Michigan Makes a Great Family Vacation

As we travel the country, we expect to be surprised, but we didn’t expect to be surprised in Michigan! It’s only one state away and is just like Ohio right? Wrong, it was amazing! Michigan is the perfect place for a family vacation.
Our schedule is flexible and we had time to kill, so we spent three weeks exploring Michigan’s diversity. And we still didn’t get to see it all. We hugged the eastern shore of Lake Michigan all the way north over the Mackinaw Bridge. Then we hugged the southern shore of Lake Superior as we explored the Upper Peninsula. From beach to forest and back again, the scenery was amazing and the history was intriguing.

My favorite part was the beach, because it was the ocean without the salt, crowds, or parking issues. So it’s really a lake, well three Great Lakes actually, and they were beautiful and accessible. Unlike the hassle on Florida’s coastlines, they seem to want you to enjoy their lakes! There are parking areas all along the beautiful drives that beg you to stop and spend some time, which we did often, even with the big rig. With so much access, we almost always had the beach to ourselves to enjoy in peace. Okay, with our three kids it wasn’t always peaceful, but it was always enjoyable.

With many national lakeshores, forests, and state parks, there were plenty of activities and learning opportunities for the kids. As roadschooling parents, we’re always watching for interesting things to discover and study with them. As adventure seekers ourselves, we’re always looking for fun! We found both in Michigan. With sand dunes, lakes, marshes, bogs, forests, rivers, cliffs, caves, waterfalls, and wildlife, there were so many things to see, climb, hike, kayak, swim, count, and photograph. There was also much to learn about the area at interesting light houses, museums, and historical sites. There were locks in Sault Saint Marie, copper mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula, and scenic drives everywhere in between. We were also fortunate to be in Traverse City over the 4th of July, where the Cherry Festival was in full swing. The city sits on the edge of Lake Michigan and watching fireworks and the Blue Angels air show over the lake was amazing! (The elephant ears were yummy too!)

These tourist attractions were fun and interesting, but the things we found off the beaten path were even better. An RV park in the middle of nowhere was right on the Platte River, so we took turns kayaking the beautiful, peaceful float with the kids. A cherry stand sold pies by Mrs. White, who described (and let us sample) different kinds of cherries and gave us a big batch for the road. An overlook view of Pictured Rocks is all most tourists see, but we kayaked the clear water into caves and enjoyed an amazing view.  The “close up” boat rides take people close to the huge waterfall, but Allen and Josh discovered a cave behind it and paddled right in.  Since you can’t see it until you’re almost touching it, the tour guides probably don’t even know it’s there.

Whether you stay on the path or not, you’ll find a fun family vacation in Michigan.  We highly recommend exploring beyond the travel brochures, and the cherry pie!
Photos of Michigan vacations, copyright Margie Lundy.

Margie is traveling the USA fulltime in an RV with her husband and three young children. Owning Digital Scrapbook Place, Inc. allows them to work remotely and hold events all over the country.  Learn more about the laptop crops as they Scrap the Map.  Follow their family adventures, RVing, homeschooling, unschooling, roadschooling, and more on Lundy5.com and Twitter.

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