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Ri-Di · 04-22-2023, 03:28 PM

My wife and I plan to spend most of June and July in Michigan this summer. Right now we have scheduled about 10 days at holiday park near Traverse City where we plan to visit sleeping bear dunes, T. C. and some of the local wineries. We’ll finish our trip with week at Straits State Park in the UP before heading home. We are looking for some suggestions to fill in the gaps. One thought is to spend some time at the top of the UP in the city of Houghton. We might even take a trip to Music city to see the MoTown Museum and Henry Ford museum in our Jeep. I’m looking for any suggestions that you may have for fun places to visit and and/or relax. Also any ideas on where to stay near Detroit.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank you.
Rick

bhammond1980 · 04-22-2023, 03:49 PM

Our favorites are:
1. Anne Osborn - Sault Ste Marie, this park is not a full hookup, but the view is worth it
2. City of Houghton RV Park - Houghton, right on the portage, very nice
3. Mackinaw Mill Creek RV Park - Mackinaw City, large park near downtown and Mackinaw Island
4. Wild Cherry RV Resort - Lake Leelanau, beautiful setting and very quiet

George Schweikle · 04-22-2023, 07:23 PM

We have stayed at 1, 3 & 4 and recommend all of these.

A decent park near Detroit/Dearborn is Wayne County Fairgrounds - Belleville Michigan

And, the Gilmore auto museum in western Michigan is a Harvest Host facility. A great museum https://gilmorecarmuseum.org/

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhammond1980

Our favorites are:
1. Anne Osborn - Sault Ste Marie, this park is not a full hookup, but the view is worth it
2. City of Houghton RV Park - Houghton, right on the portage, very nice
3. Mackinaw Mill Creek RV Park - Mackinaw City, large park near downtown and Mackinaw Island
4. Wild Cherry RV Resort - Lake Leelanau, beautiful setting and very quiet

oldenavy · 04-22-2023, 07:43 PM

Highly recommend the Henry Ford Museum. Lots of history there. Pretty much any of the state parks on the Lake Michigan coast are worth a stop, but they can be squishy and busy. We’ve stayed at many of them. Holland St Park has a beachfront campground that is really unique. Only problem we has there was no grass for the doggie to do her business! Lake Muskelonge state park in the UP was fantastic. The shipwreck museum near whitefish bay was really interesting. Harrisville St Park in Cheboygan was another favorite.

Feel free to PM me if you want more details.

Sky soldier · 04-23-2023, 09:23 AM

Kitch-iti-kipi near Manistique, MI is worth a stop. Very interesting natural spring.

SailorSam · 04-23-2023, 06:30 PM

Friend of mine always stays at the Detroit/Ann Arbor KOA when he visits the Detroit area - he has a daughter who lives in the area... When visiting The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village, plan on two full days if you want to really see what is available.

While in the UP, if you visit White Fish Point (of Edmund Fitzgerald fame) which is a nice park right on Lake Superior. Plan on eating at the Brown Fisheries Fish House in Paradise - just down the road. Some of the best freshwater fish you can dine on anywhere.

be-happy · 04-24-2023, 03:22 AM

The city of Frankenmuth south of Saginaw and north of Flint is worth the time. If you are into Germany themed towns with a great Christmas flar this is the place to spend at least 2 days in.

You did not say but a day in Mackinac Island is a must. Once in the UP we found a Drummond Island a very interesting place its just of the coast of DeTour Villiage.

There is alot to see you are going to have to really plan 2 months will go by really fast.

Good Luck and enjoy

Lowflyer1 · 04-24-2023, 04:44 AM

Pictured Rocks by Munising is a worthwhile stop. If you are into hiking and backpacking, they have a bus service that takes you to Grand Marais. Then it's about 45 mile backpacking trek back to Munising along Lake Superior above the cliffs. Takes about 3 days. I've done that trek twice, awesome scenery.
Reservations are required as there are only a few designated camping spots along the way.

There are several RV parks nearby. The last time we stayed at Pictured Rocks RV Park by Christmas, about 5 miles west of Munising.

Rexlion · 04-24-2023, 05:33 PM

You might find the Soo Locks (at Sault Ste Marie) interesting. Fayette State Park west of Manistique has old buildings and artifacts from the iron ore days. Kitch-iti-Kipi is close to there also. Tahquamenon Falls is nice, and of course Whitefish Point isn't far from there. Pictured Rocks has been mentioned; in sunny calm weather, try to book the sunset cruise for best lighting on the cliffs.

Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island both have old forts to check out. I like bicycling all the way around the island (I had a summer job there one year). Be sure to get some cinnamon bread and pecan rolls at the local bakery in Mackinaw City. There's a lighthouse right in town and another just a couple miles west of town. On the Lake MI side, head NW of Petoskey and drive your Jeep along the M-119 "Tunnel of Trees" (narrow and winding paved road) to Cross Village, where you can enjoy some Polish dishes and rustic lakeside ambiance at Legs Inn.

Mark VL · 04-25-2023, 04:09 PM

You have already received some great ideas. We spent two weeks in Michigan last July-August and wish we could have stayed for 2 months. Here are some ideas I would like to add or expound on.

We drove up the Eastern side of Lake Michigan. We stayed at a Harvest host in South Haven for our first stop in Michigan. South Haven is a cute town with lots of restaurants and shops right on Lake Michigan.

If you would like to drive your Jeep on sand dunes right on the shores of Lake Michigan, I highly suggest Silver Lake State Park. We did and had a great time. Definitely Youtube this park so you know what to expect. It is about 2 hours North of South Haven and about 2 hours South of Travers City.

There is a lot to do in the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. We enjoyed hiking and riding our tandem bike.

I highly suggest allowing a couple of days for Mackinac Island. The only way to the island is by plane or ferry. There are several campgrounds near the lake in Mackinaw City and St. Ignance. If you bring your own bikes to ride around the island, you don’t have to pay to rent bikes on the island. We locked our bike up overnight on the peer of the ferry line, so we didn’t have to pay for 2 round trip tickets for the bike.

From the Mackinac Island area head North to the UP. We didn’t have time to go to Sault Ste. Marie, but it’s on our list for the next time. We spent an afternoon at Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The next time we will stay at the state park campground at Tahquamenon Falls and spend a few days there.

From there we went to the Munising area to spend time at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore. We spent a week in that area. We did a 16 mile hike along the cliffs of Lake Superior and then we did a kayaking tour along the same cliffs. It was breathtaking from above as well at the water level. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

I would highly suggest that you solidify your plans so you can reserve the campgrounds. They do fill up. We waited too late and had to stay several miles out of Munising. It was a great little campground, but no phone service or internet because it was so remote. If the in-town campgrounds are already full, check out Otter Lake Campground. There’s nothing wrong with the campground, just a 15-20 minute drive from Munising.

One day we got rained out while in the Munising area. We drove down to the Kitch-iti-kipi natural spring. It’s about an hour from the Munising area. It was pretty cool and a great way to spend a rainy day…much better than sitting just sitting in the RV.

The summer is a great time to be in the UP as well as Michigan in general. I did not sweat for the entire 2 weeks we were there. You can Youtube any of these areas to get a better idea of what to expect.

Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

Ri-Di · 04-26-2023, 04:54 AM

These have been great suggestions and we have the bones of our trip in place with reservations. Yesterday I was able to reserve 2-weeks at city of Houghton RV Park. We’re very excited. 10 days near Traverse City and a week at Straits State Park. Still working on incorporating more suggestions, I think I need to join Harvest Host to making things interesting. Thanks to everyone. Rick

Persistent · 04-26-2023, 10:37 AM

Add Porcupine Mountain State Park in the upper peninsula on Lake Superior near the Wisconsin border.

There are two campgrounds there that are open for a few weeks mid summer. You want the eastern campground for large rigs. It is definitely not big city or touristy. It has excellent hiking trails to unique "cloud" lakes.

twogypsies · 04-26-2023, 03:25 PM

If near the west side of the Upper Peninsula stop in any visitor center for the waterfall map.... some nice trails of all abilities to see some nice ones.

George Schweikle · 04-26-2023, 04:38 PM

We sometimes use KOA but if you camp at this particular one, be sure to get a site in the new 50A section. This KOA has been there for many years, and the older original part is very cramped and crowded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SailorSam

Friend of mine always stays at the Detroit/Ann Arbor KOA when he visits the Detroit area ....