Travelling from Miami in 24 ft Class C rv in June heading for Michigan area. Any suggestions? I hear the Mackinaw area is nice. Other SP or NP to see? Ferries to take? I have 2 small dogs and my wife and I.

We stayed at Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground in Mackinaw City. You can take the ferry over to Mackinac Island. Check out the old iron ore pocket docks in Marquette and Escanaba. Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie. Watch the ships go through. (free!) Tahquamenon Falls State Park and up to The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point (north of Paradise MI). There is a museum with info about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Note: last services in Paradise. About an hour and a half drive but worth it! Try pasties!

Just the UP or all of Michigan?The entire West coast of lower Michigan is beautiful ... Grand Haven state park is _VERY_ popular, likely it's already sold out for this year. I don't understand it myself, not my idea of a "park".Further North, there is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The campground is a privately managed federal park, kinda pricey IMHO (park fee, camp fee, shower fee, etc) but the scenery is worth seeing. The dunes themselves are absolutely humongous piles of sand, some folks enjoy climbing. Southeast Michigan has "The Henry Ford" and Greenfield Village - if you take I-75 to Mackinaw you'll be pretty close to these destinations. 15 years ago, Oakland County (North of Detroit along i-75) boasted some of highest-end shopping (and property values) you could find outside of Hollywood and New York, not sure that's still the case.

Precious, First, you need to tell us two things: Do you want Scenery, Museums or Both. (Michigan is good for both)How long do you have or how many miles? (Michigan is big and has two parts) There are only two large National Parks, Sleeping Bear Dunes on the west coast of the lower peninsula and Pictured Rocks on the north coast of the upper peninsula. But there is Huron National Forest and a plethora of open state parks and campgrounds but any with facilities will probably require a reservation. Good Luck Matt

Don't know what the ferry and/or Mackinac Island rules are about dogs. Do a Google search for `_______ tourism' and put Michigan or whatever in the blank space and read what the experts have to recommend.

Matt_Colie wrote:Precious, First, you need to tell us two things: Do you want Scenery, Museums or Both. (Michigan is good for both)How long do you have or how many miles? (Michigan is big and has two parts) There are only two large National Parks, Sleeping Bear Dunes on the west coast of the lower peninsula and Pictured Rocks on the north coast of the upper peninsula. But there is Huron National Forest and a plethora of open state parks and campgrounds but any with facilities will probably require a reservation. Good Luck MattAnd Manistee National Forest too! One's on the east side of state and borders Lake Huron (guess which NF?) and the other NF is on the Lake Michigan side.

Must see in Michigan, Mackinaw & Great lakes area?

12 Replies

GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 22, 2015
Just the UP or all of Michigan?

The entire West coast of lower Michigan is beautiful ... Grand Haven state park is _VERY_ popular, likely it's already sold out for this year. I don't understand it myself, not my idea of a "park".

Further North, there is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The campground is a privately managed federal park, kinda pricey IMHO (park fee, camp fee, shower fee, etc) but the scenery is worth seeing. The dunes themselves are absolutely humongous piles of sand, some folks enjoy climbing.

Southeast Michigan has "The Henry Ford" and Greenfield Village - if you take I-75 to Mackinaw you'll be pretty close to these destinations. 15 years ago, Oakland County (North of Detroit along i-75) boasted some of highest-end shopping (and property values) you could find outside of Hollywood and New York, not sure that's still the case.
sdianel_-acct_c
Explorer
Mar 22, 2015
We stayed at Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground in Mackinaw City. You can take the ferry over to Mackinac Island.
Check out the old iron ore pocket docks in Marquette and Escanaba.

Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie. Watch the ships go through. (free!)

Tahquamenon Falls State Park and up to The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point (north of Paradise MI). There is a museum with info about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Note: last services in Paradise. About an hour and a half drive but worth it!

Try pasties!

Forum Discussion

Must see in Michigan, Mackinaw & Great lakes area?

12 Replies

About Campground 101

Related Content

Great to scary bad

Mackinaw island

Mackinaw City, MI

Mackinaw Bridge

Michigan & The Great Lakes bound, July 2019