SkyBridge Boyne Mountain in Fall: Is It Worth the Price?

I walked the SkyBridge at Boyne Mountain in October 2026. The weather was phenomenal and the color was almost at peak. It’s a short, scenic, slightly silly way to see Northern Michigan from above, and it’s priced like a tourist attraction. Go on a clear day, buy your tickets ahead, and treat the chairlift as half the show.

A $1 ski hill, a secondhand chairlift, and a very tall bridge

The SkyBridge makes more sense once you know where it is. Boyne Mountain started with a Detroit car dealer who really wanted to ski closer to home. In 1947 Everett Kircher and his partners bought 40 acres near an 1,150-foot hill, and the seller was so doubtful about the idea that he let it go for a dollar. Kircher then bought a used lift from Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1948 and installed it on the Hemlock slope. It was the first chairlift in the Midwest.

So when you ride the historic Hemlock lift up to the bridge, you’re riding on a slope with real chairlift lore. Boyne kept at it, too. In 1992 Boyne Mountain began operating the first six-person chairlift in the United States. A resort that likes chairlift firsts building a bridge you reach by chairlift tracks.

The bridge itself opened to the public on October 15, 2022. It links two peaks, McLouth and Disciples Ridge. Experiential Resources (ERi) designed it, and the resort says the design was inspired by the Pure Michigan “M.” Boyne Mountain and ERi both call it the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge. That means the towers are wood instead of steel, and the wood is local. The lumber came from Matelski Lumber in Boyne Falls, which is the same town as the resort.

The numbers: the bridge is about 1,200 feet long and sits 118 feet above the valley floor. The timber towers are about 52 feet tall. The deck is only about 5 feet wide, which makes it a polite-passing situation when the crowds show up.

Riding up and walking across in almost-peak color

The first part of the day is the chairlift. The ride up takes about 5 to 7 minutes, which is just long enough to start looking at the hillsides and get a read on how far along the color is. We were close to peak, with the reds and oranges taking over from the green. If you’ve ever driven Up North in October with a line of cars ahead of you, doing this from a chair is a good way to see it.

At the top, there’s a small cluster of vendors selling cocktails, mocktails, snacks and a few gifts like clothing and jewelry. It feels like a mountaintop carnival without the carnival. There are restrooms up there too. On a warm day the line for them gets long, so go before you get in line for anything else.

Then you reach the bridge. Walking out over Boyne Valley, 118 feet up, is better than the chairlift because the whole valley opens up below you. The towers are big, but the cables look thin from a distance. The deck feels narrower than the photos suggest.

At one point you cross a glass-bottom section, about 36 feet at the center, with a clear view straight down. If you’re lucky you might spot deer or the occasional fox passing through below. People will stop on the glass for photos, so expect to wait your turn to stand there. I won’t pretend a clear panel makes you braver. You just walk across a bit more slowly and look at your feet.

The ticket covers unlimited crossings for the day, so we went back and forth. The color looks different from each direction, and the light shifts as you go. If you’re paying this much, you may as well make the most of it.

What it costs and what’s at the top

The cocktails start at $15 each. That’s what you’d expect at a tourist spot with a captive audience on a bridge in the sky. You’re paying for the altitude. Mocktails and snacks are also on offer if you’d rather skip the cocktails, and the vendors are clustered close enough that browsing takes about a minute.

The bigger sticker shock was the ticket. Prices vary depending on the day and your age. For four adults we paid $39 each, which I’d call exorbitant. That’s a lot to walk across a bridge. But the ticket includes the chairlift and unlimited bridge crossings for the day, so you’re not paying for a single trip. Whether that feels fair depends on how much you value the color and the view. I’d say it’s worth doing once, on a good day, and probably not a second time.

If you’re staying at Boyne anyway, ask about lodging discounts. Reportedly, Boyne lodging guests pay $10 per ticket (ages 3 and up). Booking a room in October (Oct 5 to 29, 2026) gets $5 off a ticket, and Chalet Edelweiss guests get complimentary access. Confirm all of that when you book, since those are the kind of details that change.

Local tips for going in fall

Buy tickets ahead if you can. After you buy, you get a confirmation email and an “eTicket” email with QR codes. Staff scan the codes at the chairlift base and again at the bridge entrance, directly from your phone, so there’s nothing to print. If you buy at the resort instead, they’ll hand you a paper barcode. Take a photo of it and have them scan the photo. After 20 minutes in a pocket, that barcode turns into a wrinkled mess that won’t scan.

Parking and getting around. Parking is easy. Follow the signs to the day lot on Cliff Dweller Drive (the address is 1 Boyne Mountain Rd, Boyne Falls). There’s a wagon that picks people up and takes them to and from the village area, so you don’t have to walk if you’d rather not.

Hours and the last ride. Check the resort’s help page before you go, because the schedule is weather dependent. The posted closing time is the last chairlift ride up. The last ride down runs about an hour later. Be in line by closing time, not just pulling into the lot.

Weather. The bridge closes for lightning, thunder and high winds. One guide mentions a 35 mph wind threshold. Check the resort’s weather and closure policy before you drive up. Michigan in October can go from perfect to gusty quickly.

Crowds. Peak fall weekends can mean long lines at the parking lot, the chairlift and the bridge entrance. If your schedule allows, weekdays are easier. On weekends and holidays the 6-person Mountain Express also runs, which should help move people, but don’t count on it.

Driving tips from a local.

• Color-tour traffic is real. October weekends in Northern Michigan mean slow roads and drivers who stop suddenly for photos. Give yourself extra time and don’t schedule anything tight afterward.
• Deer are everywhere. Michigan is one of the top states for deer collisions, and the rut in October and November makes dusk worse. If you stay for the late rides, be careful on the drive out. In late October it’s dark before the bridge even closes.
• Orange barrels. Michigan construction season runs well into November, so add a buffer to your drive up. I-75 and US-131 are both common spots for lane shifts.

Who should go and who should skip

Go if you want a fall color outing that doesn’t involve a long hike, you like heights or at least want to try, and you’re comfortable paying tourist prices for a good view. It’s easy to do with a mixed group of ages and fitness levels.

Skip if you’re on a tight budget, you hate crowds, or you aren’t a fan of heights. You can get fall color for free on any county road in the area, and the ticket price is the main thing standing between you and a nice drive.

Accessibility. Wheelchairs and other mobility equipment, including walkers and crutches, aren’t permitted on the bridge. Guests who use them can buy a scenic lift ticket to see the bridge from the SkyBridge Loop at the summit. Chairlift riders also have to be able to stand to load and unload.

Overall, I’d do it again, but with a lodging discount or a clear goal for the day. It’s a good fall activity, as long as you go in knowing what you’re paying for. Tickets are sold on the resort’s site.

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