Vacation in Michigan?

[Colleen27]

Thank you all for the great ideas! I've been researching them all night. Mackinaw while beautiful seems to be out of our price range. And thanks for the water temp. Tip! Good point. More reasearching today.

Look into the St Ignace KOA. They have cabin rentals that will work for your family size and run a free shuttle to the Mackinac Island ferry dock. You save a ton staying there and making the island a day trip (or two) compared to accommodations on the island, especially for a larger family. And as an added bonus the campground has a pool so the kids can get in some swimming time without worrying about water temps in the lake.

 

[yoopermom]

We stopped in Mackinaw City overnight this past weekend (picking up DS from college). I was shocked that for the first of May it was a *ghost town*. We hadn't made a reservation, and many/most of the hotels were still closed/struggling to open. The nicest lady at the Best Western said that the winter has been so terrible that all openings had been delayed. She was kind enough to call the Hamilton Inn and get us a good rate there, and we were very lucky she did so, since they were one of two hotels open.

If you want to see that area, I would greatly suggest camping/staying at cabins, or possibly even staying the night before in Gaylord (an hour south) where there is more availability/cheaper prices, and just making a very early start of it.

As a U.P. resident, I highly suggest visiting us . Summers tend to be warm during the day/cold at night, and we often go right from snow to a bumper mosquito crop. Nonetheless, the *quiet* is lovely. There are tons of hiking/biking trails and parks/campgrounds along the Lake Superior coast that are a lot of family fun.

If you had the time, I would suggest doing a Lake MI/Lake Superior tour, stopping at the Dunes, Traverse City, Mackinac Island (just for the day), Lake Superior, and then zoom back home. Leave time for just getting out of the vehicle and relaxing.

Good luck!

Terri

 

[Colleen27]

As a U.P. resident, I highly suggest visiting us . Summers tend to be warm during the day/cold at night, and we often go right from snow to a bumper mosquito crop. Nonetheless, the *quiet* is lovely. There are tons of hiking/biking trails and parks/campgrounds along the Lake Superior coast that are a lot of family fun.

Off on a tangent, what are you hearing up there as far as a longer-range weather forecast? And how are the bugs so far after this cold winter? DD is going to be up there on a rock climbing trip over Memorial Day and we were just talking about how we don't even really know what to expect of this year's crazy weather. It is May, we're in SE Michigan, and I had to scrape my car windows this morning to take the kids to school!

 

[yoopermom]

Off on a tangent, what are you hearing up there as far as a longer-range weather forecast? And how are the bugs so far after this cold winter? DD is going to be up there on a rock climbing trip over Memorial Day and we were just talking about how we don't even really know what to expect of this year's crazy weather. It is May, we're in SE Michigan, and I had to scrape my car windows this morning to take the kids to school!

Where is she going to be in the U.P.? We are considered to be in the "banana belt" and even here it's been 40 and raining for weeks. Ten day forecast says we *might* get to 60 and see a peak of sun, if we are lucky.

If she's going up to the Marquette area (which is most likely), I would have her pack layers and wet weather gear, for sure. Nights will be very, very cold and damp, even if the days warm up. I don't know how much she already owns/wants to invest in, but proper hiking/climbing/camping clothing that is thin and wicks moisture would be good to have (especially good socks and shoes).

The peepers have just barely started "talking", and we haven't seem a mosquito yet, but if we get some heat we will very likely have them by the time she gets up here.

FOR SURE send her with DEET to ward off ticks (and remind her to cover all skin and check for them every night in every little crevice of her body). We've already had our dogs bring them in, and deer ticks are tiny. Lyme Disease is very prevalent up here, and that's not a reminder I'd want her to bring home with her from her trip .

I'm sure she'll have a great time! DS was part of a 4-H Challenge Club that did winter camping, rock climbing, etc, all over the U.P., and it's a great bonding experience for the kids.

Terri

 

[marius97]

We stopped in Mackinaw City overnight this past weekend (picking up DS from college). I was shocked that for the first of May it was a *ghost town*. We hadn't made a reservation, and many/most of the hotels were still closed/struggling to open. The nicest lady at the Best Western said that the winter has been so terrible that all openings had been delayed. She was kind enough to call the Hamilton Inn and get us a good rate there, and we were very lucky she did so, since they were one of two hotels open.

You got lucky...the ferries only started running within the last week. Up until then the ice had been keeping the ferries from running.

 

[marius97]

Off on a tangent, what are you hearing up there as far as a longer-range weather forecast? And how are the bugs so far after this cold winter? DD is going to be up there on a rock climbing trip over Memorial Day and we were just talking about how we don't even really know what to expect of this year's crazy weather. It is May, we're in SE Michigan, and I had to scrape my car windows this morning to take the kids to school!

Not a UPer, just a humble troll , but I'd bet that it will be cold and wet. It is amazing what the lake is doing to temps this year, especially closer to the lake. Down here at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, it is frequently 15+ degrees cooler (plus the wind) at the lake than it is just 20 miles inland. The weatherman has said it will be like that for a long time this summer.

 

[Colleen27]

Where is she going to be in the U.P.? We are considered to be in the "banana belt" and even here it's been 40 and raining for weeks. Ten day forecast says we *might* get to 60 and see a peak of sun, if we are lucky.

If she's going up to the Marquette area (which is most likely), I would have her pack layers and wet weather gear, for sure. Nights will be very, very cold and damp, even if the days warm up. I don't know how much she already owns/wants to invest in, but proper hiking/climbing/camping clothing that is thin and wicks moisture would be good to have (especially good socks and shoes).

The peepers have just barely started "talking", and we haven't seem a mosquito yet, but if we get some heat we will very likely have them by the time she gets up here.

FOR SURE send her with DEET to ward off ticks (and remind her to cover all skin and check for them every night in every little crevice of her body). We've already had our dogs bring them in, and deer ticks are tiny. Lyme Disease is very prevalent up here, and that's not a reminder I'd want her to bring home with her from her trip .

I'm sure she'll have a great time! DS was part of a 4-H Challenge Club that did winter camping, rock climbing, etc, all over the U.P., and it's a great bonding experience for the kids.

Yep, up past Marquette, near Big Bay. Cold and wet was what I was assuming. Fortunately she has a lot of outdoor-friendly clothing and synthetic wicking base layers from her various sports, but we're still going to be doing a fair bit of shopping for this trip. I don't mind making a bit of an investment in good gear for her because she's a very outdoorsy kid all around

Ick on the ticks. I think I'd blocked that out! We have ticks here too but mostly dog ticks so Lyme disease isn't a big worry. They are just the grossest of all insects in my opinion. Our dogs bring them in all the time.

DD is super excited. Girl Scouting had gotten too "girly" for her and she jumped into 4H with rabbits and archery last year, but this is her first year in Challenge. Her school does winter camp complete with survival skills classes and cross country skiing, and she's excited to have another way to do that kind of outdoor adventure.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We're in Northeast WI, which is not too far from the UP of Michigan - and by the way we get the Pure MI tv ads here too. I love them! We love the UP and have a cabin about 20 minutes from Iron Mountain, MI. The UP is just beautiful. Some of the best places have already been mentioned as vacation destinations, so I won't duplicate.

However, I did want to add that we're planning to head up to see the Paulding Light this summer in the UP. It's a ghosty kind of thing, but we've heard how eerie/cool it is - even though it may have been debunked. Just something else to consider if you like that sort of thing. Here's the wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulding_Light

 

[maxiesmom]

OK guys I just have to say-------

Mackinaw is the city.

Mackinac is the island.

This has been your Michigan lesson for the day.

 

[seenellie81]

We lived in MI for a couple of years when i was in the coast guard. We went back to visit years later and had our kids. We went to Frankfort for a week and stayed in the harbor lights condos. They are on the beach of lake Michigan. The kids loved a more relaxed vacation on the beach. Frankfort is a very quiet little town on the shores of Lake Michigan. We did some charter fishing as well. Traverse City is nice and they have a great wolf lodge near by. Mackinac Island is very nice and the kids enjoyed this as well. I agree that i wouldn't stay there longer then one or two nights. You can also go to Leland Michigan. Leland is a quaint little fish town that has cute little shops just like Frankfort has. However in Leland they have a ferry that runs to Manitou island where you can hike, Its pretty neat. We have also gone canoeing and kayaking there as well on the rivers. The sleepy bear sand dunes are all over in that area as well. All of these locations are in Northern Michigan. My suggestion would be to make it a road trip stopping at all these places along the way. The lake is beautiful up there and M22 is such a scenic route to drive.

 

[carrie1626]

OK guys I just have to say-------

Mackinaw is the city.

Mackinac is the island.

This has been your Michigan lesson for the day.

Tomorrow, get into the phonetics of each
thank you

 

[auntmeme7577]

Tomorrow, get into the phonetics of each
thank you

They are both pronounced Mackinaw

 

[java]

Update to say thank you all. But it is all going into a travel folder. I was out voted and we are heading to FL. Gulf coast this time for a change, but not as much of a change that I wanted. Dd said vacation means going South not North.

 

[antmaril]

I hope you have a wonderful vacation and that you do visit Michigan one day. I have to say that, for me personally, I will take a summer day in northern Michigan over a summer day in Florida any day of the week. But, I am not one for heat and humidity, so I am probably in the minority.

Have fun!

 

[*Fantasia*]

OK guys I just have to say-------

Mackinaw is the city.

Mackinac is the island.

This has been your Michigan lesson for the day.

Oooohhh... Shame on me!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I hope you have a wonderful vacation and that you do visit Michigan one day. I have to say that, for me personally, I will take a summer day in northern Michigan over a summer day in Florida any day of the week. But, I am not one for heat and humidity, so I am probably in the minority.

Have fun!

Agree.. it is a beautiful state, especially during summer. I don't think your family would want to go up north during winter. Summer up north is not brutally hot.. it's actually perfect!

 

[mrsklamc]

Well even though you have been vetoed, OP, let me share my input:

Mackinac doesn't have to be so expensive. It is said it's a totally different experience if you stay on the island, but it just wasn't in our budget, and we still had a lovely time.

'Like' the ferry companies on facebook to watch for specials. We got a 'groupon' type deal, I believe it was from something like 'UP North deals' after Shepler's posted it on their FB page. Book quickly if it comes up because it sold out in like an hour.

Stay 'offsite' (just occurred to me that this is a similar discussion as onsite/offsite at Disney LOL.) We were SO impressed with the Best Western Harbour Pointe in St.Ignace. Couldn't believe it was a Best Western- and the Friday night fireworks were I kid you not, better than Disney's. They have nightly marshmallow roasts but bring your own chocolate and graham crackers.

After Mackinac we visited Sleeping Bear Dunes. We just mostly drove through but there was a lake with gorgeous water that looked very inviting for water sports. If your family is athletic/competitive you will want to hit the dune climb. We absolutely LOVED Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor as well.

We also drove up the LeeLanau (sp?) peninsula and visited the lighthouse at the end. It was quite lovely and since we grew up around farming it was very interesting to see the variety of crops.

 

[mrsklamc]

Also forgot to say- the bridge itself is pretty spectacular, to drive across or from the ferry (be sure to check the ferry schedule for a departure that goes over to the bridge, does not cost extra.) Also stop at the little park on the St. Ignace side for pictures.

And, the Best Western has suites that will accomodate larger parties.

 

[marius97]

Also forgot to say- the bridge itself is pretty spectacular, to drive across or from the ferry (be sure to check the ferry schedule for a departure that goes over to the bridge, does not cost extra.) Also stop at the little park on the St. Ignace side for pictures.

And, the Best Western has suites that will accomodate larger parties.

We stayed in St. Ignace on our honeymoon and really liked the town...that being said, I considered driving through Wisconsin to get back to the lower peninsula. I was NOT a fan of driving across the bridge...especially the parts with the open deck.

 

[yoopermom]

Or you could come walk the bridge with us on Labor Day!

http://www.mackinacbridge.org/annual-bridge-walk-7/

Terri