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Itinerary |
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| Aaaahhhh...at last - Pure Michigan! | Click map for larger image and locations of planned stops | |
6/18
6/ 28
6/28
7/1
Chuck Allen
989-362-5041
The "Cape Cod of the Midwest." Victorian style lighthouse.
See Ken & Sandy 10 miles away
7/1
7/5
Colleen
989-724-5126
A "hidden gem" of a state park - beachfront campsites!
7/5
7/12
Blake Gingrich
989-734-2543
A heavily wooded park with a mile of sandy, Lake Huron shoreline; a great bike path
Tues.
7/12
(2 weeks)
7/28
Straits
State Park
(Explore Mackanic Island from here)
Wayne Burnett
906-643-8620
Fantastic views of Mackanic
Bridge
Mackinacisland.org
-- Mackinac.com
-- Mackinac State
Historic Sites -- Mackinac
State Parks
Forum
re State Parks UP -- The
Original Butterfly House -- Wings
of Mackinac -- Magic
at Mackanic Island --
Mill Creek Discovery Park (4 miles east of Mackinaw City) - Maia recommends "riding the zipline"
Reader tips: West of Mackinaw is Wilderness State Park. If you follow the lakeshore south, you will end up in Cross Village, the home of Legs Inn. It's a Polish restaurant with amazing views and even more amazing decor inside. Nothing like it anywhere. Then take 119 south, called the Tunnel of Trees, to Harbor Beach. The Tunnel of Trees road is possibly the best road in MI. It's pretty narrow though so you might want to do it without the trailer in tow.
Grand
Hotel: West Bluff Drive Victorian Homes (on the way to Grand Hotel)
West
Bluff Walk to Hubbard's Annex -- Mackinac
Island by Bicycle
7/28
8/5
Sault St. Marie - Rushing waterfalls give way to majestic forests, rocky coastlines lead to picturesque lighthouses, and engineering feats of man stand side-by-side with small fishing skiffs and buckets of bait. Meet Jeannie when in this area.
Soo Locks - One of the great wonders of the world and still the largest waterway traffic system on earth. Your boat will travel along the international shoreline of the lower harbor letting you experience all the sights, sounds, and excitement of Michigan's oldest city, Sault Ste Marie.
8/5
8/12
Craig Krepps
906-492-3415
Great trails, large sites - falls, hikes & things to do.
A great little town on the shores of Lake Superior at the north-eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Paradise is along the western shoreline of Whitefish Bay, with it's sandy beaches and great view of the Lake and Canada. Cranberry Capital of Michigan
Whitefish Point -- Bird Observatory -- Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum & White Fish Point (Edmund Fitzgerald artifacts)
Go to Whitefish Point or anywhere else along Lake Superior, and tour the shoreline from there.
Pictured Rocks Cruises - must do!
8/12
8/18
Gitche
Gumee Park
Jeff - 866-447-8727
See Munising,
take Pictured Rocks tour, see Marquette, Presque Isle
From Kathy re: Munising - From Coast Guard station: On the right of cul-de-sac
is a small path into the woods. It opens up onto shore of Lake Superior.
Follow the shore a little bit and you come upon an expanse of beach that
is covered with bleached driftwood - some small, some so big it resembes
big bones, so my family nicknamed it "the elephant graveyard."
8/18
8/25
Lee VerBerkmoes
906-482-0278
2 miles of sand beach on Lake Superior.
Don't miss the Keeweenaw Penisula - Brockway Mountain Drive, Fort Wilkins SP, Copper Harbor, then hug the Superior lakeshore down through Eagle Harbor and all the way down past Calumet (historic copper mining town) and back into Houghton. Amazing views!
Gratiot River Park for agates
8/25
9/19
Porcupine Mts. SP (Union Bay CG)
Jimmy Newkirk
William Doan
906-885-5275
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival - August 26-28
Porcupine Mountains - Located on the shores of Lake Superior, the Porcupine Mountains are home to the largest tract of old-growth hardwood forests west of the Adirondacks. Hundreds of spectacular waterfalls. A must-see.
Lake
of the Clouds
Summit
Peak
Presque Isle
9/21
(Must arrive no later than 9/22 due to daughter coming to visit for a week on 9/23)
10/3
Tim Schreiner
231-922-5270
Angelique to join me! (Sept. 23-30)
Traverse City - Kit's favorite.
Gaylord - per Nan, a "little Swiss flavored town."
Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Magnificent views over sweeping vistas of Lake Michigan from atop high
dunes, miles of perfect freshwater beaches, forested wilderness islands,
hiking trails and a series of preserved historic farmsteads. Abundant
wildlife and a diverse ecosystem thrill the nature lover.
Sleeping Bear Dunes Cruise - (888-469-4696)
The drive around the Leelanau Peninsula on M-22 is not to be missed. Check out Leelanau State Park at the northern tip, and also Fish Town in Leland.
National Park - Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
Leelanau State Park: On the tip of the peninsula where sunrise and sunset can be seen from same point.
Old Mission Peninsula: "Old World" - General Store since the mid 1800's.
10/3
10/11
Dennis McDermott
231-347-2311
Sandy beach on the bay.
Maia: Wheelway bike path runs from Petoskey to Charlevoix, offering chance to see mushroom homes up close. Path runs along Lake Michigan and offers stunning views nearly the whole trip. You won't want to miss the gaslight district of Petoskey in the evening. Also, I suggest a little spot called Sturgeon River Pottery just south of Petoskey on US 31.
Also see Young State Park and Boyne City, "a super cute town with lots to do."
Take ferry to Beaver Island
10/11
Dan Adams
231-843-2423
Scenic sand dunes, ponds, marshlands & forests. Maia: Michigan's #1 beach
Grand Haven State Park (per Rick from Holly, camp right on the beach w/ elec)
80 miles to Grand Haven State Park (further south) (per Rick from Holly, camp right on the beach w/ elec)
38 miles to Silver Lake State Park: recommended by reader
Reader tips: South of Ludington is what is called the Ludington Pumped Storage. The view from the bridge above looks down on a huge hydroelectric powerplant. Really erie after dark with the lights, the lake, and the hum of those turbines. Water is pumped up into storage at night using excess power from the nuke plants, then let out during peak use to generate power. The best part though is that this puts you on a drive along the lakeshore through wooded dunes and into Pentwater, a great little town of the arts. Then south of there is Silver Lake and Silver Lake SP. The lighthouse there is not to be missed - maybe the best one in the state. South of there is Whitehall (home of the last Dog 'n Suds in the world) and you can continue to follow right along the lakeshore to Muskegon SP. Actually, the wife and I just took a ride along here last Friday on our way up to our camp near Ludington. Do it about every year and never gets old.
Kurt Maxwell
969-637-2788
1 mile of sandy beach & high dune formations on Lake Michigan
Reader tips: One thing along Lake Michigan is if it says Lakeshore Drive take it. Another favorite of ours is from Saugatuck to South Haven. That's about 45 miles from our house near Plainwell, and in the area of the Van Buren SP. Don't miss Saugatuck and if you don't mind feeling your legs burn from climbing stairs, a walk to the top of Mount Baldy there will suprise you with an amazing view.