Michigan tourism

[sarahmichigan]

If you're in Michigan and want to explore some cool places in your own state or if you're out of state and thinking of vacationing here, I can make a few recommendations!

We just took a lovely mini-vacation to northeastern Michigan and had a really nice time.

First, we went to hike around a series of sinkholes near the Shoepack Lake State Forest, just outside of Atlanta, Mich. This area is loaded with fantastic scenery. There were a lot of steps to get down to one of the sinkholes and then back up again, but we had fantastic weather for it.

Then, we drove down scenic M-32 to the city of Alpena. And, what I want to know is, why didn't anyone ever tell me how pretty Alpena, right on Lake Huron, is? They have some ugly commercial strip mall areas, but the large residential area off M-32 is pretty, with lots of big Victorian homes. And they have really gorgeous lakefront parks which we did explore, and a maritime museum and a lighthouse that we didn't get a chance to explore. We stayed there overnight at a hotel and then drove south down M-23 the next day.

I can also recommend taking the scenic tour of lakefront and lighthouses along Lake Huron. We saw the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, which has a historic one-room schoolhouse (Bailey School) right next to it, and the Tawas Point Lighthouse. In addition to looking at the lighthouse, we also hiked the 2-mile (very rustic) Sandy Hook Trail.

Today, we've been out picking raspberries, and now J. is mowing the lawn. I LOVE being outdoors and being active at this time of year!

Comments

[misquoted.livejournal.com]

Anything at all to do in Benton Harbor? Or the Kalamazoo/Portage area?

I'll be driving from Chicago to Portage for a wedding dinner, and planning to stop in Benton Harbor (simply because that's where my father's family is from, and while none of us actually live there anymore so there's no reason to visit, I feel like I should at least go there once, even for an hour :P).

This will be happening in a few weeks.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Well, I went to school in Kalamazoo and lived there for many years, so I have lots of ideas of stuff to do there:

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
http://www.kiarts.org/

Kalamazoo Valley Museum & Planetarium
http://www.kalamazoomuseum.org/

Visit the microbreweries there (Bell's and others)
http://www.discoverkalamazoo.com/WineriesandBreweries

Celery Flats (historical area) in Portage is cool but probably isn't open this time of year

As for Benton Harbor, my experiences there have largely centered around visiting small local wineries in the area. I don't know if there are any in Benton Harbor proper, but within 15 miles radius, I've been to the Tabor Hill tasting room in Buchanan and Contessa Winery and Karma Vista Vineyard in Coloma. I here good things about several other wineries in that area:

http://www.lakemichiganshorewinetrail.com/wineries.html

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Alpena is one of the places they talk about in the "Pure Michigan" radio spots. I love those damn things.

[losgunna.livejournal.com]

Heh, check out YouTube for the spoof ones :D

[losgunna.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me to say that Yes! We'd love hearing some ideas :D We only have 4 days, and have some thoughts, but are always looking for others. Sadly, the train/boat ride through the forest to the Upper Tequamonen Falls ends the weekend before we are up there.