Fall color at Alta Vista, from 400 feet up

I flew the drone over Alta Vista on October 9 to shoot the new listings, and I picked a good day for it. The maples along the front of the community had gone full red, the sky was clear, and from a few hundred feet up you could see Grand Traverse Bay sitting on the horizon past the trees.

If you’ve only ever driven past the sign on Hammond Road, the drone video on the homepage is a better look at the place than anything I could write.

The front of the community

The Lodge sits right at the entrance off Alta Vista Drive, with the pool on one side and the pickleball court out past it, next to a strip of tall grass that turns gold this time of year. Most of the red you see from above is the maples around the Lodge and along the first stretch of road.

The pool cover was already on for the season (it’s northern Michigan, the pool is a summer thing). If you want to see it with water in it, there’s a digitally enhanced summer version on the amenities page.

Up the hill

Behind the Lodge the streets climb. Vista View Drive and New Horizons Trail loop through Phase 1, and that’s where most of the homes are. From up there you can see how much of the property is still woods and meadow around the homesites, and there’s more open land behind it for the next phases.

From the air you can also see how the homes sit back from Hammond Road, so the homes up the hill aren’t looking at traffic. You turn in, pass the Lodge, and it gets quiet.

The bay on the horizon

To be clear, you can’t see the bay from a kitchen window here. The view in the video is from a few hundred feet up. But it’s a nice reminder of how close it is. East Grand Traverse Bay is a short drive north, and on a clear day you can see it from the higher ground around town.

How long does color like this last?

Not long. Peak around Traverse City usually lands in early to mid October and a good wind ends it. If you want to see Alta Vista with the leaves on, the rest of October 2026 is the window. After that it’s a different kind of pretty, and a good time to look at homes, because you see exactly how the streets and driveways get handled once the weather turns.

The homes for sale right now are on the homes for sale page. If you want to come walk it before the leaves drop, text me at (231) 360-1510 and we’ll set something up.

Taylor Brown, Realtor
Real Estate One
Taylor@taylorbrownrealtor.com