CanadaKate

I'll be driving from the Canadian/US border crossing (Sarnia/Marysville) to the Houghton Lake area in late June with my 11 year old daughter and our dog. Any suggestions for where to break our journey overnight (as we'll already have driven all morning from Toronto to Sarnia) and any kid and dog-friendly interesting sights to see along the way?

Tks!

CanadaKate

Sorry, make that Port Huron rather than Marysville.

tomboy

That's VERY un-stimulating territory. Personally, I'd drive straight thru.

Signed, Michigander

dsgmi

It's about three hours from Port Huron to Houghton Lake (as long as it's Houghton Lake and not Houghton in the UP!) and mapquest says it's about three hours from Toronto to Port Huron. I totall agree with tomboy and would just go straight through. If you leave at a reasonable time in the morning, you could be in Houghton Lake by midish-afternoon, even with a stop for lunch. That also eliminates finding a hotel that is pet friendly. If you do decide to stop, check hotel locations in both Flint and Saginaw very carefully as far as safety goes.

CanadaKate

Thanks, both, for your replies. Mapquest tells me that it's a bit under 7 hours for the entire journey from our home to our destination. However, I'm figuring that with a border crossing, a stop for lunch, a stop or two to walk the dog and stretch our legs, it could easily take 10 hours. So, I was looking at options for a possible mid-way stop if there was anything of interest to see. Sounds as if there isn't. As for safety of hotels, is Bay City any better?

kelliebellie

I'll have to think about this one. I do want to add that when you cross the border, make sure you have a note from your daughter's father saying it is okay for her to be with you. They may ask for one.

CanadaKate

Thanks, kelliebellie. Yes, even when both parents are traveling together we make sure to have notarized letters saying each can travel alone with the kids, just in case one of us has to head home early to deal with an ailing parent. Looking forward to your thoughts.

dsgmi

We stayed in Birch Run near the outlet mall when we went to the tall ship festival in Bay City so I don't know about hotels there. It's only and hour and a half to Houghton Lake from Bay City, so for me I'd rather just get to my destination. If you really want to stop, find the places that will take dogs, decide how long you want to drive and then which place works for that time frame. Would just staying on the Canadian side break up the trip into two even legs?

I would make sure to bring all rabies vaccination papers/proof for your dog when crossing the border. They could prohibit entry if this is not documented.

CanadaKate

Thanks, dsgmi. Yes, we could stay on the Canadian side but Sarnia is pretty boring despite its nice waterfront. So if there were somewhere else that I haven't already visited, that would also add some interest to the trip.

The main reason for trying to break up the drive is that I'm not so keen to be arriving at a camp I don't know after dark. A stopover would ensure that we could have a leisurely start both mornings and get to our destination with plenty of time to scope out our surroundings before evening.

But from all everyone has said so far, maybe I should hand the electronic games to my daughter, crank up the CD player and just plow ahead.