every other Friday in winter |
| Cottonseed | Daily, May through October | Weekends only in November and December; closed January through March |
| River Club Glen Arbor | Thursday to Saturday, October 12 to 17 | Closed for the season after October 17 |
The coffee change hits daily routines hardest. On November 1, Leelanau Coffee Roasting's Glen Arbor cafe starts opening half an hour later and closing two hours earlier, which takes two and a half hours off every day. A 4 p.m. coffee run that works in October stops working in November. The cafe also closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter.
Boonedocks' posted fall schedule takes away two time slots: all of Monday and Sunday evening. Its site shows Sunday service ending at 3 p.m. That leaves Tuesday through Saturday as its full days.
Cherry Public House goes the other way and adds programming as the season turns. Its page lists Sunday quiz nights from 5 to 7 p.m., an October-through-April happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m., and live music every other Friday through the winter, all within the same daily 11-to-8 hours. Boonedocks closes at 3 on Sundays, and quiz night starts at 5 on Sundays at Cherry Public House. Between them, Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening are both covered.
Two listings don't give clock hours. Art's Tavern's homepage says it's open daily for dine-in and take-out but doesn't post times. The Glen Lake Chamber lists Anderson's Market as open all year, with hours that change by season. Call ahead for both. Cottonseed's schedule above doesn't state a year, so check it before planning a November visit.
The calendar follows the same clock
The October and November events line up with the business hours. Most happen in daylight, and the biggest ones fall on weekends or around midday.
- Now through October 31: SHOPtober. Spend $350 at participating Glen Arbor businesses during the month and you can enter to win $100. Receipts are due by November 9.
- Friday, October 16, 6:30 p.m. JoAnne Cook gives an Anishinaabek presentation at Glen Lake Community Library.
- Tuesday, October 20, 7:30 p.m. The Glen Arbor Township Board meets at Town Hall. The township says its meetings are open to the public.
- Wednesday, October 21. The library has a greeting-card workshop at 1 p.m. and music from Sarah McQuaid at 7 p.m.
- Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. Nature Sketching & Journaling at the library.
- Sunday, October 25. Daytime trick-or-treating runs noon to 3 p.m. The Mill's third annual hog roast runs from noon to 8 p.m. the same day.
- Tuesday, October 27, 2 p.m. Tech Tuesday at the library covers iDevices.
- Tuesday, November 17, 7:30 p.m. The next Township Board meeting at Town Hall.
- Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28. The Holiday Artisan Market. Details are below.
Trick-or-treating is daytime-only, and on a Sunday this year. That fits the Boonedocks schedule, which keeps its doors open until 3 p.m. on Sundays, the same hour trick-or-treating ends. After 3, The Mill's hog roast keeps going until 8. You can find the full library schedule on the Glen Lake Community Library calendar and the township dates on Glen Arbor Township's meetings page.
The township office also has shorter off-season hours, which matters for any errand that needs a counter. It's open Monday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Thursday 2:30 to 5 p.m. It isn't open Fridays under that schedule.
Sugar Loaf adds a new place to walk
Starting this fall there's one more option close to home. Sugar Loaf reopened to the public on Friday, October 9, under the Leelanau Conservancy. The Glen Arbor Sun noted that the former ski resort closed 26 years ago and that the Conservancy announced in July 2025 it was close to raising $8 million to buy the 285-acre property. It reopened as conserved land, not as a ski operation. A morning walk there followed by a stop at the coffee counter before its new 3 p.m. close fits the November schedule well.
Thanksgiving weekend opens the winter calendar
The Holiday Artisan Market marks the end of the quiet stretch. On Friday, November 27, the tree lighting and caroling start at 6:15 p.m., followed by a preview market from 6:30 to 8 p.m. On Saturday, November 28, 25 or more vendors set up at Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Glen Lake Chamber event page has the details.
The timing fits around the cafe's holiday closures. Leelanau Coffee Roasting closes on Thanksgiving, November 26, and should be back on its 7:30-to-3 winter hours on Friday. Cottonseed's posted schedule lists it as open on November and December weekends, which would include the market Saturday, though the listing doesn't say which year that schedule covers.
One November event is still missing a date. Crystal River Outfitters says the 2026 Strolling Lights Festival will start in November and that the exact date is still to come. Until it's announced, the holiday market is the only fixed date on the late-November calendar.
We keep track of Glen Arbor's quiet-season schedules, from which cafes keep morning hours to how Thanksgiving weekend fills in. If you want a local read on your own corner of Glen Lake this winter, Jennifer Hastings and the Blue Lakes team are happy to talk. Let's Work Together.
