When I decided to join my younger brother and his friends for a four-day hike covering 20+ miles on Grand Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, there were certainly some known quantities involved. I knew, for example, that spending the night on an island in Lake Superior in October would potentially be a frosty affair, thus packing plenty of layers and proper gear, including a sleeping bag capable of insulating my body in 35- to 40-degree weather, was a must. I knew that it would be extremely dark out there once the sun went down, which could possibly provide awe-inspiring glimpses of starry night skies, but also allow the imagination to run wild…
Wintertime can feel like a slog, especially once the holidays have come and gone. If you’re not much of a winter sports person, whether we’re talking skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, or the like, it can be even more of a drag. That’s where winter festivals and carnivals come into play, injecting a bit of brightness into the cold, shortened days of the bitter season. As far as these frosty affairs go, it doesn’t get much bigger than the weeks-long World of Winter Festival held in West Michigan every January, February, and March.
Corktown is one of Detroit’s most eclectic neighborhoods, brimming with breweries, eateries, bars, and all kinds of inviting little shops and boutiques — a quaint little city within the city, with downtown’s skyscrapers plainly in view off to the east. While there are all kinds of reasons for visiting this part of Detroit, the true pièce de résistance is the newly-revived Michigan Central Station.
It feels wildly unlikely that I would ever come across a Lake Michigan beach that didn’t tickle my fancy, but the 4.5-mile stretch of sandy shoreline belonging to Beverly Shores, Indiana, is increasingly becoming one of my new favorites. The “town” of Beverly Shores, which is tucked between Gary and Michigan City and surrounded by Indiana Dunes National Park, isn’t much of a town at all — what you will find here on the underside of Lake Michigan is mostly a mix of beachfront, forest, marshland, and sand dunes. But, honestly, what more do you need?
Vintage books are by no means a necessity, but if you’re in the market for some classic tomes — if, perhaps, you have a collection going, or are looking to begin one — there are a few spots around Chicago that need to be on your radar. Here are three of them.
We’re here to talk shop, and by that, I mean volleyball. Specifically, the kind played on the sand in the summertime, which is the best kind in my opinion, and the preferred version of the sport for Chicagoans when the warm weather washes up on the shores of Lake Michigan. Visit any of the beaches mentioned below for yourself during the summer and you'll likely come to the same conclusion.
Look, folks, here’s the deal: Lake Michigan doesn’t need your approval. It doesn’t need your accolades, or your superlatives, or your constant-but-warranted praise. It doesn’t need you to remind it that it is the greatest of all the Great Lakes, better than Lake Superior or Huron or Ontario... or that other one that we almost don’t even need to mention (because, come on, that’s just laughable).
Michigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part Three, which covers the final 22 counties alphabetically, from Newaygo to Wexford.
Michigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part Two, which covers 32 counties alphabetically, from Hillsdale to Muskegon.
Michigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part One, which covers the first 29 counties alphabetically, from Alcona to Gratiot.
You’ve no doubt heard of the Four Corners — the monument that marks the spot where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona come together, allowing you to stand in all four states at once — but there’s another convergence of state lines over in the Midwest that’s likely never crossed your mind. It’s so obscure, in fact, that it might as well just be marked by a rock on the side of a dirt road.
Airplanes come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s not every day you find yourself aboard a nine-seater headed over one of the largest fresh water sources on the planet. That is, unless you decide to enlist the services of Cape Air, a smaller airline with routes in various parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Many people mourn the end summer — especially those who live in colder parts of the country — but I’ve been convinced for a long time that autumn is the best season of the year, and there’s nothing you could say to me that would make me believe otherwise. Fall means football, the leaves putting on their color-changing parade, and the start of the holiday season.
While regular movie theaters and cinemas are going through the financial ringer during the coronavirus pandemic, drive-ins are seeing a good old-fashioned renaissance. When you consider that drive-in theaters come with social distancing essentially baked in to the movie-going experience, this makes perfect sense.
From the otherworldly spirits haunting Michigan’s lighthouses to the mythical Dogman lurking somewhere in the north woods’ darkness, the Great Lakes State is a treasure trove full of ghost stories and urban legends. The Great Lakes are intriguing in and of themselves, their rough waters having claimed numerous ships over the years, but the tales creep inland, as well, giving residents of the mitten plenty to talk about around the campfire late at night.
At the start of 2020, national travel publication TripSavvy declared Michigan an “underappreciated outdoor playground,” naming it the year’s top travel destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Provided this planet is full of all kinds of natural wonders, anyone unfamiliar with the Great Lakes State might balk slightly at such a designation. But those of us “in the know" aren’t the least bit surprised.
While it could nearly be considered part of West Michigan, Pentwater still gives off that “up north” kind of vibe, and it is for that exact reason that people come from all over to take it in. It’s the kind of place you visit to quiet your mind, to let life slow down for a little bit.
Most everything you’ll want to see or do is within walking distance (given that you consider 30 minutes or less to be walking distance), and if you can swing it, it truly is best to leave the car parked for most of the day. It’s a well-known fact that parking in Ann Arbor comes with a high degree of difficulty, regardless of the season. Perhaps that’s why the blue buses are free not just for students but for everyone? Could be.
From the Porcupine Mountains to Pictured Rocks, and a whole heck of a lot in between, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is filled with plenty of treasures for travelers to explore. As anyone who has been up there could tell you, it’s truly a world unto itself. While there is much to see and do beyond the bridge, it all gets started with the first city you run into after crossing the Straits of Mackinac: St. Ignace.
It seems odd for a city to be 150-plus years older than the state within which it’s located, but that’s exactly what you get with Sault Ste. Marie, which was founded — get this — 169 years before Michigan joined the Union in 1837. By virtue of its founding in 1668, the Soo is the oldest city in the Great Lakes State, while fellow Upper Peninsula stalwarts St. Ignace (founded in 1671) and Marquette (1675) aren’t too far behind.
Perpetually out shined by a certain southern city of the same name, Nashville, Michigan, has probably never been on your radar. Like a number of other Michigan communities named after much more recognizable places (e.g. Athens, Holland, Moscow, Paris), the village, which is located in the eastern portion of Barry County, is a tiny, tiny community. But that doesn’t make it any less interesting.
Travel doesn’t always have to be about wandering far and wide; sometimes it can be as simple as checking out an unexplored swath of your own backyard. That was the plan on a recent weekend, when my girlfriend and I decided to check out a place along the Lake Michigan shoreline that I had driven by countless times, but had never stopped to explore before.
Music festivals are generally synonymous with a few things. Live music played at a high volume is a given, but other words and phrases and terms that might fit right in include: a weekend off the grid, lots of free spirits (or hippies, if you prefer), and perhaps a teensy bit of excessive alcohol consumption. The Beaver Island Music Festival has these things — but it also has a little something more.
Among the numerous outdoor activities you might partake in during a Michigan summer, one of the better options is getting out on the river in a kayak. Whether you’re looking to do a little fishing or simply float along at your leisure, it’s pretty difficult to beat a sunny day spent on the water.
There are plenty of beaches worth a visit along Lake Michigan, not the least of which would include those found in Grand Haven, but just south of there, tucked in between some absolutely gorgeous homes on Lakeshore Avenue, is a little spot called Kirk Park.
Located in between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, has hosted its increasingly-popular music festival since 2003. That was the year a few people got together and said, “We want to bring some musical talent to our neck of the woods.” And so they did — literally.
Though driving through certain parts of Michigan is not all that exciting (looking at you, I-96), there are numerous stretches of roadway in the state that many would probably consider destinations unto themselves.
In and around the state of Michigan, it’s no secret that some of the best wineries and vineyards can be found along the stretch of highway M-37 that runs all the way to the top of Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula. Splitting Grand Traverse Bay into its east and west arms, Old Mission has got to be one of the most scenic destinations in the entire Lower Peninsula, and its numerous vineyards only add to its charm.
One thing that is true of all big cities? You'll almost always discover something new each and every time you go back. Michigan's largest city, Detroit, is no exception. I've been to the Motor City numerous times — I even lived there for the final three months of 2016 — and still there are countless things I have yet to experience.
Haunted locales, whether they be hotels, theaters, ships, restaurants, cemeteries, or abandoned mental hospitals, are so plentiful that it can be difficult to make a case for one place over another. Their existence is so commonplace, in fact, we might even have to amend the phrase to “a nickel a dozen”, purely due to the laws of supply and demand. What’s more, some of these supposedly spirit-riddled hotspots are about as authentic as a three-dollar bill.