Michigan vacation help

[Fire14]

Muskegon is also home to Michigan Adventure which is owned and operated by same people who run Cedar point in Ohio.

 

[Fire14]

You got my Brain thinking another neat place your girls may like is Cereal City in Battle Creek. They could see how their Corn Flakes etc. came to be.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

We used to spend a week every summer at a place called Portage Point Inn in Onekama, MI when I was a teenager. They feed you twice a day and have two lakes (Portage Lake and Lake Michigan) and a pool. The closest "big" city is Manistee.
Now in 1993 and 1999 my family spent a week in Elk Rapids (near Traverse City) at White Birch Lodge. They also feed you and they have water sports but it is much less formal. DH was bored--the summer after was our first trip to WDW because he said he'd never sit on a beach all week in Michigan again.
I second that Put In Bay is a more adult destination in the summer, but during the week it is OK for families. At night and esp. on the weekends, though, it can be a big drunken mess.
Robin M.

 

[gshoemate]

We used to live in Ludington. It's a small cute town but not a whole lot to do. There is a couple of lighthouses...I know during the summer you can tour one of them. How long of a vacation are you taking? There is a car ferry there that takes a 4 hour (one way) to Wisconsin. The beach is nice and the State park is usually booked way ahead of time so it's pretty popular.

 

[Pam]

We went to Mackinac Island a couple of years ago - and stayed at St. Ignace and took the ferry over to the Island. To get to St. Ignace from Mackinaw City you have to drive across a huge (at lest 5 mile long) suspension bridge, which is very cool. It's a beautiful area with a couple of forts, lighthouses, and fudge!!

 

[Kitty 34]

I also forgot to mention the Zoo Locks at Sault Ste Marie, an hour drive north of the Bridge. The boat ride through the locks is a lot of fun and interesting for children! The ore boats are fun to watch, too.

 

[believe]

I can't decide. So many things to see. I am actually thinking we should just hit the road and see where we end up in Michigan. We would be doing a short 4-5 day trip. We are early drivers so we would be there by breakfast to give us atleast 4 full days.

 

[djkeenan]

Re: Bicking on Mackinac (pronounced mackinaw) Island - although you can do some Mtn. Biking, there is a great, paved bicycle trail all around the island that stays right on the shoreline for most of the 6 mile (+/-) distance. They rent bikes with childseats, bicycles for 2 and those litle trailers for kids.

The island is a great day trip but it's far less expensive to stay on the mainland in Mackinaw City

Once You're that far north it would be a shame not to visit the upper peninsula of Michigan I lived up there for nine years and one of my visit as stated "it's nothing but woods and water" and she was darn close. You'll find shoreline and beaches on Lake Superior Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Camping areas are everywhere as are tourist type motels.

It's a friendly place but depending on where you are from, probably much more rustic than places you have been before.

 

[S. C.]

Originally posted by believe
I can't decide. So many things to see. I am actually thinking we should just hit the road and see where we end up in Michigan. We would be doing a short 4-5 day trip. We are early drivers so we would be there by breakfast to give us atleast 4 full days.

Here is a link for michigan adv
http://www.miadventure.com/frame.htm
going to this site if you click on lodging it gives a list of campgrounds & hotels, keep scroling down and there are sites for other things to do in the area. Hope this helps.
In our experience there is not enough hotels on the west side of the state so make sure you have reservations if you go there. One year we went the night before and all hotels were already booked since they had an air show going on, we had to drive back to 28th street in grand rapids (about an hour drive) and even they had limited rooms left (lots of hotels on 28th st).
West side of state is worth a visit.
North of michigan adventure is ludington, I'm pretty sure this is where right before you get to the state park is a beach on the shoreline, we parked on the side of the rd, (everyone does) cross the street is the shoreline, while walking on the beach we kept hearing a squeaking sound well we finally figued out it was our feet shuffling in the sand on the beach (strange but true). We always refer to this as the beach with the squeaking sand.