Michigan Road Trip

Jan 1

This is going to be a lengthy post and will be broken up by days.
Prices are only estimates in the post due to this trip being in the past.

Michigan Road Trip

September 13th - 21st, 2019

I started this blog after this trip, but we loved this road trip so much I feel like I needed to let everyone else know all about our Michigan Road Trip. One of our friends was getting married in Michigan, so we decided to do a whole week of exploring after their wedding!

I was born and raised in Michigan until the age of 21. Living in Michigan is a much different lifestyle than any place I have lived and we say things like “we are going up north” or ‘look it”. I never got to experience as much of Michigan as I liked growing up and found this time to be the perfect opportunity to venture out. All pictures are from my iPhone, I dropped my camera in a river in the middle of our trip so I lost a few days of pictures beyond what I have on my phone.

Day 1: Pittsburgh to Detroit
- A quick tour of downtown before heading to bed

At the time of this trip, we were living in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh to Detroit was only four hours, making Detroit our first overnight stop. Many people were warning us about the dangers of Detroit. Still, it was a pretty cool city that I hadn’t seen since I was younger, in those days it was pretty bad but now it had a whole new light on it.
We arrived after the sun had gone down and were hungry, so we stopped at a local place close to Eastern Michigan University on our drive in. EMU had many restaurants in the area that were very eclectic and had a great vibe, so it was hard to choose just one place to eat.

After dinner, we headed into downtown Detroit to our hotel, The Element Hotel (free with points). Driving through downtown, there were groups of people hanging out and walking through the streets, it was a vibrant city, even at night. We also noticed how clean the downtown area was.

We walked to Comerica Park, where the tigers play to take a few pictures. This stadium has some of the best details that you can see on the outside (I have been to Fenway, Wriggly, and Yankee).

Across from Comerica Park is the infamous FOX Theater. These lights on this place are spectacular!
After a few photos we headed back to the hotel for an early wake up call.

Day 1:
Hotel (The Element): Free with points
Dinner $40
Drive: 4 Hours

Day 2: Detroit to Wedding
- Z Park Art
- Eastern Market and Art
- Lincoln Street Art Park
- Milliken SP Lighthouse

Starting the day by overlooking the city from our hotel window we knew breakfast would have to be something exceptional. Stephen loves pancakes so it was our mission to find the best pancakes Detroit has to offer; Hudson Cafe. On our walk to Hudson Cafe for breakfast we walked through Z Park, an alley full of art and cute hidden bars, it was the best time to see this area while it was still early and empty.

Hudson Cafe is known for their pancakes as well as their hour-long wait to get them, but that wait was well worth it! Stephen got a large stack of pancakes, which were nice and fluffy, and I got the stuffed crepes. Both options were excellent. After breakfast, we hopped on scooters to tour downtown Detroit before we had to leave for the wedding. Scooters are a great way to see any city!

Detroit has so many magnificent murals around the city, mostly in the Eastern Market district. You can walk up streets and down alleys and be overwhelmed with the amount of art on buildings' walls.
We did visit the Eastern Market but didn’t find anything that wouldn’t perish, and it was rather packed, so we didn’t stay long. On the weekends, the Eastern Market has hundreds of vendors, most vendors selling fruit and vegetables from locally grown farms. Surrounding the market are small local restaurants and art shops that you can hop shop to shop.

City views and Milliken State Park

After a quick day trip in Detroit we made the two hour journey to the wedding location.
**To the left:** A picture of us with the Bride and Groom, other pictures from the wedding kept private.
After the wedding we had another two hour drive to Grand Rapids where we would stay for the night.

Day 2:
Hotel (Marriott): Free with points
Scooters: $40
Breakfast $35 (Hudson Cafe)
Lunch (We didn’t eat lunch)
Dinner (Wedding)
Drive: 2.5 Hours

Day 3: Grand Rapids to Traverse City
- Grand Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse
- Fetch Brewing in Whitehall
- Silver Lake SP & Little Sable Point Lighthouse
- Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse
- Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
- Dinner at Bubbas

Since we drove late into the night to get to our hotel, we woke up later than we anticipated on day three. This worked in my favor because I really, like really wanted to get a Michigan Mitten ice cream from Love’s Ice Cream & Chocolate. There was a Love’s located inside the downtown market in Grand Rapids along with many other cute local shops. Look how stinking perfect that chocolate-covered, ice cream mitten is (picture on the right)!
We knew the weather was going to be lackluster, so we took our time throughout the day, taking in the sights. There are so many places to adventure to in Michigan that one week is simply not enough, and we knew we would have to cut some planned stops out of the itinerary.
From Grand Rapids, we headed towards the western coastline to start our journey with many stops before reaching Traverse City. There was an hour between each stop.

Grand Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse

The first lighthouse stop was in Grand Haven at the South Pierhead Lighthouse built in 1839, and oh boy, what a surprise! We were concerned about the weather, but this was the one time it worked out for us. The waves gave us memorable pictures. The further you went down the pier, the more prominent the waves, we stayed far from the waves and kept dry, also far from the danger of the strong waves. We even caught a couple of people surfing waves off the pier, which was fun to watch and terrifying to watch.
If you are taking a road trip, there is a campground located off the beach with stunning views of the vibrant red lighthouse.

Fetch Brewing in Whitehall

We planned to stop at Pekadill’s in Whitehall for lunch, but when we arrived they were closed, they are known for their croissant sandwiches and that sounded great after a long morning. Beyond Pekadill’s, there were minimal food options, so we stopped a small local brewery to grab a drink, Fetch Brewing. Fetch was a fun little brewery with many rooms to hangout in and had an old school charm.
We ended up having fast food for lunch (not my ideal road trip meal, I love eating at local restaurants), but the next stop that had food was hours away, so we had to settle.

Silver Lake SP & Little Sable Point Lighthouse

After a couple of drinks, we headed to the next destination. Silver Lake is known for sand dunes and a large gathering of dune buggies. We planned to rent four-wheelers and take a few hours to play on the dunes, but everything was closed due to the weather. The Little Sable Point lighthouse built-in 1874 was down a small back road and left you in awe with the dramatic views. There are also many hiking trails in the area overlooking lake Michigan. You can also climb the lighthouse to the top.

Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse

The wind was still kicking, and the waves were again, crashing high on the piers. We made it to the Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse (1924) later in the afternoon. There was a sign that blocked the entryway saying to not walk on the pier, but we felt that since the waves started to die down it would be OK. We made it all the way to the end to see the lighthouse that resembles a ship from a certain angle before the police came to escort us out and told us to not return to the area for 24 hours. Our time here wasn’t long before we were on our way.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

As the sun was going down on a rainy day, it looked like the sky and the lake became one. We had to pass up many lighthouses to make it to Sleeping Bear Dunes NP. The sand dunes were more than impressive in size. There were signs warning people that if you climb down the sand dunes, you must be able to come back to the top on your own. This was a feat for the majority of the people who wanted to go down to the water. We watching many people struggling to get back to the top.

Dinner at Bubbas

Dinner was a struggle, we didn’t get into Traverse City until later at night when many things started to close. We found this funky burger joint at the end of the strip of restaurants and popped in for immediate seating. Bubbas Burgers was a great decision because the burgers were delicious, the shakes were smooth, and the sweet potato tots were awesome!

Day 3:
Hotel (Courtyard by Marriott): Free with points
Breakfast (I believe ice cream was breakfast… adulting)
Lunch $15 (fast food)
Dinner $50 (Bubbas Burgers)
Drive: 5 Hours up the coast line, plus intermittent stopping

Day 4: Traverse City to Mackinac Island
- Breakfast
- Wine and Cider
- Torch Lake
- Ferry to Mackinac Island

Day four was the most planned day with the least following of that plan. We started breakfast at one of the most popular breakfast joints in town, Frenchies Famous. This small breakfast cafe only seats a max of maybe 10 people inside and another 10 outside. The outside looks like it has seen better days, and the inside was pretty much the same. The food came out plentiful but just didn’t wow us in the taste department. Stephen ordered the croque monsieur and I had biscuits and gravy.

After breakfast, we wanted to walk the streets and check out some of the local shops that Traverse City has to offer. We wish we would have booked one more day to see more of “TC”. We were surprised by the amount of activities available.

I went to bed knowing that I really wanted to do a winery tour up one of the peninsulas to the north of Traverse City to the lighthouse and back. Sadly we made it to one winery and one cidery before I was feeling the buzz. Traverse City is known for two things; their vineyards and of course their abundance of cherries, they even have their own Cherry Festival and an iconic ice cream flavor named after them.

The wine at Shady Lane Cellars was exceptional along with the views of the vineyards and the amazing staff that was super helpful.

I was not expecting to find a cider taproom on our journey to discover great wineries in the middle of the wooded hills. Sutton Bay Ciders has some of the best ciders I have ever tasted and a large variety to choose from. Beyond the tasty ciders are the picture-perfect views, lush green treetops overlooking the blue waters of Grand Traverse Bay.

Since we had to catch our ferry, we ran out of time to stop at more wineries. I wanted to do a few quick stops at Torch Lake to see how blue the water was and Petosky before catching our ferry to Mackinac Island.

Above: Torch Lake, some of the bluest and clearest lake water I have ever seen. The lake is one of Michigan’s largest inland lakes at 19 miles long.
Below: Petosky, MI, searching for Petosky stones. I really wish we had a whole day here to see what Petosky had to offer. I have heard so many great summer stories from friends and family.

Once we reached Mackinaw City, we parked our car and had to pack a bag to travel to the island with. We reserved the Star Line Ferry for transporting us to the island. We arrived on the island somewhat later in the evening. It was dark, and we had to find somewhere to eat and our hotel all on our bicycles. We stayed at Mission Point Resort on the east side of the island (more about the hotel and Mackinac on day 5).

Day 4:
Hotel (Mission Point): $200 average/night
Starline Ferry: $78 round trip (2 Fast Pass tickets including two bikes)
Breakfast $45 (Frenchies Famous)
Drinks $60
Lunch (I cant remember if we even ate lunch)
Dinner $70 (Pink Pony)
Drive: 3 Hours

Day 5: Mackinac Island to Munising
- Mackinac Island
- Staying in a Yurt in Christmas!

I reserved a room at the well-known Mission Point Resort, at the time of booking it was one of few hotels left, and it was the cheapest. When our ferry landed on the island, it was getting dark, and we still had to find something to eat and make the hike to our hotel in the dark, not knowing where it was.
Walking into the hotel's lobby brings you back in time, with the large vaulted ceiling made of real wood logs to the hallways and restaurants detailed in perfect timber. We checked in at the front desk and were handed a room key, the key was an actual metal key that unlocked our door. Once in the room, we realized how accurate the reviews were about how tiny the space was. There was hardly any room for our bags.

Some fun facts about Mackinac Island

- Mackinac is pronounced Mack-in-awe, named by American Indians, meaning “Land of the Great Turtle.”
- There are only 500-600 year-round residents and up to 7,000 summer residents.
- There are ZERO cars. Horses, buggies, and bicycles are the only means of transportation on the island.
- The state highway M-185 goes around the entire island and is only 8.2 miles long. Still, no motorized vehicles on this highway!

Above: Mission Point Resort front yard with views of Lake Huron and many Adirondack chairs to relax in.

Our first stop after breakfast at The Chuckwagon, was to go for a ride through the state park on Mackinac Island. We stopped in at Cindy’s Riding Stables, where we were given two trusty horses and were told what trails we could ride on, and off we went. The cool thing about Cindy’s is you can rent a horse and buggy, I wish we would have done that because I have horses of my own and its not every day you get too buggy a horse around an island.

For an hour-long ride, you can go through a few of the streets downtown and on many trails in the state park, all on your own. We even got to run the horses down a few straightaways. This was a fun experience and would be great for anyone. Cindy’s Stables barn hands had us fill out a form about how talented a rider we are and then matched a horse based on our scores, keeping it safe for everyone. We were a few minutes late getting back to the stables due to getting lost and they did not charge us extra, which we were thankful for.

Note: I am still unsure how Stephen was allowed to ride in sandals, I don’t recommend anyone riding in open-toed shoes on a unknown horse.

After a beautiful ride through the forest, we were ready for lunch. There are so many places you can eat lunch on the island, so it was hard to choose, but since we were on the way to tour the Grand Hotel, we decided to eat at one of its affiliates, The Jockey Club. How freakin’ cute is this place! We were immediately sat outside with a view of the Grand Hotel and its gardens as well as the horse and buggies pushing along on the street before it.
As you can see from the two pictures above, the aesthetics on the outside and the highly jockey styled theme on the inside were picture perfect. Not only were the views and the decor pleasing, so was the food. We had a Mackinac staple as you can see above, the Mackinac Pecan Ball was basic but a perfect touch of sweetness after lunch.

The Grand Hotel was opened in 1887 and boasts the longest front porch in the world, and has 397 rooms. You must see this place to understand its quirky, old fashioned charm. Every room, hallway, and shop has its own unique personality but in the most fashionable way. The front of the property hosts many colorful flowers that attract thousands of butterflies. From the carriage rides to the red carpet and the need to look in every direction so you don’t miss something is truly something you can only do and see in person.

Above: The view of the magnificent Grand Hotel from the front lawn.

Above Photos
Left: Main Entrance of The Grand Hotel looking down the main hallway to many shops. This is where they also hold tea time daily (we sadly did not have time to do tea time)
Middle: Daily schedule of events on the property. We watched the employee change every letter out by hand.
Right: A hallway leading to a set of elevators, the hall on the other side of the wall was precisely opposite colors.

Once you pay the $10 fee to get into the hotel, you are openly able to tour the property on your own and check out the many hidden rooms it offers. We found a two-story bar dressed in all blue with 180 degrees of windows looking out to Lake Huron (bottom right picture). Some rooms lead to nowhere, but all had separate personalities.

After walking around the inside of the hotel and a lot of the property, we headed to the gardens. The gardens were just as bold as the interior of the hotel and they did not disappoint (shown in the picture above). We were on the property for at least an hour.

Horses work very hard on the island. The horses deliver perishables to restaurants, take baggage from the ferry to the hotels, remove the waste from hotels and bring it to ships (big blue barrels in the picture below), and everything in between. They truly are working horses, and it was fascinating to watch what they were pulling behind them.

Riding our bikes along the quaint streets of large homes on the island.

You can bring your own bike over on the ferry or rent one when you get to the island, just make sure you bring a bike lock. I would recommend just renting one as the costs were similar to rent as they were to get your bike on the ferry. They have over 14,000 bikes for rent all around the island and at some hotels.

There are so many reasons to bring or rent a bike. First and foremost, your hotel will more than likely be further than you want to walk. If you don't like to bike, there are many carriages that taxi people around the island. Secondly, its the most practical way of getting around to everything you may want to see without paying for a horse taxi.
We rode our bikes all over the island and got to see so much on our own. We stopped at Arch Rock on the east side of the island, the arch is made from limestone and stand 146 feet above the lake. On the way back to town, we stopped at Fort Mackinac for amazing views of downtown with Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge in the background. Some of the streets were very steep, and we found ourselves walking up and down a few for safety reasons, but overall, having a bike on the island is highly recommended.

A few more stops for Mackinac food staples before we board our ferry to our next destination. We could not leave without getting a box of Mackinac Fudge. Did you know that there are 14 fudge shops on the island? And another staple is Moomers Ice Cream made from local Traverse City cows.
Mackinac Island is an island that requires more than one day at, we could have easily spent three full days here. That just gives us a reason to return!

Mackinac Bridge stretches 26,372 feet across Lake Huron connecting the mitten to the Upper Peninsula.

Our Mackinac adventure was cut short since we had to catch the last ferry to the mainland to travel more north. The drive to Munising was tedious as the sun was going down, and the fear of deer jumping in the road resonated on my mind, but we made it. This was the most anticipated part of the trip for me, I reserved a yurt, named moose, to sleep in for the next two nights. I booked the yurt through Paddlers Village, and when we arrived, we were one of three people staying there, and it was reasonably dark.

Day 5:
Hotel (Paddlers Village): $200 average/night
Cindy’s Stables: $50/person ($100)
The Grand Hotel Entrance Fee $10/person ($20)
Breakfast $30 (The Chuckwagon)
Lunch $65 (The Jockey Club)
Dinner (I think we ate snacks that we had to save us time on the drive)
Drive: 2.5 Hours

Day 6: Munising
- The day I dropped my camera into the river
- Waterfalls
- Hiking to Chapel Rock
- Our Yurt

We woke up early to get a head start on everything we wanted to do. Many attractions are spread out, so driving an hour between stops is very common. Before heading into the woods, we stopped at Bay Furnace Bagels to get bagels to go. This place had some great bagels and coffee!

Three easily accessible waterfalls within ten minutes for downtown Munising
Left: Alger Falls, located on the side of M-28
Middle: Wagner Falls, located on the side of M-94
Right: Horseshoe Falls, located off M-28 down Prospect

Our first day in Munising, we figured we would jump from pinpoint to pinpoint to see what different scenery views we would find. Sand Point Beach was at the end of a dead-end road and covered a large part of the beach.
If you look out away from the beach, you can see the East Channel Lighthouse; a lighthouse only reachable by boat and a building that resembles an old abandon haunted schoolhouse (shown below, picture taken by Stephen).
The leaves were just starting to change when we were there, so we didn’t get to experience fall to the fullest. I did find a few vibrant red trees perched on the beach, what a wild thing to see.

As we drove further up the coast, we stopped to hike Chapel Rock. To get to Chapel Rock was mostly by luck. We had no service and really no idea where we were, so we decided to just follow the bumpy dirt road. We finally reached Chapel Basin Parking Lot, the parking lot was decently full, but once we got on the trail, there were minimal people. The trail is 6.5 miles round-trip, out and back through a dense forest. I was honestly afraid we would see a bear, we did not see a bear, but we did see many birds and Chapel Falls on our way to Chapel Rock. Chapel falls is a short distance from the parking lot making it easy to reach.

Once you reach the end, it is one of those sights you have to see in person to take in the view. You can view Chapel Rock from above, but if you go to the left of the platform, there is a trail that leads down to the base, giving you even better views. If the tide is high or there are many waves, I do not recommend going down to the bottom, the waves crash right up the wall and could potentially sweep you out.

If you follow the trail to the left, you will cross over a bridge that leads to a small secluded beach with a waterfall and more great views of Chapel Rock.

It started to get dark quickly, so we headed back to the car just in time to beat the dark and make it to town. Since it was getting late, we knew that many restaurants in town were closed, and we wanted something fast; Main Street Pizza was the perfect thing after a long day and a decent hike.
We headed back to our yurt to relax and eat the entire box of pizza, guilt-free. Paddlers Village has a mix of 16 ft and 24 ft yurts, glamping tents, and cabins, all while overlooking the lake. Each camp was named, and I knew I had to pick the yurt named Moose (my favorite animal). Since it was later in the season, we only saw two other people camping. Staying in a yurt is a fun experience, and now we are always on the lookout for yurts when we travel.

Sunsets over Lake Huron

Day 6:
Hotel (Paddlers Village): $200 average/night
Breakfast $20 (Bay Furnace Bagels)
Dinner $30 (Main Street Pizza)
Drive: 0

Day 7: Munising to Mackinaw City
- Picture Rocks Kayak Tour
- Tahquamenon Falls

As we woke up on our last day in the Upper Peninsula, we were unsure what we would be capable of doing since many things were closed due to storms and heavy winds. We stopped into the one open place, Northern Waters Adventures, to see what was available. They had tandem only options available. It was for a half-day tour (four hours) with a group of ten others. We felt we would never get this chance again and decided to book the tour. It took about 20 minutes to get to the kayak launch by bus, where we went through a quick kayak safety, rules, and how to maneuver a kayak. The kayaks had a cover for your lap, so the cold water would not soak you, and we wore many layers and a raincoat to keep warm.

There should be a warning about tandem kayaking; may cause breakups or divorce. Stephen and I both know how to kayak, but being in the same kayak was very difficult. One person is in charge of the rudder in the back, and you are both in charge of paddling in sync. As you can see below, the left picture was before we launched, we were excited. The picture in the middle was mid-tour, I think Stephen was breaking first. The right picture was on the way back to the beach, this is where I gave up paddling and let him do the work. In the end, we made it, and now we laugh about it.

Along the two-miles, we were shown Bridalveil falls from a distance and a sunken ship in shipwreck cove. The pictures below show us passing through Kissing Rock formed by a fallen rock. On the full tour (7 hours), you get to see Lovers Leap Arch and Mosquito beach.

The waters were so clear you could see the sand on the bottom. The sandstone walls were very colorful, with vibrant greens, oranges, and reds. At one point in the rock, there was a fallen rock formation that resembled the Michigan mitten (shown below).

After the kayaking tour, we made our way to Tahquamenon Falls before crossing the Mackinaw Bridge. Tahquamenon Falls is also known as Root Beer Falls because of the tannin colored waters. Some trails lead through the upper and lower falls, but we just climbed the many stairs to the lower falls.

After the falls, we stopped in Tahquamenon Falls Brewery for dinner. The food was relatively cheap and basic pub food, it was the only thing in the nearby area. After dinner, we wanted to make sure we made it across the bridge so we would be closer to our next stop in the morning. We stopped at a few hotels to find out that many of them were full, so the first one was the Clarion Hotel that came with very drab decorations and a hot tub in the corner, enough great vibes to get us up and out early.

Day 7:
Hotel (Clarion Hotel): $89/night
Northern Waters Adventures: $129/person
Tahquamenon Falls: $9/car
Breakfast $20 (Bay Furnace Bagels)
Dinner $60 (Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub)
Drive: 1.5 hours

Day 8: Mackinaw City to Hale
- Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
- Hale (Family’s House)

We woke up to a beautiful day and wanted to see the Mackinac Bridge and lakeshore before heading south. The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and the yards around it were gorgeous, and the views were breathtaking. We found a small secluded beach down the road from the lighthouse that had even better views. McGulpin Rock (as seen behind me in the picture below) was a picture-perfect backdrop to the Mackinac Bridge and zero people.

As we drove away from the lighthouse, we saw this gigantic hot dog perched on top of a building, and I just knew it was fate, I love hot dogs! They even had a funny name to go with their outrageous building; Wienerlicious. What a cool place inside and out, they also had great hot dogs and even better prices.

Day 8:
Hotel (Stayed with family): $0
Lunch $30 (Wienerlicious)
Dinner $Cheap (Desi’s Taco Lounge)
Drive: 2.5 hours

Day 9: Hale to home
- Frankenmuth
- Blakes

Having been on the road for eight days, it took a toll on us, and we decided that we would travel home instead of staying at my childhood friend's house. But there were a few more things I wanted to show Stephen before we made it back. Two more stops were on my list before leaving the mitten state; Zehnder's and Blake's.
Frankenmuth is known for its Bavarian-style architecture and loads of German food, especially at the famous Zehnder's. At Zehnder's, you are severed family-style; luckily for the two of us, they had a portion for small families. You get to choose from many choices to get exactly what you like, there is no shortage of food in this restaurant.

It was a very busy Sunday in Frankenmuth. There was a farmers market, a band playing, and carriage rides through the streets. There are many cute shops and photo opportunities. Frankenmuth is also known for the world’s biggest Christmas store named Bronners’, we drove through the parking lot and it was the size of a mall.

For our last stop was a place, I grew up going to, Blake’s Orchards. Blake’s has now grown into the adult-only world by providing us with their amazing hard ciders. Any chance I get, or anytime I see Blake’s hard cider on a menu, I know I have to support so since we were in Michigan, and so close to Armada, we stopped for dinner and a flight… or two. Blake’s has so many different ciders on tap, and we all know I had to try all of them, afterward I was feeling it, so we drove to their orchards to get donuts for the ride home.

Day 9:
Lunch $65 (Zehnder’s)
Dinner $60 (Blake’s)
Drive: 4 hours

If you are looking for a road trip filled with amazing stops, I highly recommend Michigan. Since Michigan is surrounded by lakeshores, it was easiest to follow that as a route and stop at many different sights along the way. Don’t stay in just the mitten, you must visit the Upper Peninsula to get the full experience. This would be a great road trip for anyone of any age. We had so much fun, but we also left so many attractions untouched, allowing us to take another road trip further into the future.
We cannot say what our favorite part of the trip was. Instead, we suggest staying overnight on Mackinac Island, exploring Munising and the incredible postcard views it has to offer, and taking a day to check out what Detroit is all about. Michigan has a lot to prove to any adventure seeker.