[EscAlaMike]

Greetings Michiganders!

My family and I are considering taking a Midwestern road trip this summer (late June - early July) in which Michigan will feature prominently.

We will be going up through Illinois and Wisconsin into the UP, where we will spend a few days. Then, we will cross the bridge into the LP.

I already have a pretty good idea of how we will spend our time in the UP; but I'm interested in hearing from you what are some must-see places south of the bridge as we journey back towards Indiana (our homeward journey will take us back through Indiana - so it probably makes sense to stick to the western side of the LP).

Also, what are things like as far as covid-related restrictions? Are restaurants and businesses open? Are mask rules strictly enforced?

Thanks for any help!

[Coldjensens]

Charlevoix (see the mushroom houses also lots of rocky beaches to find Petoskey stones). Petosky (chocolate factory tour, beaches, cute downtown. Traverse City (but just the downtown, avoid the touristy kitsch on the outskirts) Drive the tunnel of trees highway. Leeland if you are interested in a side trip. Just a little fishing town, but it is cute and picturesque, beautiful drive and a couple of nice restaurants). Sleeping Bear Dunes or if you have kids maybe Silver Lake Dunes instead. Sleeping bear is more majestic and beautiful but involves long strenuous hikes. Silver lake has a lot of kid oriented tourty stuff (rent a jeep and drive the dunes). Saugatuck - art city. Grand, New or South Haven. Just nice lake front towns with some pleasant beaches. We really iike the dog beack at Kirk Park even if you do nto have a dog with you, they are fund to watch. . Grand rapids. If you have time to explore then get some information from Citydata for Grand Rapids. If you do nto have time just visit Money Street and eat at Winchester. Buchanan/Niles are cute little towns on your way out. One of them has a remarkable train station (Niles I think).

The northwest side is peppered with wineries, breweries, lakes, beaches, lighthouses, and some parks with awesome trails. Also some great canoeing depending on the time of year.

Dont try to do all the things, you will wear yourself out.

If you want to visiti the east side, I suggest a canoe trip on the wilderness part of the Ausable; camping at/near Lumberman's monument. Oscoita the town just north of Tawas City (awesome ice cream store and a beautiful municipal beach a bit more north cute town). Port Austin you can rent Kayaks and paddle out to turnip rock and wade around.

Kind of in the middle northern UP is Gaylord with is a pretty little town. Harbor Springs near Petosky is supposed to be very pretty. I have nto been there.

[michigan lizard]

Its hard to know what to suggest without knowing what you're interested in. I'd suggest Petoskey and/or Traverse City. Sleeping Bear dunes, and drive along Lake Michigan on the way down. We didn't on the way home from traverse city last summer/fall, and it was incredibly boring. The northern LP was fairly slack with Covid restrictions. They're more strict in the southern half, but nothing really shut down. There's normally various festivals going on, but some may not be happening this summer. Interlochen might have some concerts, but who knows with covid. You should verify anything you might specifically be interested in.
Good fishing off Pentwater and Ludington, if that's your thing. There's likely charters available. Grand haven is a tourist mecca, but there's construction happening on the drawbridge. Might be bad in the summer, but maybe not. Its not terrible for traffic yet, but its also not tourist season.

[tuebor]

If you like tall ships, check out the Friends Good Will at the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. It's a replica of a sloop that fought in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

[beachmouse]

Michigan’s Adventure amusement park near Muskegon has some excellent roller coasters among their ride collection. Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids for outdoor sculpture and interesting botany.

Michigan has great summer produce and more and more restaurants are taking advantage of it. For fish, look for perch, whitefish and trout.

Yes, Mackinac Island is a huge tourist trap. It’s also a place full of history and interesting geology and worth at least day trip.

If there are restaurant restrictions, just get take out and make a picnic of it- there’s probably a great park nearby and Michigan summers are usually lovely enough to make up for the seven annual months of slush and wet socks.

[ram2]

Don't forget about Manistee.

[EscAlaMike]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

[DTWflyer]

Depends how many days/nights you plan to spend going down through the LP.
I'd try to roughly follow the US-31 corridor down and follow the lakeshore instead of the more inland highways expressways (US-131, US-127, I-75)

If I had my way, I'd do the following

Day 1 - Little Traverse Bay region (Petoskey, Harbor Springs);
Day 2 - Drive south, pass through Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, hit up downtown Traverse City / waterfront
Day 3 - Leelanau Peninsula / Sleeping Bear Dunes areas
Day 4 - Head down to Mainstee / Lundington areas
Day 5 - Grand Haven area
Day 6 - Holland / Saugatauk

There are many state parks / beaches along the coast. Small towns with shops / restaurants. Places to hike. Breweries / wineries / orchards.
Do what makes sense based on the weather. Some days are bettter lake/beach days than others.
Don't try to do it all.

[WestsideMac]

While the actual island at Mackinaw Island is a tourist trap, Fort Michilimackinaw and Old Mackinaw Lighthouse are worth a visit in my opinion and are just off the bridge.

Charlevoix is a very pretty little town with a nice beach area, but if you really want a beach, small town and unique atmosphere, visit Fishtown in Leland (north of Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes).

If you like hiking/natural beauty, Sleeping Bear Dunes (costs $) area is one of the best. You can interube down the river for a fun little at your own pace adventure. There is also Empire Bluff Trail (free) in that area too that is really cool views and hike. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a very popular park/hike, but worth it.

Traverse City is nice and can be the central point for visiting lots of stuff, but honestly it feels just too busy at times in comparison to other towns/cities in the area and is, like Mackinaw Island more tourist trappy than anything else.

Holland is a really cool area though very popular/busy in summer time. We like Saugatauk just slightly better for that reason as it feels smaller more laid back. They also have Saugatauk Dunes State Park that has a nice beach area plus trails. From Saugatauk if we wanted to get into Holland it was a short trip.

As mentioned lots of wineries and wine trails/adventures you can do along the western portions of Michigan, especially as you get more South.

There is obviously a lot more you can do, but those are some of the highlights I'd recommend.

[mgkeith]

I agree with many of these suggestions, but Mackinac Island is a lot of fun and a beautiful place to visit, especially for a first time visitor.

Funny, it reminds me of when native NYC relatives told us not to bother with visiting Central Park because "it's just a park." We had a blast there!