sarahmichigan | Michigan tourism

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!