If you're looking for a meeting place or a good stop around ½ or halfway between Columbus and Traverse City, you can try Flint, MI, which is about 3½ hours north of Columbus, or a little over 3 hours southeast of Traverse City.
Other possible places to stop near the midpoint include Wixom, and Fenton.
About ¼ or a fourth of the way, you can stop at Toledo, OH. This is about 2 hours north of Columbus.
About ¾ or three fourths of the way, you can stop at Mount Pleasant, MI. This is about 5 hours north of Columbus, or almost 2 hours southeast of Traverse City.
If you drive straight through without stopping at all, the total distance is 430 miles. The distances shown above don't include local roads to get into each town, so if you're planning a long road trip, make sure you factor in traffic and road conditions, rest stop breaks, and interesting detours along the way. If you're in a rush, you can do the trip with zero stops, and your total travel time would be around 6 hours, 46 minutes.
