Here’s a challenge to consider: a first-time visitor to Michigan has only one week to see as much of the state as possible and you are their tour guide. Where do you take them and what do you show them?
Just last summer, I accepted that particular challenge when my cousins from Oklahoma took me up on my annual invite to come visit Michigan. They would bring their three kids, drive to our place in southeast Michigan and stay for six days. Excited to show them our Great Lakes State for the first time, I needed to design a road trip that was efficient in seeing as much as possible without being exhausting. After all, a vacation should be stress-free and relaxing! As much as I would have loved for them to experience the Upper Peninsula, I knew it was virtually impossible to get there and back with time to see it all. So, my husband and I made a game plan to stick to the Lower Peninsula with the promise that our cousins would need to come back another time for a U.P. tour.
Their first evening in town was the perfect opportunity for a relaxing boat ride on Lake St. Clair, complete with a stop at our favorite swimming hole, and then some casting for bass. The next day, we loaded up and hit the road, where our first stop was the town of Clare. We visited the Michigan Welcome Center and then shopped at Jay’s Sporting Goods. Continuing north and west, we stopped for a quick tour of the Platte River State Fish Hatchery in Beulah, and then headed to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The kids were able to stretch their legs and expend some energy climbing in the sand while the adults took in the majestic views only the dunes on Lake Michigan can offer. We cooled off at a beautiful little beach in the town of Empire, and then made our way to Petoskey to spend the night.
The next morning was spent exploring downtown Petoskey for shopping, dining, and watching a few residents fish from shore near the local marina. Next, we made our way to the top of the mitten and hit Wilderness State Park for swimming, a picnic lunch, sunbathing and beach combing. Then it was onward and upward to Mackinaw City for some of their famous fudge, window shopping and ice cream, and of course, a stop at the water’s edge for some photos of the mighty Mackinac Bridge. We continued on to the town of Cheboygan for a great dinner and some time on the river before calling it a night. In the morning, we packed up and made our way down the sunrise side of the mitten. We stopped at Frank’s Great Outdoors in Linwood, then Pinconning for some world-famous cheese, and arrived back at our house with time to grill some venison burgers and toast up some marshmallows for s’mores.
Whew! Are you tired yet? We were, so we recuperated at home for a couple of days, and took some shorter day trips in the area. We explored Port Huron, St. Clair and Marysville, and caught a few walleye in the St. Clair River. Our cousins headed back to Oklahoma with a whole new idea of what we have here in Michigan, and just how incredible this water wonderland really is! There is SO much more to do and see here, and they did promise to return for another adventurous visit. Maybe this is the summer to make your own list of the perfect Michigan road trip, and then with or without newcomers, get out and experience this precious and awe-inspiring state we are lucky enough to call home!
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