Great Lakes - Thinking of vacationing Great Lakes/MI next summer. Ideas?

Hey guys, so i'm from NJ and i went to the new england sub forum and talked to some ppl about vacationing in maine this summer. Well i took their suggestions and had a blast in Maine, and got super lucky with a heat wave that drove the temps to the low 90's in Maine, go figure.

So me and my gal are already planning our next one for next summer. I had the idea of the Great Lakes and thought of Michigan. Seems like a really cool idea, and also seems like its this little secret. We're not enthralled with going south to say Virginia beach or the Carolinas, we've done the north coast basically. Florida is going to be too hot and for some reason i get a negative vibe from there.

So yea, Great Lakes people, school me on the beaches and vacation ides in your area. I have a feeling it can be a blast.

I'm contemplating driving in. I did a loose mapping and from my town to Traverse city is about 850 miles. On the other hand its about $250-300 to fly there and back, but then we'd have to rent a car if we wanted to go anywhere.

And vice versa, if anyone has questions about jersey, or the neighboring areas to visit I'll be happy to help. Ive been through jersey and up the coast, and to north carolina and maryland. Thats as far down south as I know. Dont go to Delaware.

Thanks in advance,
-Vlad

oh yea, forgot to add, whats the weather like? whats the water like? cape cod water in august is pretty cold, maine as well. id like it warmer.

Well, I am about to go up there for 3 weeks and have every September for about 8 years....simply love the area, people, roads, friendly local riders....great places in every direction! I do a summer trip up there each year, too...a welcome relief from the everyday 90+ temps here in Texas!

Gotta give the computer over to my wife but will post more later....pm me if you want real details.

Well, if you're going to Traverse City, then you HAVE to go over the Mackinaw Bridge and visit the Yoop (U.P. = Upper Peninsula). Just to say you were there if nothing else. Yoopers are better than Trolls you know (Trolls live below the bridge). :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3q3x-vB_JE

It really is like going to a different country. Kinda like going to Chicago ... but better. :D

........... I had the idea of the Great Lakes and thought of Michigan. Seems like a really cool idea, and also seems like its this little secret. .......... Thanks in advance, -Vlad

Here's one resource that will help you find the trails: http://www.michigantrails.org/

HTH!

Welll....the weather in MI sorta...depends on the weather, lol. This summer has been especially cold...so, I could tell you to expect 80s in July but if you'd been here at the right time in July this year you would've found 60s, y'know? We've had days here that will be in the upper 80s, then the next day the lower 70s. So I think my advice to you would be...dress for any weather (yeah, I know. More stuff to carry. Sorry). And, depending on whether you're a cold person or not...it might be upper 80s outside but inside businesses will have the a/c kicked down to 68 or 70...I always have to decide if I want to roast outside and be comfortable inside, or be comfortable outside and freeze inside. I suppose that's par for the course anywhere, though.

Water temp will depend on which lake. If you hit Lake Superior any time of year, it's gonna be pretty fracking cold. Further south, not so bad. Though I haven't been in one of them in years, but I do recall days of rockhunting while standing in water when eventually I could no longer feel my feet. :) ).

Yeah, even in August ... bring a jacket. The record low for August is 29 F. That ought to keep the bugs down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City,_Michigan

...So yea, Great Lakes people, school me on the beaches and vacation ides in your area. I have a feeling it can be a blast.

I'm contemplating driving in. I did a loose mapping and from my town to Traverse city is about 850 miles. On the other hand its about $250-300 to fly there and back, but then we'd have to rent a car if we wanted to go anywhere.

And vice versa, if anyone has questions about jersey, or the neighboring areas to visit I'll be happy to help. Ive been through jersey and up the coast, and to north carolina and maryland. Thats as far down south as I know. Dont go to Delaware.

I'm a year round commuter and occasional centurian in Boston, a former tourist including cross-country, and a Detroit native. I got my start in cycling in the Detroit and Ann Arbor area in the 1970's and I heartily endorse touring in Michigan. Tourism is actually the second or third industry in the state, and it has a pretty good road system, a lot of state parks, and lots of rural to exurban areas for low car volume riding, as I recall. We even have done some touring there while living in Boston, partly to visit family. A particularly memorable trip was around the tip of the lower peninsula from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City, to Traverse City and back to Cheboygan.

BTW other than New England, and riding in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC, our only other East Coast Tour has been the Delmarva Peninsula-very rural.

Depends on your purpose. If its just to get away and not so much about biking, then there is:

1. The sand dune State Parks (Warren Dunes or Saugatuck Dunes).

2. The Dutch Windmill, etc in Holland.

3. While in the Southwest, you could take the Lake Express (http://www.lake-express.com/default.aspx) High Speed Ferry to Milwaukee -- a must if you love live music and you happen to be there during Summerfest (http://www.summerfest.com) which is late June early July every year. The Brewers/Miller Park would also be an attraction if you're a baseball guy.

4. Moving up the west coast, you can always take the Ferry in Ludington to Manitowoc, WI and drive up to Door County. Very much a touristy area with lots to do during the summer -- shopping, hiking, biking, etc. One of my favorite places in the entire State is Cave Point County Park (http://www.doorcountynavigator.com/html/gems/cave.html)

5. Further north is Traverse City, a touristy town with lots to do, but its been a long time since I've been there, so hard to say what is best at this point.

6. Mackinaw bride to the UP is a good idea, but there isn't a whole lot to do up there other than camping/relaxing in the quite northwoods. Although you could take the ferry over to Mackinaw island which is a nice experience.

For biking, I'll leave that the the locals other than to say there is good riding in Door County -- depending on when you go. I'd stay off the roads on the weekends, but during the week you should be good.

Northern Michigan (lower peninsula) is a great place to vacation, especially with a bike. You will be happiest in the Northwest corner between Traverse City and the Bridge along the lake shore. That entire area has great cycling roads, lots of tourist stuff to do and plenty of lakes/water. Areas that you should check out (from South to North) would be Traverse City and there peninsula's, Elk Rapids, Charlavoix, Boyne city, Petoskey, Harbor springs and the tunnel of trees, Mackinaw. Also check out all the state parks in that area.

You should go over the Bridge to the U.P.. The Bridge is amazing but once you get to the U.P. turn around there is not much to there and not many paved roads for bikes. Some will disagree but I find the U.P. boring. If you like desolate woods on dirt roads and being one with nature then go strait there you will love it. If you like activities and want to ride a road bike stay in the NW lower.

Temps in the summer normally run in the 70's and 80's and water temps will vary depending on the lakes Lake Michigan is cool and Lake Charlavoix is not much better but you have all the inland lakes if you want to swim in warm water. Michigan is called the great lakes state for a reason. In the NW Lower you are never far from a lake.

The League of Michigan Bicyclists recently added some road routes to their web site. You may find them useful. They have maps too. http://www.lmb.org/routes.html

Yeah, the Tunnel of Trees that Fred mentioned is really worth checking out. That's along the Shoreline West Route north of Harbor Springs.

From watching this forum AND having spent countless days riding in the NW corner of Michigan I can attest to all of Fred's comments. I, however, always wonder why most around here act like the riding stops at TC instead of heading further west on to the Leelanau Penninsula....the LP is the "little fingernail" of the "Michigan Mitten." Nice rolling hills, lots of really nice little towns for refreshments, cool little eating spots, usually a few other riders that can help with navigation, wonderful Lake Michigan views, smooth roads...I guess you get the idea, I really chill out there and love it! I "headquarter" with my sister on Little Glen Lake and each day we head out someplace on the Penninsula and get a metric in, have a little lunch, ride a few nice hills and just enjoy....I make a few day trips each year out to ride Old Mission, Tunnel of Tree's, circle Lake Charlevoix (NICE ride!), I even go up to Mackinac Island every time to do my own, personal crazy 100 miler...13 laps of the island on my singlespeed! No, not a hard ride, fudge-stop every 8 miles if you'd like! 2 laps one way, then 2 the other way....just so the water isn't always on my right!!!!....not NASCAR (turn left turn left!)

I'd agree with all here also about the UP...natural wonders up there but for the most part not real interesting nor are the roads as nice as in the NW corner...but riding up in the Copper Harbor area is pretty cool (as in "neat" but also cool as in temps, no warm water up there!) Forget going to Drummond Island to ride (mentioned frequently as potentially a place to go) because the roads for riding there are VERY limited. I own land up there and go over every so often and don't even bother to take a bike...but mtbing up there may be a different story, don't know for sure but perhaps the snowmobile trails would double for that in the summer.

Long story-short.....NW Michigan isn't the Alps but it is a VERY nice place to go to ride with lots of little stuff for wives and kids to do, too....and everyone I've ever sent there has come back to me with great comments about just about everything I told them about. I love the Leelanau Penninsula for sure, but Fred's favorite area's over around Petosky-Charlevoix-Harbor Springs-Boyne is BEAUTFUL with wonderful roads and LOTS of great climbs...again, not mountains, but the type of climbs that are enjoyable and still provide a cumulative challange. It's what I call the "Michigan Riviera" of vacation spots "Up North!"

...A particularly memorable trip was around the tip of the lower peninsula from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City, to Traverse City and back to Cheboygan...


...It's what I call the "Michigan Riviera" of vacation spots "Up North!"

Hi t o' t,

Nice post. When I was growing up in Detroit in the 1960's, "Up North" invariably meant the the thumb of the Michigan mitten, or the Lake Huron shoreline. :lol:

The above described tour was done in about 1986, long after we crossed the country and settled in Boston. It seemed that the Lake Michigan shoreline was more a province of Chicago than Detroit.

FYA, I have occasonally posted about other touring we did in Michigan:


Some of my favorite short trips from Ann Arbor were out Huron River Drive to Dexter, or Whitmore Lake Road to Whitmore Lake, My very first tour, with no preparation, was a weekend loop out Pontiac Trail to Waterford, about 50 miles one way. Some touring we had done in Michigan when we lived there in the 1970's were: out to Port Huron and to Sarnia and along the the Lake Huron shore to Tobermory and on to Sudbury, then train to Toronto; through Windsor to Kitchener; to Midland, then through Saginaw to Port Austin and back to Detroit through the Thumb; and some short 1-2 day tours out of Ann Arbor, including to East Lansing and to Pontiac Lake. The only riding my wife and I have done in western Michigan was a round trip ride from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Traverse City and back by way of Douglas Lake.

Most of my riding currently when visiting Michigan is in Macomb and Oakland counties. When I have done some long training rides (> 60 miles), I have taken the bike to Stony Creek or Kensington and done laps as well as occasionally ride outside the park. Once I did a loop from Fraser (where my mother lives) down Jefferson, around Belle Isle, then out Woodward to around 14 Mile Road and back.

Jim

If you want to increase your cadence and speed, ride around Benton Harbor. I am from that area and it scares me more than any place in or around Chicago.

SW, my family is in Berrien County, just east of the Apple Cider Century (which has small hills compared to where my family is at). The town is called Eau Claire, not someone you want to stay, unless you enjoy farms, but just a few miles east is Sister Lakes. It has cabins you can rent. It is fairly hillbilly, but still a fun time there, and there are great hills all around that place. There is a lookout hill that can see like 4 counties. I puked on it and I am proud to admit it.

I haven't been up north in a while, but I am sure nothing has changed there, and if it has, it went from the 1700's to the 1800's at the most :p

SW Michigan, the lake is typically warm in July/August, especially around the power plant in St. Joe :) It is safe (I think), though it could be the reason I am the way I am today!

The League of Michigan Bicyclists recently added some road routes to their web site. You may find them useful. They have maps too. http://www.lmb.org/routes.html

Yeah, the Tunnel of Trees that Fred mentioned is really worth checking out. That's along the Shoreline West Route north of Harbor Springs.

The Tunnel of Trees is truly amazing, but a really narrow two lane road. It's a challenge by car.

From watching this forum AND having spent countless days riding in the NW corner of Michigan I can attest to all of Fred's comments. I, however, always wonder why most around here act like the riding stops at TC instead of heading further west on to the Leelanau Penninsula....the LP is the "little fingernail" of the "Michigan Mitten." Nice rolling hills, lots of really nice little towns for refreshments, cool little eating spots, usually a few other riders that can help with navigation, wonderful Lake Michigan views, smooth roads...I guess you get the idea, I really chill out there and love it! I "headquarter" with my sister on Little Glen Lake and each day we head out someplace on the Penninsula and get a metric in, have a little lunch, ride a few nice hills and just enjoy....I make a few day trips each year out to ride Old Mission, Tunnel of Tree's, circle Lake Charlevoix (NICE ride!), I even go up to Mackinac Island every time to do my own, personal crazy 100 miler...13 laps of the island on my singlespeed! No, not a hard ride, fudge-stop every 8 miles if you'd like! 2 laps one way, then 2 the other way....just so the water isn't always on my right!!!!....not NASCAR (turn left turn left!)

I'd agree with all here also about the UP...natural wonders up there but for the most part not real interesting nor are the roads as nice as in the NW corner...but riding up in the Copper Harbor area is pretty cool (as in "neat" but also cool as in temps, no warm water up there!) Forget going to Drummond Island to ride (mentioned frequently as potentially a place to go) because the roads for riding there are VERY limited. I own land up there and go over every so often and don't even bother to take a bike...but mtbing up there may be a different story, don't know for sure but perhaps the snowmobile trails would double for that in the summer.

Long story-short.....NW Michigan isn't the Alps but it is a VERY nice place to go to ride with lots of little stuff for wives and kids to do, too....and everyone I've ever sent there has come back to me with great comments about just about everything I told them about. I love the Leelanau Penninsula for sure, but Fred's favorite area's over around Petosky-Charlevoix-Harbor Springs-Boyne is BEAUTFUL with wonderful roads and LOTS of great climbs...again, not mountains, but the type of climbs that are enjoyable and still provide a cumulative challange. It's what I call the "Michigan Riviera" of vacation spots "Up North!"

Gotta second this recommendation for the Leelanau Peninsula! We go up there several times every summer and have biked many of the roads there, never-ending fun.

I hear Detroit is lovely any time of year.



;)

I hear Detroit is lovely any time of year. ;)
The city of Detroit is one of the best places in the U.S. for urban cycling and exploring. I'm guessing you haven't ridden here based on your winky face.

The city of Detroit is one of the best places in the U.S. for urban cycling and exploring. I'm guessing you haven't ridden here based on your winky face.

I withdraw my statement about Detroit and the winkity wink.

vledaD, skip Michigan altogether and go where the riding rocks: southwestern Wisconsin. Stay in Madison and you've got a nice base for all kinds of summer fun.

vledaD, skip Michigan altogether and go where the riding rocks: southwestern Wisconsin. Stay in Madison and you've got a nice base for all kinds of summer fun.

Hey, come on now!...don't get him to skip Michigan....get him to do it on his way to Wisconsin!!!...I'm sure his wife won't mind...my wife doesn't mind if he goes both places!

I've tried to work a swing through that area 3-4 times when I've been going back and forth between Texas and Michigan, but it's never worked out for me....someday! I've heard nothing but really GREAT things about riding there. I've even saved the DD routes in case I get a chance to make it up there sometime.

I do Texas Hellweek every spring (March) and have really given serious consideration to doing the same guy's Cheese Country Hellweek in June but, again, it's just never worked out for me.

The Tunnel of Trees is truly amazing, but a really narrow two lane road. It's a challenge by car.

i just did the tunnel last weekend & loved it.

From watching this forum AND having spent countless days riding in the NW corner of Michigan I can attest to all of Fred's comments. I, however, always wonder why most around here act like the riding stops at TC instead of heading further west on to the Leelanau Penninsula....the LP is the "little fingernail" of the "Michigan Mitten."

To me, saying Traverse City means Lealanau county. As Fred said the Riding from here to The Bridge is fanatastic. Even after riding all over the US, it is IMO, some of the most beautiful riding in the country.

I withdraw my statement about Detroit and the winkity wink.

vledaD, skip Michigan altogether and go where the riding rocks: southwestern Wisconsin. Stay in Madison and you've got a nice base for all kinds of summer fun.

CyLowe, I don't think you're helping yourself by expanding your comment to all of Michigan! You're especially not helping the OP.

i just did the tunnel last weekend & loved it.

Very cool!

To me, saying Traverse City means Lealanau county. As Fred said the Riding from here to The Bridge is fanatastic. Even after riding all over the US, it is IMO, some of the most beautiful riding in the country.

IMO the best TC and near-TC rides are the Old Mission Peninsula, and the roads around Interlochen. This town is southwest of TC, and within good distance of both TC and Leelanaw (I agree, this is fantastic!), with some major (for Michigan) hills and fine twisties all its own. Youker Road, Grawn Road, and just a load of others.

Another town to focus on is Cedar. Among the most famous rides are Glen Lake, Crystal Lake, and the Pierce Stocking climb.

I need to explore the fingernails NE of TC.

Fred, do you still have that hill route posted somewhere?

CyLowe, I don't think you're helping yourself by expanding your comment to all of Michigan! You're especially not helping the OP.

Hey, it's not like I told the OP to come to Illinois to ride.

:rolleyes:

If you want clean looking water , don't go to Wisc. Many of the polluted "hot spots," on the Great lakes are on Lake Michigan's western shore..
Look down into the water adjacent Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes or Pictured Rocks National Park, you'll think you are in the Carribbean..
Mich has so much to offer. Particularily if you like Wilderness. I like biking around Tawas and Lumberman's Monumet. take the paddle wheel boat trip on the Au Sable to see Mooses and deer.
Go diving near Alpena in the Marine park.. Bike Machinac Island.. take the boat ride down Tahquamenon Fall to the Falls. Detroit. See one of the Nation's best Art Museum at the DIA.. Don't forget Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village..
The Great Lakes are cold usually.. Great Beaches at Grand Haven , Holland area.. But you'll find many sandy inland lakes which can be quite warm.
Michigan has two peninsulas. But really it has more.Should you count the smaller peninsula's near traverse city and Houghton in the UP.. ( at Leenlanau go to Sutton for great wines... ) Leelanau and Keweenaw in the U.P.. ( eat a Yooper treat, a 'pasty.' . Soo Locks.. too. hiking is best in the Porcupine Mtns in the western end of the UP..
Michigan has lots to see. There so much to see I recommend you get this..
......
..PS. Best biking . South Haven to Traverse City.. Pretty awesome too on Brockway Mountain Dr. north of Houghton in the UP... Higest road between the South Dakota and New York.. Bring a bike.

...
...Order Free Travel Guide
Let's make a plan. Let's discover the hidden gems. Let's while away afternoons along the freshwater coastline. Let's take in a show. Let's have a memorable meal. Let's live for the fun of Pure Michigan. Order your Michigan Travel Ideas now. You'll also receive a state highway map.

http://www.michigan.org/signup/travel-guide/

+1 to Milwaukee's Summerfest (http://www.summerfest.com/flash/#), and to the League of Michigan Bicyclists' Shoreline West (http://www.lmb.org/pages/Events/ShorelinePages/west.htm) tour. I did that last year and the beaches up and down lower Michigan's west side are fantastic...plenty of big beautiful sandy beaches. The winds usually blow west to east so the surface waters tend to be warmer than on my side (NE Wisconsin).

wow, theres some great responses in here. I'll go over in greater detail later. Thanks a lot everyoN!!

wow, theres some great responses in here. I'll go over in greater detail later. Thanks a lot everyoN!!

vledaD.....I'm heading up to the 'promise land' sometime toward the end of next week or the first of the next and can hardly contain my excitment! Going to get in about 3 weeks worth of riding! Cycling in the Texas Hill Country is pretty nice from Oct-May but after the last 3-4 months here I need to chill....literally....and the Mitten is the place to go for me.

I AM, however, going to go through Wisconsin either going or coming and ride a little there, too...looking forward to seeing what the riders in W have been bragging about all these years 'cause I've heard nothing but good about their "Hill Country" too! While I'm at it Cheeseheads...give me your best one day, 40-75 mile rides if you have a favorite! I'm looking into the Trempealeau, WI TIRE ride on Sept.11-12-13 and/or the Richland Center "Ocooch Mountain" ride on Sept. 12. Thought maybe I'd do the TIRE on the 11th and 13th and sandwich the other one in on the 12th, seems like they are only about 100 miles apart...what do ya think there Wisconsinites!?

I AM, however, going to go through Wisconsin either going or coming and ride a little there, too...looking forward to seeing what the riders in W have been bragging about all these years 'cause I've heard nothing but good about their "Hill Country" too! While I'm at it Cheeseheads...give me your best one day, 40-75 mile rides if you have a favorite!

I'm not a real Cheesehead, but play one on the internets.... For a great Wisconsin ride loaded with steep hills, I’m partial to this sweet little 60-62 mile route out of Cross Plains. It’s a variation on the 100k Horribly Hilly Hundreds route, but instead of starting/ending on Blue Mound, the ride starts/ends at Uphill Grind Bicycles & Coffee (http://www.uphillgrind.net) in Cross Plains (about 15 miles NW of Madison on US-14).

Printable route map (http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Cross%20Plains%20Ride/cl97DoubleNothingMap.jpg) and Cue Sheet (http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Cross%20Plains%20Ride/CLRideCueSheet.jpg).

Sleeping Bear Dunes on the east side of Lake Michigan, is a real surprise......

If you like sugar sand beach with maybe 5 people for every mile of beach come on up to da U.P..
Don't miss Mackinac Island but don't get tricked into just riding the road around the island. Push that rental bike up that big hill and ride all the roads and trails you can before coasting back down for some Bell's beer. I just rode 54 miles there on my Raliegh Twenty folding bike. Bring a warm jacket, t-shirt, shorts, snow pants, hats, gloves, and sun-screen. Also, if you slice your arm with a razor blade and get a nice pool of blood going, the mosquitos will just belly up to the bar and you'll avoid those itchy bumps. (a local yooper secret I could be shot for giving away). Good Luck Island web-cam here:http://www.hornsbar.com/webcamlarge.htm