Michigan vacation help

[believe]

I am trying to find a 'new' state that we can go to for a short vacation this year....want to go to Disney in December . I looked on the net at Michigan and am tired of searching so I thought I would see what everyone here had to say about vacationing in Michigan. DH loves lighthouses, I enjoy them also, and I want to take the girls to a beach. Any suggestions on locations? A friend mentioned Putum (sp?) Bay and also another island her mom went to that is better than the first location mentioned, but she didn't know the exact name. Looking for Michigan individuals to tell me how wonderful their state is

 

[whirlsy]

HI~ I live in the Upper Pennisula and we have several lighthouses along the lake shore~ one is 2 miles from my house and it is beautiful it is called Iroquois Lighthouse. The Island that a friend told you about is it called Mackinac Island? This is a nice Island but it is a tourist trap~expensive~ but if you only come to Michigan once than you should go see it~alot of history~ there are no cars allowed and you get around by horse drawn buggies or bikes or walking. another part of Michigan that I enjoy is the Traverse City area on down. that part of Michigan has beautiful beaches. Michigans Great Adventure is in Muskegon and that is a family fun park with roller coasters and water slides and the beaches arount there are beautiful. Let me know if there is any other parts you want to know about, I know a little bit about Michigan but "down state" is spread out so much I Havent seen it all.

 

[believe]

Thanks so much for your reply. Now I just have to get DH to decide on Michigan and then a date. Any suggestions on a month?

 

[solotraveler]

OK, Downstater and transplant here....


You should be able to see many lighthouses... both in the Lake Superior area and Lake Michigan areas.

If I was only coming once, I would definately put Mackinac Island in there for a daytrip (rent bikes!) and then come down the cost on the Lake Michigan side. I honestly thin (IMHO) that it has the best beaches down along the Saugatuck area. You can find the cities of Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Battle Creek within about an hours drive of the shorline depending on where you are. The area of Petosky and Harbor Springs are also very nice.


Just thought I'd throw out some options!
Solotraveler

 

[believe]

Renting bikes is probably not an option with us since DDs (6 and 4) will be with us.

 

[solotraveler]

Originally posted by believe
Renting bikes is probably not an option with us since DDs (6 and 4) will be with us.

Hmm... that's true. The only reason I mention that is because I was disappointed in the actual town on Mackinac Island itself the part to me that was far more interesting was mountain biking into the interior. Very nice path and very unspoiled.

As for a month- I would pick July or August-- Michigan winters are something awful and winter and fall weather is rather unpredictable to say the least. The summers however are very nice.

Solotraveler

 

[kamgen]

We live in southeast lower Michigan, just south of Detroit. We spend all summer taking weekend trips here in Michigan!
Summer is a great time here...as is September and October when you can visit apple orchards and see the changing of the colors.
We spend a lot of time camping here and love it!

Some of my favorite areas and things to see are:
Muskegon (beautiful beach and sunsets!)
Sleeping Bear Dunes
Traverse City area
Mackinac
Around Detroit, we have Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (which you can check out on the web)
Frankenmuth

The drive up the western shore is beautiful and has great beaches.....Muskegon, up to Silver Lake/Mears (go on the Mac Woods Dune rides), then to Empire where the Sleeping Bear Dunes are and then to Traverse City.....lots of lighthouses, one of my favorites is at the top of Old Mission peninsula (www.oldmission.com)

There is a new resort in Traverse City (http://tc.greatwolflodge.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1)

and here is a great site for West Michigan http://www.wmta.org/

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions...feel free to email me kamgen@yahoo.com

Have fun planning!

 

[whirlsy]

Mackinac Island have those bicycles built for two~ we took our DD when she was four and she thought that was the coolest thing ever~ we did most of the peddeling and she thought it was so funny when we passed people on it ,she really thought she was flying around that Island.

 

[whirlsy]

as for the time of the year to come up I would suggest late June~ all of July and August is great, It still gets pretty warm up here and the humidity is high at times but you will enjoy it.

 

[KarenC]

Originally posted by believe
Renting bikes is probably not an option with us since DDs (6 and 4) will be with us.

We go to Door County, WI, so I can't speak with authority about Michigan--but I'm guessing what's popular in D.C. is also popular in Michigan. My brother and his wife rent these tag along things that attach to a bike for his kids that are too small to peddle alone. It's like a trailer with one wheel (so the bike has 3 wheels instead of 2) and it turns the bike into an elogated bicycle built for two. The kids sit on a bicycle seat, and have handlebars to hold onto. I love bike riding on the trails in the state parks, and this is a good way to do it if the little ones can't peddle themselves.

 

[disneyelaine]

We've stayed at the Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor. It is awesome! Check out www.thehomesteadresort.com. The resort is right on Lake Michigan. They have a great pool overlooking the Lake, nightly activities including bonfires, a 9 hole Golf course, a Kids Activity Center, 2 pools, one with a neat slide, restaurants. It close to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, which the kids love to climb. It is right up the road to Leland, MI, which has a Fishtown type pier/gift shops. They have charter fishing trips there, & we had a guy take the 5 boys (all under age 12) on a fishing trip. I can not say enough good things about the area and this resort. Another fun thing we did was rent a pontoon boat on Glen Lake. Glen Lake is a crystal clear lake, the water looks nearly carribean, it is that pretty! I'd pick July or August to go. We went one year in June, but the weather is better in July or August.

 

[Keli]

We used to live in Fennville, MI (we actually lived in a cabin on Lake MI for a while) and then we moved to Holland, MI. Holland has a beautiful beach and the town itself is quite charming. They have a festival every May celebrating their dutch heritage. Ashli loved the tulip time festival. She convinced her dad to don a dutch costume with her and walk in the street cleaning parade one year. The grand marshal (?) declares that that streets aren't clean enough for a parade so everyone comes through in costumes with buckets of water and brooms and 'cleans' the streets. It's a great parade for little ones that are too young to be in the regular parades. They plant literally thousands of tulips throughout town, lining all the major roads. Usually they are in full bloom during the festival although I do remember a year or two that we joked about calling it the "stem festival'' because most of the tulips had come and gone.
There is a famous lighthouse there in Holland too although for the life of me I can't remember it's name. It's unusual looking. It's red and kinda boxy looking. Not your usual striped tower.

 

[Maude4Disney]

Here's another vote for Traverse City. We love going there in the summer. In July is the National Cherry festival, which is a busy time, but fun. We also go to Leland's fishtown and DH has family in the Lake Leelanau area. It is so beautiful there. DH and I also go to the TC area in the fall for the wineries. Lake Michigan has some great beaches all along the coast and quite a few lighthouses. We've only hit a couple though.

Mackinac Island is another great spot, but we don't do this very often as both DH and DS10 have had bad allergy reactions to the horses and lilacs (depending on time of year).

We haven't made it to the UP very often, but there is lots to see there as well. Aside from the lighthouses there is also the Soo Locks (you can find info on this online) as well as the Tahquamenon (sp) falls. I remember going there as a kid and it's quite a site. I keep trying to get DH to go there...one of these days.

Grand Rapids was mentioned by another poster...there is quite a bit there to do. They have different festivals all summer long into the fall, they have a minor league baseball team that is fun to watch, as well as arena football and hockey team. Nice museums and great places to eat.

Frankenmuth is great too. Bronners is there, a HUGE christmas store, fun little shops, great food...and in Birch Run (about 5-10 minutes away) is a great outlet mall.

In June or August we also go to the Jackson area for the NASCAR Race. But that would only be good info if you're a BIG fan, like we are

I agree that winter is not the best time to visit MI... I actually become a hermit in the winter. LOL not a big snow person here. But if you do come in the winter there are great places to snowmobile and ski.

Good luck and I'll see if I can think of anything else.

 

[shep]

Thanks for the great ideas...
Keep'em coming..

 

[believe]

Sounds like we will have to make more than one trip

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by believe
Renting bikes is probably not an option with us since DDs (6 and 4) will be with us.

You can also rent the tag-a-long thing for the back of the bike, for the 4yo or rent two tag-a-longs It's fun! Make sure to have brunch at the Grand Hotel. It is a spread worth paying for!

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by whirlsy
The Island that a friend told you about is it called Mackinac Island? This is a nice Island but it is a tourist trap~expensive~ but if you only come to Michigan once than you should go see it~alot of history~

It is quite expensive, even the ferries going over. It was nice to see once but I don't think I would go back.

Traverse city is nice, as well as Sleeping Bear Dunes.

 

[Kitty 34]

We have been going up to Mackinaw City every year since our boys were 4,6, and 12. They used to love the tandem bikes on the island.

We also have gone many times over to South Haven to the beaches there. Had family that used to own the Nichols Hotel downtown so it was an "inexpensive" vacation when the kids were young.

We also have done Michigan Adventure near Muskegon several times which is a nice trip.

Spent a week in a cabin on Lake Huron up near Tawas. Very pretty, relaxing region.

Michigan is a nice plave to visit IN July or August!!!

 

[Tess]

Your mom is thinking of Put-In-Bay and Kelly's Island. These are islands in Lake Erie between Toledo and Sandusky, OH; not MI. PIB is more of an adult-oriented attraction in the summer. Now, Cedar Point in Sandusky is great for all ages! These areas are within 2 hours of the southeast corner of MI, too.

We lived for years in Gaylord, MI--straight up I-75 and on the way to Mackinaw city and Mackinac Island. Gaylord is the "Golf Mecca" if you are interested in that activity. Robert Trent Jones courses at Sylvan Resort, a Tom Fazio course, too. Many beautiful but quite pricey golf spots in Gaylord and a plethora more in surrounding areas.

I, personally, enjoy the Traverse/Charlevoix (an overlooked little burg)/Petoskey/Harbor Springs area of MI. Nice beaches, good golf, fun eateries, and a haunted restaurant or two. I agree with the Homestead Resort review. . .very lovely.

A fun tour is to drive the coast round the state--easy to do and many things to visit along the route. Then again, you may not want to spend that kind of time.

MI does have something for everyone--golf, gambling, beautiful scenery, large cities, small towns, quaint shops, large shopping malls, primitive locations, bustling activity.

Having lived up north for many, many years--not before late June and never after the 2nd week of August if you are planning to swim. In our neck of the woods, it's considerably warmer--we have a pool downstate--never would I have bothered up north! The best week for the northern lower peninsula is the 3rd week of July. The Traverse City Cherry Festival runs the 2nd week of July into the 3rd I belive and the Alpenfest in Gaylord (an Austrian-like festival) is the 3rd week. Both very fine festivals of long-standing.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[Fire14]

I'm a born and bred homesick Michigander. I personally lived in Holland and spend way too much time in Grand Rapids. Holland has Windmill Island which is home to one of the last windmills allowed out of Netherlands. You can observe flour being ground and tour the windmill. On north side of town down highway from Outlet mall and regular mall you will find a tulip garden and Delft shop where you can watch delft being painted. The is also Dutch Village which is a place set up to look like a dutch village and you can watch wooden shoes being carved, Klompen dancers perform and listen to a pipe organ, this located right next to outlet mall and across street from shopping mall. Holland has "Big Red" a lighthouse located in Holland State Park. Saughatuck is a short drive( like 20 min.) and has lots of bed and breakfast places, quaint lil shops, and dune rides. Within a short drive is Grand Rapids with it's many museums (childrens, Public, Gerald R. Ford, Art Museum). South Haven has a lighthouse and is within about hour's drive of Holland. Travase City is neat but there isn't much to do there IMO. You can stop at Frankenmuth on way home and vist Bronners Christmas store and Birch Run outlet store. Muskegon is about hours drive up US 31 from Holland, They have a lighthouse, a nice shopping mall with a lighthouse theme and home to Coast Guard Festival.

If you want my choices for places to vist with your girls I'd say Holland/Grand Rapids area.