I will try and keep this fairly short for a quick read but last summer took the family on a grand tour of the mitten state. I have to admit I have always been partial to a vacation that involves a nice sandy beach and palm trees but we set out in a 31' Damon Challenger (gas)and being a 1994 we didnt want to attempt a real far trip, even though the Rv only had 13k miles on it.
So it was the third week in July and Since we live in Toledo Ohio we started at the southeastern most point near Lake Erie. We headed toward our first stop a northwestern part of the state on the sunny shores of Lake Michigan. Sleeping bear sand dunes. The campground we used to stay at for years in tents has now revamped half the property to create RV resort sites. Indigo Bluffs
Indigo Bluffs: A Distinctive RV Retreat in Empire, Michigan and the sites are amazing. Stamped concrete pads sprinkler systems and wild flowers surround the sites. More importantly to us very close to the state park Sleeping bear sand dunes. Beautiful sand that meets the blue water of Lake Michigan. We tube and canoe the Platte River with the kids and spend a day in the beach in the town of Empire. We had just perfect weather and after 4 days headed to our next destination.
Traverse Bay area we stopped in a nice little campground called Honco Rest.
Honcho Rest Campground This is within 10 miles of Torch lake. This lake gives you the impression your in Cancun as the color of the water is just about every shade of teal, blue and is just crystal clear. Only down side is it a cold lake about 62. Thats because it 330 ft deep. National Geographic rated it one of the top ten most beautiful lakes in the WORLD! We took an underwater camera and have pictures of the kids swimming and you would think it was taken in a swimming pool not a lake. So three days and two nights and time to move on up to the next destination.
We traveled on up to Mackinaw city and stayed at a Mill creek campground
Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping is a Mackinaw City RV Resort Camp on the Straits of Mackinac and has Cabins with Kitchenettes which has some pretty tight sites but with a beautiful view of the Mackinaw bridge and within 100 ft of lake Huron. and within an hour drive to Tahquamenon Falls and Soo Locks. I invite you click on any of the links I provided or search the area you will see what amazing sites and attractions Michigan has to offer. We also spent a day on Mackinaw Island which for those not familiar the island does not have any motorized vehicles. You can rent a bike, Take one over on the ferry, catch a horse drawn carriage or just walk the many paths that wind through the island. We decided to bike, and did the full coastal tour which is about 8 miles around the island I believe.
Now we also took one day to head up through upper Michigan to see Lake Superior. Now this lake is something to see. I think when most people think of a lake they don't comprehend the size and similar dangers as being on the ocean. Lake superior is only one of five of the great lakes yet it alone contains enough fresh water to flood all of North, central and south America with 1 ft of water. Its large and deep and cold. Avg temp is something like 43 deg. All I know is we left the campground at 85 deg and as we got closer to the lake the temp dropped 70.
All in all we had a wonderful vacation and best of all we had incredible weather for 10 days strait. Basically sunny and 85 everyday and only rained one evening and cleared up by 11am that morning. Did lots of swimming tubing, canoeing, sunbathing, dune climbing, and cooking out over the campfire. Only used the grill I think once or twice because of wind. After this trip we were hooked on the Class A motor home but realized we needed a slide. The Damon did great and we didnt have any problems. That always makes for a great trip without having to fix anything but with our new purchase of the Monaco I look forward to even more trips this summer.
We hit lots of other great spots in Michigan and Ohio over the summer that maybe I will share if people find this worth reading. Hope you enjoyed and check some of the links. It really is an incredible state with so many sandy beaches lighthouses, and lots to see.
Michigan tour
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