tinathetoad

Anyone taking a summer vacation to Michigan.

Just curious, where in Michigan people go. I live here and wonder where in Michigan people find desirable to vacation.

swalter518

Tina,
My family has a house on a lake in Paw Paw (just west of Kalamazoo) that we trek too almost every weekend from Chicago. My brother just rehabbed a house to rent out part time in New Buffalo, which is chock full of Chicagoans.

tinathetoad

I know that a lot of people from Indiana and Illinois stay in Southwest Michigan.

I know Paw Paw and have been there several times.

JJ5

I summer vacation at Big Fish Lake just off Rt. 40 between the towns of Marcellus & Lawton, Michigan in Cass County. It's a 600 acre spring fed lake bordering Michigan wetlands that are not and will not be developed. We are surrounded by vineyards, blueberry/peach farms and about 20 to 30 other lakes within a 30 mile radius. It is about half an hour to either Portage, Dowagiac, or Amish country/Mendon in different directions. 45 minutes to the Lake Michigan towns/ports, Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo; 2-1/2 hours to my home in far SW suburbs of Chicago, 2-1/2 hours to Detroit. Within a hour you could also be at Notre Dame or Shipsheewana.

I have vacationed at lakes in Indiana or Michigan for at least 20 years. This location has been for last 3 and I will probably retire here. Although I travel quite a bit, in summer and early autumn I am here 4 out of ever 10 days and then for a period of 11 days straight in July or August and then back to 4 out of every 10 days again until Oct.

A house like mine on my lake rents for about $1000 a week minimum. On my lake there are few rentals available- maybe 4, but there is one campground and RV hitch site on a lake connected to mine that charges by the week.

There are web sites that list lake home rentals in Michigan by section, with pictures and much documentation. I used these frequently for years and have stayed on Indian, Little Fish, and Magician.

You can do wine tours, water sports, fishing by many venues, biking, and many other activities. St. Julian, Petersons, Warner, Tabor Hill are all close- along with many other very small wineries with various festivals going frequently. I am probably going to retire to Michigan full time.

Cerlaurie

Tina, where do you live in Michigan? It seems there are LOTS of areas people go to in Michigan especially from Chicago. We also had a vacation home in Southwest Michigan (Keeler Lake). We still like to go to Michigan and usually go to South Haven or Saugatuck. Lots of people vacation on Mackinac Island.

swalter518

It's amazing how Paw Paw has changed since I started going there as a kid-my parents bought the house in 1980 and, no offense, but the town was dumpy. Now it not only has St. Julian's and Warners winery but Black Star opened the tasting room, we've got some nice restaurants now (as opposed to Big Boy and Chicken Coop!) We often got to South Haven if we want some "Big Lake" time. I like the Harbor Country area but it's so full of Chicagoans that I often run into people I know from work which is not what I want in a get away. Nonetheless, it's often our stopping point for dinner on the way to or from home.

swalter518

JJ5, what's Petersons?

tinathetoad

I live in the detroit area. I vacation in the NW side of the state, Charlevoix area. Actually Boyne City to be specific.

i have been there every year, generally 3X per year for the last 20 years.

It is wonderful. I am not a huge fan of Mackinac Island, but have been there numerous times.

many people in the Metro detroit area have places on lake Huron as well. It is not as far to travel. it is a good 4 hr. and 15 min. ride to the Charlevoix area.

JJ5

Peterson's is another small winery. It is exceptional as it has innovated in the last 8 or 9 years making wines without sulphites, legally. It sterilizes everything and they use their own and neighboring vineyards' grapes. They specialize in fruit wines, and those are the ones that win awards. His rhubarb / plum are gone in just a couple of weeks and are available only at very specific times of the year. He has a Bonamigo Red that is expensive but grown from Bonamigo grapes brought from district near Venice, Italy by the original owner. My guy loves it and buys a case now and again. It's towards the Grand Rapids direction.

We have gone to probably 10 or 15 vineyards and tastings over the last 4 years. As swalter518 says, it has changed, and starting to get pretty "fancy". Not all, but some. We have a $750,000 house on our lake now, and as yet my lake is not Chicagoans, but primarily native Michigan. You should see the Notre Dame, Michigan State, U. of Mich. flags on football days! Some have pontoons to match.

I've been to Keeler, Huzzy, Clear, Dewey, Bankston, and tons of others. One lake near Gobles up North a bit, I was tempted to buy some land about 10 years ago. I'm so glad I waited a bit, because I finally found "the one."

We take the Paw Paw exit (#60) off of 94, so I know your areas well. I have good friends on Indian, and on Little Crooked. I am also familar with many lakes and towns well into South Central and mid-Central Michigan as I have house hunted for at least 10 years and actually love the E/NE of Kalamazoo area (100's of lakes) as well. We get up to Traverse City and Sleeping Bear at least once a year. So many good places and B&B's in Michigan that they have numerous catalogs out now.

JJ5

tina, I would love to get up to that part. We are going to Detroit (Comerica) to see a White Sox game at the end of June, and maybe I can extend it a bit if I get a concensus.

Do you know I have brought a family or two from doing Wisc. / Dells etc. to Michigan and they are always shocked. They don't know why it remains "a secret". I truly believe if most of Michigan were anywhere else it would be worse than 95 in Florida. Access because of the Great Lakes has kept it the paradise that it is. And God gave it so much natural beauty that there's no describing that comes close, IMHO.

DCTraveler

You might want to check out Traverse City. It is truly a beautiful part of the state with lots to do - boating, beaches/sand dunes, hiking, wineries, good restaurants, shopping, even some gambling at the casino.

JJ5

Yes, we go to the Traverse City area every time we try to do the lighthouse tour. We always get a little past T.C. and then find we have spent so much time having fun that we need to get South again.

One time we hit a Mongolian BBQ in T.C. that was one of the best I've ever experienced. The bay itself and houses surrounding/ public temple-like overlooks onto Lake Michigan in Traverse City are stuck in my mind like the "perfect" USA town of a certain size. With the heavy forests/ water etc. - so very picturesque. I've always wondered way they didn't make a movie there. Probably access again, and it's a gem.

BjorkChop

I vacation every summer in South Branch. It's about five miles outside Hale. I've got a cabin right on Jose Lake and it's heaven for a week!

swalter518

JJ, That is so funny you mention the Mongolian Barbeque in Traverse City. A few years back we did a "circle tour of Michigan" in the fall and spent 3 days on Mackinac Island during the last weekend of the season. As a result, the food left was very limited. We were so excited to see the Mongolian BBQ and eat "fresh" food, we ate there 2 nights in a row!

JJ5

Yes, that Mongolian BBQ is great. The only other one we've been to that came close- was The Flat Top Grill across from Oprah's studio.

Where is Hale? What county?

They also have places for family vacations in Michigan that are like dude ranch gone east. You can milk the cows, help pick, ride animals, food, games, dances at night- day care all day- they'll take the kids to watch the milking, and then make ice cream etc. One of those was Sunnybrook Farm near South Haven. When my kids where little they thought going there was more than heaven. One time my daughter didn't want to come home and when she did she had an accent from her Southern Illinois play mate. You never cook, as all meals are "farmer's meals" or Amish-huge and home made- served three times a day in a huge mess hall/ barn/ dining room. One with rentals right on Lake Michigan is Sleepy Hollow.

We pick blueberries every year, peaches/ apples other years. Many great ice cream establishments as well, that make their own- one is in Marcellus.

BjorkChop

JJ5~

Hale is in Iosco County. About a 20-30 minute drive from Tawas City.

JJ5

Thanks, I'll look it up.

I'm probably around the 100 count for at least a day "on the lake" or walking different lakes in Michigan during my lifetime. I don't think I've ever been to Hale. So many lakes, I don't think you could ever get to even a majority of them all. Not quite like snowflakes, but actually they are almost always "different" not just in shape, but in source, depth, wildlife, etc. Amazing the variety in nature!