Michigan Itinerary
 

We are planning a trip to Michigan with another couple in August. Probably for about 10 days. Never been so need suggestions on an itinerary to see the highlights. We do not want to spend each night in a different hotel. We prefer to spend at least 2 nights in each hotel so we aren't moving around so much.

On a lake, in cities? What are you looking to see or experience?

We have no idea. Have never been there before. Looking for suggestions on the best places to visit. We love culture, moderate hiking, just seeing the state and lakes.

The Detroit Institute of Arts has a Breughel, reason enough.

Excellent deli in An Arbor. https://www.zingermansdeli.com

George Custer artifacts in New Rumley, place of his birth.

But the only real interest in Michigan (for me, and I used to live there) is the legacy of Ernest Hemingway in the Petoskey area.

Good fishing.

Yup--fly fishing.
MIchigan is a BIG BIG state.

Traverse City, MI “Repeatedly declared as one of the best small towns in America, Traverse City has an astounding array of outdoor recreational opportunities and great restaurants. It features on the most beautiful main streets in America. Nearby is the amazing Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with its sky-high dunes, cool forests, inland lakes, picturesque farmsteads and historic maritime village.”

Petoskey, MI. “This friendly resort community, nestled along the shores of Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan, is steeped in history, Victorian architecture, and breathtaking views. It is an outdoors mecca with recreation opportunities such as biking on the Little Traverse Wheelway along Lake Michigan, sunbathing on one of the many beaches, such as Magnus City Park Beach, hiking in one of the many great trails in the region, or boating in the bay. Downtown is one of the most treasured downtowns in the United States with its famous Gaslight Shopping District.”

Ann Arbor--Ann Arbor is a bustling university town and culinary hotspot with a walkable downtown that includes world-class arts and culture.The town features eclectic boutiques, fascinating museums and outstanding recreational opportunities which include kayaking, canoeing, tubing and stand-up paddle boarding on the Huron River and hiking and biking in the nearby Hudson Mills Metropark. Near Chelsea, just west of Ann Arbor, some of the best mountain biking trails in the state wind through expansive state parks and recreation areas. Places to explore include the Museum of Natural History, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, the University Art Museum, and more than 30 independent bookstores.

There's Marshall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall,_Michigan

https://flic.kr/p/8wNxLo
and the Henry Ford Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Henry_Ford

Last summer we drove from Hamilton, Ontario, to the western suburbs of Chicago. Grand Rapids was a convenient stopping point.

We enjoyed the guided tour of the beautifully restored Frank Lloyd Wright designed house—

https://meyermayhouse.steelcase.com

And, grounds and sculpture tour at the botanical gardens—

https://www.meijergardens.org

Another vote for Traverse City!

Google some pictures of the sites below:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park

Legs Inn
Historical & unique place for indoor/outdoor dining with a view. Inquire about weekend's entertainment in the evening, used to have local live bands playing.

Petoskey, famous for its stone.

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Spend 2-3 days in the Detroit area or somewhere between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Both have lovely parks and other things to see. Then head north to the Traverse City area. You can do day trips to Petosky, Sutton Bay and over to the west to Lake Michigan. The Traverse City/Mission Bay area is one of Michigan's wine areas. Or instead of going north, go west. The Grand Rapids area is beautiful. You could do day trips to Saugatuck and South Haven. This is another wine area in Michigan. Grand Rapid has many micro breweries.

Enjoy your visit. You will not be able to see the whole state in one visit.

When I think of how spectacular and rich the US is in natural beauty, I think of Sleeping Bear Dune on the Leelanau Peninsula near Traverse City. Not because it's the single most beautiful site, but because it is jaw-dropping and nobody even talks about it. In fact, the whole peninsula is gorgeous. Many terrific short lakeshore hikes, a historic lighthouse, and one of the most unusual villages in the US, Leland, a fishing port on a canal.

In Summer there are extensive fruit stands all over with varieties of peaches, pears, plums, apples, cherries and many others you don't get to see much outside of Michigan.

@shelemm :tu:

Yes, the Michigan cherries are delicious.

Traverse City, Petosky, and Mackinac Island are all must-dos!

The City of Detroit has the Detroit Institute of Art (big enough that you could potentially arrive when they open and leave when they start shooing visitors out, if you like art, and the room with the old Dutch paintings is worth seeing), the Detroit historical museum, Greektown if you like fancy restaurants; possibly historic Fort Wayne (I don't remember it but I my parents took me there when I was about 10 or younger and then it was closed for awhile and then it reopened but I haven't seen it since it reopened); Belle Isle park and Riverwalk parks are both reasonably safe and good for tourists - if I had to pick one I say Belle Isle because of the aquarium and fountain and views of the river. Also parking is extremely limited at Riverwalk. Dearborn has the Henry Ford Museum (old machinery, U.S. history, technological innovation, old cars) and Greenfield Village (old houses of people involved in science and technology that Henry Ford had transferred to the site) - you could easily spend the whole opening time at either location if you tried to see it comprehensively. My parents took me to both locations but on separate trips, never both in the same trip. Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills has a small modern art museum and a science museum (with an extensive rock/mineral/crystal collection) my parents took me to when I was a kid, also the property is big and has some landscaped gardens and a lake and walking paths.

Ann Arbor has an art museum and a small archaeology museum, and the University of Michigan campus and a park called the Arboretum with a view of the Huron River if you walk far enough. If you are driving to somewhere outside Southeast Michigan, the Arboretum and the Cranbrook property are skippable. If you want more museums and the state capital, maybe Lansing would be worth it. Also Michigan State has a small art museum. I have not been to Grand Rapids. But I have been to Sleeping Bear Dunes national Lakeshore (I exhausted myself hiking about 7 miles over sand with little traction). I didn't give myself time to see Traverse City. If you want to do a lot of driving, you could consider stopping in Mackinac City and taking the boat to Mackinac Island and/or drive over the Mackinac bridge and continue to Pictured Rocks in the Upper peninsula on Lake Superior (I saw it on a trip with a summer camp when I was 14). If you go to Mackinac Island, make sure you see the fort and park part and not just the crowded touristy Mackinac Island City part.

Also Dow Gardens in Midland might be worth spending at least 2 hours at (I saw parts of it on my way to Sleeping Bear Dunes.)

I grew up in the suburbs in Oakland County in Southeast Michigan, left for Grad school, then moved back for a job.

Also possibly consider Eastern Market in Detroit on a Saturday (the Saturday produce sellers and vendors have use of the space until 4pm but it starts winding down by 1-2pm but there are food trucks and sops and a lively touristy ambiance). Actually I quit going there because the prices are at least 10% more than the normal grocery stores.