This isn’t just a post about what to do in Michigan, it’s a full on declaration of (travel) love for this state. I always joke that Michigan is my 2nd favorite state after California, but I say that with a level of sincerity. To me, California has that wow factor. It’s the big love that sweeps you off your feet but isn’t always meant to last forever; whereas Michigan is more of the “it’ll happen when you least expect it” sort of love. Michigan took me by surprise and has kept me coming back for more. I don’t want these love metaphors to get any more out of hand, I just wanted to preface this post with the fact that I feel passionately about travel in the “Great Lakes State.” I think it’s 100% worth planning a visit!
Required Reading
Before I get into the particulars of the travel recs, I also wanted to recommend a book. One of my favorite reads of 2023 was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. The novel takes place on a cherry farm in Michigan and is incredibly atmospheric. It had me reminiscing on all my trips and daydreaming about planning more. The book stayed with me long after I finished reading it, which is actually what inspired me to finally get this post written. It would be a perfect book to read before a trip to Michigan to get you even more excited, so I had to shout it out.
Tom Lake is a story about a family who comes back together to work their cherry orchard during the spring of 2020. To pass the time, the 3 daughters beg their mom to tell them about Peter Duke, a famous actor the mom had an affair with when she was also an actor decades ago. There are so many dynamics to unpack and lots of little reveals along the way. The storytelling is fantastic. I read the physical book and then listened to the audiobook, narrated by Meryl Streep(!!!)–I think it was even better the second time around!
I so enjoyed the conversation with Ann Patchett on The Book Review Podcast (by the New York Times), which fueled my Michigan wanderlust even more. Now I need to plan a trip to Petosky to visit that bookstore and then I might as well check out Mackinaw Island! I will have to make that happen soon 🙂
You can find that podcast here: Ann Patchett on her Summery New Novel
General Things to Consider
A few more things to mention before getting into the itineraries… I think each of these trips are interchangeable when it comes to “who” you travel with. I traveled with family to Traverse City, friends to South Haven, and my boyfriend to Detroit. But Traverse City would be a fantastic friends trip or romantic weekend away with a partner. South Haven would be fun with the family or a special someone. And there was so much to do in Detroit; it would also be great for a friends or family trip.
In terms of accommodation, I used either Airbnb or VRBO for all these itineraries. I wanted this post to focus more on what to do in Michigan. “Where to stay” is really based on your personal budget and preferences. We stayed in a cute cabin for Traverse City, an updated, spacious trailer for South Haven, and a studio apartment for Detroit.
I’m based in Chicago, so anything in Michigan is within driving distance for me. If you don’t live within driving distance, I definitely recommend renting a car.
Lastly, Michigan gets all four seasons, so consider the weather when planning your vacation. Summer is great, especially for the beach and lake locations. I went to Detroit in November and thought that was great timing as well. Michigan gets a lot of snow in winter, so if you’re looking to plan a trip for that time of year, I would look into their ski resorts!
What to do in Michigan: Traverse City and Torch Lake
I never had any spots in Michigan on my travel radar, but one day my sister-in-law showed me a picture of a lake with crystal clear, turquoise water that’s been called “the Caribbean of the Midwest.” Needless to say, I was intrigued and started to do more research. Very soon after seeing that photo, we planned a family trip to Torch Lake. It looked too stunning not to! Then we realized it was close to Traverse City and an amazing wine region, so that’s how this itinerary was born.
Day 1: drive to your accommodation in Bellaire, Michigan–the perfect base to explore Torch Lake and Traverse City while still getting those peaceful, cabin vibes. The drive from Chicago to Bellaire is 5 hours. We opted for dinner in Bellaire on day 1 and headed to Shorts Brewing Company for food, drinks, and live music–loved it!
Day 2: Enjoy a slow morning at your cabin then head to downtown Traverse City to explore! It’s such a cute area with so many shops to peruse. Michigan is famous for its cherries, so make sure you buy some during your trip! The chocolate covered cherries were my favorite.
This was also the day we hit up a few wineries. This area of Michigan sits around the 45th parallel which is an ideal spot for growing grapes. Other areas of the world on the 45th parallel include the Bordeaux region of France, Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and Piedmont in Italy. I was so intrigued to try Michigan wine once I learned that it was situated so perfectly and had climate in common with those famous wine regions.
There are so many spots you can visit, so do some research to see what you’d prefer. We ended up at two wineries– Brys Estate (which had rosé slushies and also a secret lavender garden) and Black Star Farms (which sells an internationally award winning Riesling). We had high hopes of visiting Mari Vineyards but they were closed for a wedding. Apparently when the owners aren’t at the winery, they’re searching for treasure and appeared on a History Channel show called “The Curse of Oak Island.”
Day 3: I think this is what I was most excited for this trip–getting to explore and enjoy the beautiful Torch Lake. We used Northaire Resort to rent a pontoon for the day (man do I love a pontoon!). All we wanted to do was relax, check out the fancy lake houses, do some tubing, and find a sand bar to do some swimming and more relaxing. Bring snacks and drinks and bask in the sunshine. I don’t know if it deserves to be called “Caribbean,” but the lake was absolutely gorgeous. I can see it being a place I go back to time and time again.
Day 4: Take the scenic route home with a stop at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The pictures don’t do this any justice either! The dune is so massive it comes with a warning sign. If you can’t walk back up, the rescue will cost you $3,000… safe to say we admired the views from the top. So impressive!
What to do in Michigan: South Haven
Just like with Torch Lake, South Haven was never on my list of places to visit, but I was so pleasantly surprised by my time there! This trip came to be because I had booked tickets for a dining experience with a company called Outstanding in the Field. Instead of farm to table, they literally take the table to the farm. The dinner I booked was at a farm in South Haven, so I invited some friends and made a weekend out of it!
Day 1: head to South Haven, a 2 hour drive from Chicago. get ready for a private (!!!) sunset sail on Lake Michigan. We felt so fancy having the boat to ourselves–we couldn’t believe how affordable it was to split with a group of friends. Then we went out in downtown South Haven and had dinner at Clementine’s.
Day 2: enjoy a morning or afternoon chilling at the beach. We opted for dinner at Tello Italian Bistro this evening. It was such a delicious, authentic meal with great service. Our night was spent enjoying a bonfire at our Airbnb, making s’mores, drinking wine, and enjoying each other’s company. Such a chill day!
Day 3: This day was all about Outstanding in the Field, which remains one of the best dining experiences of my life. I highly, highly recommend booking a dinner with them! A local chef uses local ingredients while you eat on the land the food came from. They have these all over the world, and it’s something I’m desperate to do again! I loved the food, the communal vibes, and being on the farm. Enjoy one more night at your Airbnb then head home in the morning.
What to do in Michigan: Detroit
Detroit wasn’t on my bucket list either, but that changed when I saw people visit the Ford Museum and also realized the art museum had a Diego Rivera mural. Then I became very interested in planning a trip, and (spoiler alert) Detroit ended up being one of my favorite destinations of 2023! Let me just get into the itinerary because there is soooo much you can do.
Day 1: Drive to Detroit and check into your Airbnb. Detroit is just over 4 hours from Chicago. Head to dinner at The Apparatus Room, which is located inside the Foundation Hotel. I would have loved to stay there, but it was over budget for this trip. Maybe next time!
I had my eyes on this restaurant ever since my Outstanding in the Field experience over 2 years prior– the chef from my event was the head chef at The Apparatus Room. Also, the interiors looked stunning. I had to go! This didn’t end up being our favorite dinner of the trip (more on that later), but I would still recommend making a reservation. The food (and atmosphere) was great.
Day 2: On our second day in Detroit, we walked around The Eastern Market, which is open on Saturdays year-round. We got pierogis from The People’s Pierogis for lunch and may have went back for another round–so good. There were so many great stalls to check out. I ended up buying coffee (always my souvenir of choice) but would have loved to plan a night in, making dinner from fresh ingredients picked up at the market. Again, next time!
Then we were off to explore the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum for a couple of hours. I am a huge fan of the Mexican artist, Frida–I even went to her house in Mexico City! (You can read all about that here.) When I found out she lived in Detroit with her husband, Diego Rivera, for a year so he could complete a mural at the Institute of Arts, I knew I had to see it myself. The mural is incredible and admiring it is worth a trip to Detroit in its own right.
We ended the night with a romantic dinner at The London Chop House. This was our favorite meal of the trip AND our favorite meal of 2023! It’s pricey, but the vibes were great and the steaks (and all the food) were perfection. I highly recommend dining here, especially for a special occasion.
Day 3: We started the day with brunch at Babo. I loved seeing all the Frida and Diego influences in Detroit. The food here was soooo good!
Then we were off to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. If cars aren’t your thing, don’t worry. I’m not a car person but I really enjoyed our time at the museum, checking out a gallery full of glass art, the actual Rosa Parks bus, and Ford’s childhood home to name a few. It was interesting to see the historic Model Ts and to get to ride in one at Greenfield Village.
For dinner on day 3, it’s finally time to try famous Detroit-style pizza. We went to Buddy’s Pizza which I highly recommend. I much prefer this pizza over Chicago deep dish–controversial opinion since I’m a Chicago girl, I know!
Day 4: On our last morning in Detroit, we saw some iconic sights downtown. We stopped to admire the Spirit of Detroit statue, and we walked into the art-deco skyscraper, The Guardian Building, to check out the famous interiors. Detroit is just across the water from Canada… it was cool to see all the Canadian flags waving in the distance. We were inspired to get coffees from Tim Horton’s for our drive home!
Bonus Ideas
That concludes the three bigger itineraries I’ve done in Michigan… places you’ll want more than one or two days to explore. Before I go, I wanted to mention some spots that could work for a day trip if you’re in the Chicagoland area like me.
- New Buffalo: The beach here is really nice and there’s a bunch of cute restaurants to try.
- Holland: This Dutch town is on my Michigan bucket list. I’d love to check out all the shops and windmills and also wander around the tulip festival they have every spring!
- Spend a day with friends visiting wineries and/or breweries along the shores of Lake Michigan with South Shore Brew Bus.
Thank you so much for reading. If you found this post helpful, make sure to share it on Pinterest to help others find it too 🙂 I’m so excited for you to visit Michigan– I know you’ll fall in love!
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