Where’s the best place in Michigan to take a summer vacation?

We’re interested in the beach, kayaking, hiking and biking trails, perhaps an amusement park day for the kids. Would like to keep it within a day’s drive of Pittsburgh/Youngstown if possible.

I live in Ohio and have looked into this from time to time. I never quite made the trip. I always went elsewhere. But, I think I can give you a little bit of help.

From what I read in my research on the web and in the library, the Upper Peninsula looks a lot better place than the lower section. The Porcupine Mountains State Park looked fantastic. The Apostle Islands also looked great. There are supposed to be great places to go kayaking to the islands up there.

I have heard that there are some good places to hike in the Lower section of the state. I used the book “50 Hikes in Michigan” for research.
I was going to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes and some other places in the book. There is also a nice place to get a cabin in the northeastern section of the Lower part of the state. You’ll have to consult the book for that. The author said it wasn’t crowded, was inexpensive and was a nice place to go.

The Au Sable River in the lower part of the state is supposed to be good for canoeing. Some friends of mine did this with their family and had a very good time.

If the Upper Peninsula is a little bit too far, or if you are open for an alternative trip, I would recommend going to the Bruce Peninsula and the small town of Tobermory in Canada. I went up there in May one year and totally enjoyed it.

It is an easy drive – less than a day. There is sea kayaking, some parks to hike in, some nice small (non-national chain) hotels and restaurants.

Be sure to do the coastal hike in Bruce Peninsula National Park.
Get a hiking guide to the Bruce Trail.
Take the boat ride to Flower Pot Island.
Take the glass-bottom boat rides to see the old wooden ships sunken in the harbor from the 1700/1800s. The water preserves them.
I am pretty sure that you can rent bikes up there.

I stayed in a small hotel, but you can camp in the parks.
It was a nice experience to go up there mostly because the locals were very friendly. I went just before the main tourist season, though.

On the drive up there, go through Niagara Falls and stop and see the butterfly greenhouse.

Best of luck and have fun wherever you go.

Pictured Rocks Sea Kayaking – Pure Michigan Minute

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