Hey guys! DH and I haven't planned a summer vacation yet. We live in the DC area but he's trying to get a job in Michigan to live closer to my stepdaughters. I realized last night that if we did a Michigan vacation the last week we have them, then even if we live in DC still we can drop them at their mom's and keep driving on home to DC.
Can you recommend any lake towns I should look into? I literally know nothing about Michigan and I wanted a perspective other than google lol. It doesn't have to be a crazy busy high traffic area, we are fine just laying on the beach. I'll be doing this on a budget too. Thanks!
jaycee if theres a small lake in the middle somewhere thats nice to visit I want to consider that too. I dont really care where we are as long as there is water lol
Not from MI, but we vacationed there last summer. We stayed in South Haven and it was so charming! We stayed at an awesome B&B a block from the lake, and the beach there was really nice. Cute downtown area, and it's only 30 min. from Saugatuck, which is also a nice lake town (slightly bigger, busier).
I know you will be on the east side but we love Charlevoix (in the upper west side of the UP). We spend a long weekend there every summer and it is so nice to just get away. www.visitcharlevoix.com/
There is a nice beach on both Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix as well as a cute downtown area for walking. From Detroit it is about 4(ish) hours so maybe farther than you want to go. There are some beautiful cottages in the area that we just love to look at. Oh, and the "Hobbit Houses" those are cool too. mynorth.com/2010/08/video-tour-the-earl-young-hobbit-houses-in-charlevoix/
You can't go wrong on the west side of the state. Honestly, you can city hop along the whole shore and there will always be something to do. Start in Glen Arbor at the Sleeping bear dunes, you can hit Manistee, Muskegon (has Michigans adventure), Grand Haven (cool pier and lighthouse), Holland (windmills and wooden shoes), and end in St. Joseph (cute town, fun children's museum). Then hop on to 94 and it will take you straight to Metro Detroit.
My parents used to do this with us every couple years. It was always so fun.
I know you will be on the east side but we love Charlevoix (in the upper west side of the UP). We spend a long weekend there every summer and it is so nice to just get away. www.visitcharlevoix.com/
There is a nice beach on both Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix as well as a cute downtown area for walking. From Detroit it is about 4(ish) hours so maybe farther than you want to go. There are some beautiful cottages in the area that we just love to look at. Oh, and the "Hobbit Houses" those are cool too. mynorth.com/2010/08/video-tour-the-earl-young-hobbit-houses-in-charlevoix/
I haven't stayed south of saugatuck. (Not to say it's not nice down there. )
How old are the kids? Where do they live? (These influence my rec) Also, what week of the summer? This also influences me.
SDs will be 11 and 13. DS will be about 20 months.
This would be mid-August. I think they go home on the 17th or whatever that weekend is.
Do they live east side of state? Metro detroit area? While location hopping can be fun, I'd almost lean towards 1 location w a 20 month old Do you guys like camping or mini hikes or prefer more town-like activities. I think beach is very fun and can spend most of my time there, but w the preteens, figured maybe you need town time sometimes or hikes or what not, esp from 12-3 when it's peak sun and a little too hot to be out there. Do 11 & 13 yr olds do stuff by themselves or still closely adult supervised? (I can't remember. I think my parents wouldn't let us off by ourselves but mine were pretty strict in other respects so maybe this was part o their strictness??)
It depends what you're looking for. Isle Royale would be my first reccommendation, but it's waaaay off the beaten path (seaplane or ferry). Copper harbor is a really cute town if you like fishing, and it's on Lake Superior, but even in June it can get pretty cold there. There's a log cabin esque holiday inn, I think in Marquette, that is right on Lake Superior that I haven't stayed at, but the area is beautiful. A lot of national parks if camping or cabins are options. Then what pp have suggested, mackinaw island and the surrounding area. Not on mackinaw but just over the bridge (upper peninsula side) there are a TON of little motels and cabins right on the lake. If you end up wanting to drive further and are passing through ohio, there are a lot of options on Lake Erie (port Clinton, Kelly's island, maumee bay resort, put-in-bay, Sandusky, etc)
SDs will be 11 and 13. DS will be about 20 months.
This would be mid-August. I think they go home on the 17th or whatever that weekend is.
Do they live east side of state? Metro detroit area? While location hopping can be fun, I'd almost lean towards 1 location w a 20 month old Do you guys like camping or mini hikes or prefer more town-like activities. I think beach is very fun and can spend most of my time there, but w the preteens, figured maybe you need town time sometimes or hikes or what not, esp from 12-3 when it's peak sun and a little too hot to be out there. Do 11 & 13 yr olds do stuff by themselves or still closely adult supervised? (I can't remember. I think my parents wouldn't let us off by ourselves but mine were pretty strict in other respects so maybe this was part o their strictness??)
Sorry I forgot to answer that. They live in the Detroit metro area but I'm ok with the west side too.
Wait, so will they be with you, and would you want activities they would like?
Yes they will be with us and sure!
If you want to break up the vacation and the drive, and are passing through ohio, Cedar point is an amusement park and probably two hours from the michigan border (if that). It's off of i80 if you'd be going that way. Then maumee bay resort has a beach, nature trails, canoe and kayak rental, small inland ponds for swimming, a golf course, the resort has a padded mall-like play area for your ds and there's an indoor pool and some other fun things near by. It's maybe 30 minutes from the michigan border.
If you're near Detroit, you could always catch a Tiger's game too. What area are you looking for and what do you all like to do?
If you're on a budget, you may want to avoid northwestern lower Michigan -- Traverse City, Petoskey and that area as they aren't really very budget-friendly, especially during the high season. Lake Huron would be more budget friendly. There are plenty of smaller towns all along US-23 from Standish all the way to the Mackinac Bridge to consider. If you're really only looking to be near water, you might also consider Houghton Lake or Higgins Lake in the middle of the lower peninsula.
As someone who lived in Michigan for 18 years, I should probably have more recommendations but we hardly ever vacationed in-state. I've only been to Saugatuck, Mackinac and Petoskey. I'd recommend any of them.
You can't go wrong with Charlevoix / Petoskey area. LOVE it there. And it's reasonably close to Traverse City too. You could also hit up Sleeping Bear Dunes.
We go to Holland about every other year. The downtown is great and super kid friendly. We also like South Haven and St Joe. All of these places are fairly close by so you can easily visit another beach or downtown for an afternoon.
If you're on a budget, you may want to avoid northwestern lower Michigan -- Traverse City, Petoskey and that area as they aren't really very budget-friendly, especially during the high season. Lake Huron would be more budget friendly. There are plenty of smaller towns all along US-23 from Standish all the way to the Mackinac Bridge to consider. If you're really only looking to be near water, you might also consider Houghton Lake or Higgins Lake in the middle of the lower peninsula.
You took the words out of my mouth. Northern MI is not cheap at all during the summer season.
We kove going to Higgins Lake but that books up really quickly.
I know you will be on the east side but we love Charlevoix (in the upper west side of the UP). We spend a long weekend there every summer and it is so nice to just get away. www.visitcharlevoix.com/
There is a nice beach on both Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix as well as a cute downtown area for walking. From Detroit it is about 4(ish) hours so maybe farther than you want to go. There are some beautiful cottages in the area that we just love to look at. Oh, and the "Hobbit Houses" those are cool too. mynorth.com/2010/08/video-tour-the-earl-young-hobbit-houses-in-charlevoix/
And the best French toast ever at a little diner there.
That's what I got married I love northern Michigan. You can't go wrong with Charlevoix or Petoskey.
ETA: his is right, though. Every summer I dream of renting a big house in that area and inviting my whole family and then I check VRBO and lolololololol not happening.
Post by whiterussian09 on Mar 1, 2014 11:28:10 GMT -5
We live in Michigan and vacation up north every year. Someone already mentioned this, but honestly, my favorite place is the Burt Lake/Mullett Lake/Indian River area. It's the perfect spot to stay if you want to do day trips to places other people have mentioned. It's a half hour to Mackinaw City so you could do a day trip to Mackinac Island, you can do a day trip to Petoskey and drive up M119 (Tunnel of Trees) to Leggs Inn, an awesome polish restaurant in the middle of nowhere. You can do a day trip to Tahquamenon Falls in the UP, rent a pontoon and cruise up and down Indian River all day or take it out to Lake Huron, go over to Charlevoix and take a boat to Beaver Island...so many options. But things book up really fast and can get pretty pricey, so you'd have to start looking ASAP. Let me know if you have any questions, there's not many places in northern lower Michigan that we haven't vacationed
Post by whiterussian09 on Mar 1, 2014 11:36:11 GMT -5
Also, a really good place to look for vacation rentals is Craigslist>Northern Michigan>Vacation Rentals. You may be able to find a better deal than you would on VRBO or homeaway.com.
Charlevoix, Traverse City, or Mackinac Island/Mackinaw City would be my first picks. If you are willing to drive further you could do Tequanimum Falls or Pictured Rocks in the UP. Grand Rapids is an awesome city and if you wanted to go to the beach for a day it's not too far of a drive.
Traverse city is ideal for a vacation. Beautiful beaches, cute downtown with shops, tons of vineyards to sample wine and sit on the deck with beautiful views. But like people said, it is a popular destination and places can book up way in advance.
I skimmed, but I didn't see anyone rec Torch Lake. We had friends that had a house on a smaller lake that connected to Torch and it was my favorite week in summer when we went up there. You could stay at Shanty Creek/Schuss mountain resorts, which are ski places but open during the summer too. We stayed there a lot when I was younger.
Silver Lake sand dunes are a lot of fun too. We spent a lot of time up there when I was in HS. There's Leland too that is close to Traverse, but not IN Traverse that might be a little more reasonable. Look at the cities around Traverse and you might be able to find deals still. We always tended to go last minute and my mom never had any problems finding deals.
Grand Haven is wonderful too, and close to Grand Rapids. It's small though, so you might run out of things to do quickly, but you could do day trips down to Saugatuck and into GR.
Sorry, CurlyQ284, but it appears that Traverse City and Petoskey and Charlevoix are the only lakefront summer vacation destinations in the entire state of Michigan. Not good news for somebody who is trying to vacation on a budget.
If you're open to the UP Grand Marais is gorgeous. Right on Lake Superior. Nice hiking options. You can hit Tacumenon Falls (yeah, I didn't spell that right) which is really fun.
Anything on the west side that's on the water is going to be pricey & likely already booked.
If you're interested in the East side you could look at Harson's Island or Port Sanilac.
But one of my most favorite places is Caseville. It's low key (except during Cheeseburger Fest) and has a great beach.