TRAVELMICHIGAN.COM'S EMPHASIS ON
MICHIGAN FAMILY FUN

Eastern Upper Peninsula

Trips to Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula should start at historic Mackinac Island for a day visit or a vacation destination. Visitors can access Mackinac Island by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace. Families enjoy touring Mackinac Island by bicycle and either bring their own bicycles or rent them on the island. Others enjoy touring the island by horse-drawn carriage. In addition to visiting the fort and the other historical sites, including Dr. Beaumont's home and Skull Cave, tourists enjoy the many shops and restaurants. Mackinac Island is becoming a wedding destination for the ceremony or honeymoon. The Grand Hotel serves high tea and gourmet meals as well as exquisite guest rooms. Watching fireworks from Mackinac Island as they explode over the Mackinaw Bridge is a favorite Fourth of July event.

Family visitors to the eastern Upper Peninsula enjoy visiting Castle Rock in St. Ignace and the Locks in Sault Saint Marie. Following the Lake Michigan coastline on U.S. 2 toward Manistiuqe is a scenic tour where the highway sweeps close to the dunes with beautiful views. Some families prefer to drive the northern routes through the eastern Upper Peninsula to stop in Paradise along the Lake Superior shoreline or Tahquamenon Falls near Newberry. Other places of interest in the eastern Upper Peninsula are Grand Marais, Munising, and the Pictured Rocks. Those families, who prefer to stay near Sault Ste. Marie, travel south near the St. Mary's River to Cedarville, Les Cheneaux Islands, and Drummond Island, favorites of fisherman, boaters, and snowmobilers. Throughout the eastern Upper Peninsula, outdoor lovers can find camping, hiking, and boating in the summer and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling during the winter.

Western Upper Peninsula

The western Upper Peninsula, an easy destination from Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, offers family vacationers lakes, mountains, and forests to enjoy year round. Winter vacationers enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing. Most highways throughout the western Upper Peninsula are scenic by-ways for nature lovers and photography buffs. Water sports abound throughout the region. Backpackers, hikers, and campers can find many available sites for enjoying nature. Regional food, like pasties, are tasty and available in the many small towns that dot the Upper Peninsula and provide families histories of Michigan's lumber, iron mining, and copper mining history. Visitors to the Keeweenaw National Peninsula like to visit the Keeweenaw National Historic Park and sail to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. The Porcupine Mountains on the Lake Superior coast near Silver City are a destination for families, who enjoy outdoor adventures from hiking and camping in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter.

Detroit

Detroit is a family vacation destination. In neighboring Dearborn, tourists learn about American history, culture, and inventions at Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, which can take entire weekends to visit. Detroit, the Motor City, also is known as "Hockeytown, USA" and boasts professional hockey, basketball, baseball, and football teams. Fans go to the historic Joe Louis Arena for Hockey, suburban Auburn Hills for basketball, beautiful Comerica Park for baseball, and new Ford Field for football. Culture enthusiasts like to visit the Detroit Institute of Art, Belle Isle Park with its gardens and aquarium, and cultural center around Wayne State University. In January, visitors enjoy the famous International Auto Show at Cobo Hall. Golfing and gaming are available in Detroit. Visitors to Detroit on the Fourth of July enjoy the International Freedom Festival, which joins Windsor, Ontario and Detroit. There are other festivals throughout the year, including the famous Detroit Thanksgiving Parade, which is more fun to watch on Woodward Avenue than on television. In the early summer, car aficionados stream into Detroit for the Dream Cruise that starts north of Detroit in Pontiac and slowly makes way to the city. In addition to famous Coney Island hot dogs available all over the city, Detroit has wonderful ethnic restaurants that reflect the diversity of the city and its environs.