Things to do / Travel Guide
Northern Michigan packs quite a punch! This outdoors haven offers some of the country's best sea kayaking and wreck diving adventures, and there are great opportunities for lots of other outdoors-oriented sports as well, like hiking and biking. Whether you're on the Lower Peninsula or the more sparsely-populated Upper Peninsula, whether you're kayaking along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore or diving at Thunder Bay Underwater Preserves, fishing for unusually large brook trout on Fox River or biking Mackinac Island, golfing at Arcadia Bluffs or skiing at Big Powderhorn - you're bound to have a truly unforgettable outdoors time in northern Michigan.
Water Activities in Northern Michigan
Take kayaking along Pictured Rocks Lakeshore for example. With its multicolored sandstone formations and the sound of the blue waves reverberating inside the caves and crevasses that line the shore, this is one of the most beautiful kayaking locations you'll ever come across.
There are plenty of other kayaking destinations in Northern Michigan, such as Drummond Island, with its limestone-encrusted shores along northern Lake Huron, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, with 300-foot sand dune cliffs, or Keweenaw Peninsula, where you can paddle in and around the rugged shorelines, caves, and various islands near Lake Superior's shore.
Is diving your forte? Does the idea of swimming in crystal-clear water past sunken ships along captivating limestone formations get your blood pumping? Then northern Michigan should be on your list of top vacation spots, for one of the largest runs of shipwrecked, but well-preserved, schooners, steamers, and barges is right here.
One of the most popular dive and snorkel spots is the site of the Francisco Morazan, a freighter that ran aground in a 1960 snowstorm - it lies in just 15 feet of water, near the south side of South Manitou Island. Thunder Bay Underwater Preserve itself boasts its very own “shipwreck alley,” where a number of vessels sank throughout the years during which the region was one of the most important U.S. waterways. Those days are long gone, but there are plenty of ships left over as testament of those times for you to explore.
Fishing, anyone? There's great lake fishing and river fishing all over northern Michigan, which ranks among the best freshwater fishing spots in the world. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world, and the northern Michigan region is home to literally thousands of inland glacier lakes. Lake trout, brown trout, walleye, salmon, steelhead, and bass are just a few of the species populating region's waters.
Visit Grayling for some of the Midwest's best trout fishing, or nearby Oscoda for top-notch sport-fishing in search of Chinook salmon. The Bays De Noc in the Upper Peninsula, with over 100,000 acres of water, and containing bountiful amounts of trophy walleyes, has been rated one of Midwest Outdoors Magazine's Top Fishing Spots. Lake Gogebic as well is regularly stocked with walleye and other game fish. For those of you brave enough to battle the cold, northern Michigan is among the most popular places in the country to go ice fishing.
Land-based Activities in Northern Michigan
Hope you brought your bike! Mackinac Island, where cars are barred, is sure to impress. You can circle the entire island on a paved loop on mostly flat land and up the occasional bluff, through woods and coastline. As you ride around, you'll likely pass a quaint array of Victorian summer cottages and the island's picturesque harbor.
Aside from Mackinac Island, you can pedal along rail-trails, and there's plenty of mountain biking, too. Try out the Harlow Lake Sampler, winding through forests, up a rocky hillock, and down to Lake Superior. In the Upper Peninsula, the area of Seney provides 100 miles of gravel and dirt maintenance roads, virtually car-free, for a look at pristine wildlife - moose, gray wolves, and black bears, plus bald eagles, osprey, swans, and loons all call the area home.
Another island to explore, whether you're biking or hiking, is Isle Royale, in the northern waters of Lake Superior. The isle is packed with trails, the best of which, Greenstone Ridge Trail, traces its backbone. The attractions are the dense woodlands and the rugged terrain. You'll also be able to spy moose and wolves, as well as red foxes, beavers, and snowshoe hares.
Michigan's Lower Peninsula is packed with golf course, from Red Hawk on Lake Huron, a beautiful course amidst huge pine, oak, maple, beech, and birch trees, to Belvedere on Lake Michigan, which golfing legend Tom Watson once proclaimed to be one of his favorite courses in the world.
Northern Michigan from Above
The views can't be beat, from 14,000 feet, then from 13,500 feet, then from 13,000 feet, etc. We're of course referring to skydiving - which is known to be superb above northern Michigan. If that's too fast-paced for your taste, then gently rise and fall with the wind during the warmer months of the year in a hot-air balloon. There's nothing like flying this region's friendly skies.
Winter Activities in Northern Michigan
When winter comes to the Winter Wonderland State, it's time to dust off those skis and head to such fine establishments as Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands, Nubs Nob, and Crystal Mountain. Plenty of these places offer excellent cross-country skiing, and they'll persuade you that cross-country was definitely invented for northern Michigan!
For those who like adventure, there are plenty of ways to have a good time and experience northern Michigan's landscape from a different point of view - you could say, off the beaten track. Aside from cross-country skiing, you can traverse the region's alpine landscape via snowmobile or even dog sled.
However you plan to enjoy northern Michigan, whether in the wintertime or during the summer, there's no doubt that the Lower Peninsula's hilly and grassy landscape, and the Upper Peninsula's heavily-forested and mountainous landscape, will leave planning your next trip. The multitude of shoreline and islands make the region one of the country's best for all the kinds of water-recreation you count on for a good time, away from the big city.
Outdoor Recreation in Great Lakes, Traverse City, Upper Peninsula, Mackinac Island, Northern Michigan
Outdoor-Sports-Recreation
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - Michigan
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
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