[2fy6]

This summer a couple of my friends and I have thought about possibly making a trip up to the Michigan area. Problem is we don't exactly have anything planned.

We're not looking for something touristy...the whole point of the trip would be to get away from the city (we all go to school at UVa, in Charlottesville VA).

We're basically interested in hiking, climbing, swimming/kayaking and mountain biking areas that would really just help us "get away from it all." What places do you recommend? The Great Lakes do appeal but we really don't know much about the area, so we need some guidance.

So what does everyone recommend? Thanks!

[ram2]

Keweenaw Peninsula

[2fy6]

Originally Posted by ram2

Keweenaw Peninsula

Care to elaborate?

[detwahDJ]

Hodenpyl Pond to Tippy Dam Pond has camping at the Ponds, kayaking via the Manistee River, hiking via the North Country Trail. It's quite wild through there. You can google these, since I see that my linking isn't working for some reason. You can explore this route with Bing Maps. If you pan along the river you can see some of the canoe launches. I will try to get my linking going since I know about some of the amenities and options there.

[sweet life]

Just about anywhere in the Upper Peninsula. Lake Superior is one of the most beautiful places on earth but is largely unappreciated outside of the upper Midwest. Whitefish Point, the endless wild beaches east of Grand Marais, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (great place to kayak), the Huron Mountains, the Keweenaw Peninsula, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park are all great places along the Superior shore. The interior of the UP has some other great sights and lots of wild areas. And if you want a serious wilderness backpacking experience, complete with moose and wolves, try Isle Royale National Park, in the middle of Lake Superior.

If you want to find out more, I recommend Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (hunts-upguide.com). The site is a bit of work to navigate, but it has a ton of information and some stunning photography to build your interest.

By the way, just about anywhere on the Lake Superior shore is beautiful and 99% is wild. Look up Pukaskwa National Park or Lake Superior Provincial Park, both in Ontario, or Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin for some other places worth visiting. But start with the UP.

[topher5150]

There's the white pine trail that runs from grand rapids to caddilac

[urbanliving99]

Have you been to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesotta? I did a trip there senior year of high school with five buddies. No electricity, no motor boats, you just rent canoes/cayaks and portage around islands/wilderness. Best vacation ever. BWCA - Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness I think we ran into other humans only 2 of the 5 days.

[MittenStateGirl]

2fy6, most definitely you need to come visit Traverse City! You can spend the day mountain biking on our tons of trails, hiking Sleeping Bear Dunes, swimming in Lake Michigan, kayaking on one of our dozens of rivers. There is so much to do and it's so easy to get away from it all and find secluded areas. I recommend not visiting during the Traverse City Cherry Festival (early July) due to the thousands of tourists. Check out Traverse City Michigan, Hotels, Vacations, Lodging - Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau for more info or feel free to ask me!

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

Pigeon River Forest Country
I'm at work so I'll give more info later...very little known beautiful area!!!

Pigeon River Forest, Cheboygan & Otsego County, Vanderbilt Michigan Fishing

More later

[JGatti]

Go to the state of Michigan site and send away for the travel Michigan package. Mine came the other day in the mail and they has some really awesome looking places in the U.P They had some wooded mountain bike paths down this huge hill on a mountain bike trail that looked like a lot of fun. Not sure where it is but I will try to find it and post it after I get home from work.