Dear NEXT TRAVELER to Michigan!
Highlights/Recommendations:
1. Mackinac Island
2. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – Lake Superior
3. Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore
4. Lake Michigan
5. Charlevoix
6. Holland

I had been looking forward to visiting Michigan for several years. Our country is full of so many diverse states and Michigan is definitely one of my favorites.

Mackinaw City. We stayed the night in Mackinaw City. There are lots of things to do in Mackinaw City but we knew we wanted to spend the majority of the day at Mackinac Island. We took the ferry shuttle from our hotel to the ferry launch. There are two ferry options: Sheplers is the fastest ferry and takes about 20 minutes from Mackinaw City while Arnold Transit is a slower boat ride from St. Ignace. We used Sheplers and they were great. The line was long to get onto the ferry, but it moved fast. Be prepared – we didn’t realize how much water would spray on us during the boat ride. If you don’t want to get wet, be sure to sit on the lower deck.

Mackinac Island. Twenty years ago I watched the movie, “Somewhere in Time” and fell in love with The Grand Hotel. Many years later I realized you could visit The Grand Hotel and I knew when I visited Michigan that Mackinac Island would be on my list of must do’s. It was stunning and the entire island is more magical than I even hoped it would be. When you arrive at the dock from the ferry, you walk out onto Main Street which is full of all the delicious eateries, bicycle rental places, souvenirs, restaurants and horses all around. On the Island there are no motorized vehicles. You can walk, rent a bike, or use the horse-drawn carriage taxis. It makes you feel like you have stepped back in time. We decided to walk the island. The first thing we did was head straight to a souvenir shop and buy a sweatshirt. The temperature drop from when we got on the ferry to arriving on the Island was almost 10 degrees and I was completely unprepared. After sweatshirt shopping, we were starving and headed to a pizza place, Island Slice Pizzeria. They had gluten-free options for our daughter and the most delicious pepperoni pizza. After lunch we walked to the entrance of Mackinac Island State Park and the base of Ft Mackinac. Over 80% of the island is part of the State Park. From the base of the fort we walked along Market Street making the trek toward The Grand Hotel. We passed so many historic and beautiful homes and businesses.
The walk to The Grand Hotel is stunning. The landscaping is perfect and it’s quiet without any motorized vehicles noises. When I was at the base of the hotel looking at it, I felt like I was in a movie. It was amazing that I was standing in front of it. When we were crossing the lake on the ferry the majority of people had on suits and business attire. A man in a suit was sitting beside me and after a brief discussion, he told me that the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer was on the island for a business and education conference that would be meeting at The Grand Hotel. It was neat to see the Michigan flag up at the Governors Summer Residence but it also meant that due to security concerns we wouldn’t be able to enter The Grand Hotel. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go in, but those thoughts quickly faded as we walked in the front of the hotel and stood in amazement of the world’s longest porch and saw the stunning pool with views of Lake Huron. It’s unbelievably beautiful!
We continued walking on toward Arch Rock. On the way, we passed the Governor’s Summer Residence, the top of Ft. Mackinac and the Somewhere in Time gazebo. The walk from The Grand Hotel to Arch Rock is just over 1/2 mile. Arch Rock is stunning. The erosion has created an amazing opening in the rock and you can see the gorgeous colors of the lake.
You’ll also need to walk the 1/2 mile back before you can walk back to the main street of the island. We enjoyed the walk but you can also take the Island carriage taxi. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours operates the official horse-drawn carriage tour of Mackinac Island State Park. Narrated public tours are available several times throughout the day from their downtown location. Tours last about 2 hours and you’ll get a good overview of Mackinac Island to include – Surrey Hill, Arch Rock, Fort Mackinac and Grand Hotel. If you choose to take a tour of the entire island, the rates are around $50 per adult and $17 per child. You can also use the carriages as a taxi from one main location to another.
Another way to explore the island is to rent a bike. This was the most recommended way for us to tour the island. The scenic 8.2-mile lakeshore road has beautiful views of Lake Huron and you can stop at Arch Rock and the beach at British Landing.
On the island you can also visit: Surrey Hill – See butterflies at Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory; heat, forge, sand and buff your very own blade at Mackinac Island’s Forge a Memory blacksmith shop; tour the 8,700-square-foot working stable and carriage museum and learn more about the history of horses on Mackinac Island; Visit historic cemeteries.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO SEE on the island. You really should plan multiple days on Mackinac Island. For me, being able to stay at The Grand Hotel would be my top choice but there are also many other places you could stay including: Inn at Stonecliffe, Island House Hotel, Mission Point Resort, 13 other hotels, and many more bed and breakfasts.
We had pizza, fudge & ice-cream on the island but it’s full of restaurants and places to eat.
We LOVED Mackinac Island and can’t wait for another trip!

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (aka – Painted Rocks) – Lake Superior. This was such an incredible experience! Honestly, before we booked this kayaking tour, I didn’t know anything about the Pictured Rocks or as they are also known, the Painted Rocks. I had a goal to visit all 5 Great Lakes and since Lake Superior was going to be incredibly cold when we were visiting, I thought it sounded best to experience the lake in a boat rather than swimming in it. We booked with Yooper Yachts and I can’t recommend them enough. I’m always a fan of smaller groups and companies that really cater to their customers and go above and beyond. Yoopers Yachts were exactly what we were looking for. They made sure we had everything we needed. They took excellent care of us, provided details about Lake Superior and pointed out all the best things about the Pictures Rocks. The water in Lake Superior is the most beautiful shades of blue and green and is shockingly clear. We had the best tour! We LOVED it.
The week of our tour I received multiple updates from Yooper Yachts about the weather and current water conditions. I didn’t realize until we were on the tour how important the weather was. There is enough water in Lake Superior to entirely cover North and South America to a depth of 12 in. It is the largest fresh-water lake in the world. Because it is so large, Lake Superior has its own weather and storms on Lake Superior regularly have wave heights of over 20 feet. You do not want to be caught in a kayak, in a storm, in the frigid cold waters of Lake Superior. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated on our day and time. There were several other tours during our week that had to be cancelled. Kayaking on Lake Superior can turn dangerous very quickly and there are only a small number of permits given to proven kayaking groups to be able to have tours. During our tour at the end of May, the water temperature was in the 30s. It was cold and we were beyond grateful for the kayak skirts that kept the water off of us and the advice to dress in layers. I was actually warm everywhere except my hands.
The kayaking was better than I could have imagined. We live near the Gulf of Mexico and we mostly swim in gulfs, oceans or lakes with alligators, sharks, snapping turtles and really large fish. This was a novel and amazing experience to be in such a large body of water without having to worry about being eaten if you fell out of your kayak.

Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. What a great National Lakeshore. The Visitors Center has fantastic displays and information about the park. We took the scenic road but honestly got turned around and felt like were struggling to find where we were and where we wanted to go. We finally made it to the Sand Dune Climb. It was incredible. The views from the top of the dune are gorgeous. The climb was a little intense but SO worth it! There are so many more places to visit in the park. I highly recommend spending several hours in the park.

Lake Michigan. The day we visited Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan, it was actually our 30th Wedding Anniversary. It was a perfect beach day. Lake Michigan was so cold. We are used to the warm gulf waters and it was shockingly cold for us. However, the sun was shining and it was a perfect day to relax on the beach. Lake Michigan is beautiful!

Charlevoix. We came to Charlevoix to see the famous mushroom houses also known as Hobbit Houses. Architect Earl Young designed and built 26 residences between 1918 and the 1970s. He used natural materials from the area, including limestone, boulders, and wood from Northern Michigan. Each house features rounded shapes, wavy rooflines, and whimsical chimneys which give them almost a fairy-tale appearance. There is a Charlevoix mushroom houses tour which would be a great way to see all the houses. We were limited on time, so we parked at the Michigan Beach access and walked along the street to view several of the houses. We drove a few more blocks to see more of them. They are relatively close together with most of them directly across the street from Lake Michigan. It’s a charmingly, beautiful setting.
The charm of this town is so underrated. It’s a truly great place with many things to see. We loved that we were there at sunset and could be on Michigan Beach to enjoy the lighthouse views against the gorgeous setting of the sun. The beach is perfect with swings and a high, metal, old-school slide. The entire town had such a laid-back unique feel. There were amazing lakefront homes that I would have been happy to call my home retreat.
We actually celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary while we visited. We loved being in such a unique, peaceful town, with a gorgeous sunset on a beautiful beach and had a delicious Mexican dinner at Margaritas. The wait staff were great and their salsa was delicious!

Holland. Tulip gardens. I was so excited to get to see the hundreds of tulips. As we were buying our tickets from the ticket booth at Windmill Island, the lady told us that the tulips were finished for the season. I almost choked. I couldn’t believe it. I thought the tulips lasted through the entire month of May. I was so sad! She did suggest that we could come back on the weekend and dig up the bulbs to plant in our own gardens. I thanked her for the offer but responded it just wouldn’t be the same. We decided to purchase tickets anyway and see the authentic windmill. It wasn’t as great as getting to see the tulips but it was very interesting. You can walk inside the windmill and up to the 3rd story. There are great displays on each level about the windmill. The overlook for the tulips garden is great and we sure WISHED we could have seen them in full bloom. There is also a storefront made to resemble a street in Holland with a cute gift shop with lots of Holland Dutch items. Our daughter rode the carousel and it ended up being a pleasant couple of hours.

We were blessed to see many parts of Michigan when we visited. Each of them were so diverse but each offered amazing things to see and do. Michigan is a GREAT state!