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Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, I don’t think I’ve ever been as chill about a flat tire as I was this past Sunday.
After all, to my left were the deep blue waters of the Straits of Mackinac. To my right were quaint boutiques teeming with shoppers. Beside me was a fragrant lilac bush, and in front of me were a couple of huge draft horses, taking a break.
You guessed it – I was stranded on Mackinac Island. Darn the bad luck. I’ve never seen a blowout on a horse taxi, but it was the least stressed I’ve ever been about a roadside breakdown.
Maybe part of my roll-with-the-punches demeanor was the afterglow of a wonderful, normal – there’s that word again – summer weekend in Michigan. I had attended a family wedding on the island. The weather was a bit dodgy at times, but that didn’t dim the enthusiasm, nor the crowds.
Sunday was a perfect northern Michigan day, and the island reflected not just that, but the progress we’ve made coming back from COVID. Ferries were mostly full, bicycles buzzed through the streets, and lines formed at the fudge shops.
This isn’t a column about COVID, though. It’s about the joy of rediscovering our great state without restrictions as summer’s official start beckons. On the podcast “Behind the Headlines” this week, I brought back MLive’s resident expert on the Mitten State, Emily Bingham, to share some pro tips on getting the most out of the season.
“I always say that Michiganders put up with winter to earn the glory that is Michigan summer,” she said. Bingham, like me (and a horde of others) was in northern Michigan last weekend, visiting family in Traverse City.
“I was really excited to see how many people were out and about – there were so many people on bikes, so many people on the bay,” she said. “There were people fishing or people kayaking or people at the beach, and it just feels like summer's here and tourism season seems to be in full swing.”
We both noticed that full swing can mean crowds, especially in popular destinations like the Mackinac and Traverse areas. This is where Bingham’s deep knowledge of Michigan’s less-known treasures benefits our readers.
“The only angry emails I get are from people saying, ‘Why did you write about this place? Now everybody else knows about it,’” she said. “But there's something to be said for exploring a new place and falling in love with a new side of Michigan and seeing some new areas, because we have so much here to see.”
With that, here are some curated suggestions from our Michigan travel expert:
Inland paddle fun on a ‘water trail’: “It is northeast of the Traverse City area, and south of Petoskey, so we're talking Antrim County, Bellaire, Ellsworth, Elk Rapids. One of the big newsmakers this year is that they just officially opened the Chain of Lakes Water Trail. It's a 100-mile paddle trail that goes all along an interconnected system of lakes and rivers. You can do the entire thing if you wanted to over the course of several days, or you could just jump in and do a little day trip or a half day trip on some of it. Bellaire is one of the better-known stops along the way, being home to Short’s Brewing, a couple great restaurants and some really great shops downtown.” Click here for information on how to plan a trip.
That OTHER island getaway: “I wrote about it last spring – there’s tons of stuff to do on Drummond Island for every type of outdoor activity: Hiking, or birdwatching or if you're into paddling. There's a great paddle water trail around the island, ORVs, ATVs, and the fishing is supposed to be amazing. And the ferry runs year-round. Drummond would be a really fun island adventure for people that want to do an island this summer but maybe Mackinac is a little too packed.”
Go over the bridge for adventure: “One way to avoid crowds this summer would be to head to the UP, and head west. I think Pictured Rocks is going to see another gangbusters year. I would head up into the Keweenaw (Peninsula); Copper Harbor has been ‘having a moment.’ If you're into the outdoors, there are tons of things to do. It's a world-class mountain bike destination, you have Isle Royale National Park – this spring I wrote a guide on how to plan a trip. There's some really amazing food to be had in the area. It’s also great for dark skies – there's a historic lodge trying to get approval to be a designated dark sky park. So, lots of cool things going on in the UP – for summer adventures in Michigan, I don't think you can beat it.”
See the sun rise, for a change: “I have such a soft spot for the east side, and it doesn't get as much love as the west side of the state. But I think sunrises are spectacular too, and there are some really great small towns on that side.I love Tawas City – that's got a place in my heart. Alpena has some cool stuff going on there, like the underwater preserve. But there are lots of really great towns, basically from the Thumb all the way up the coast. So, if the west-side destinations that you had thought you might go to the summer are all booked, check out towns around Lake Huron.” ### To hear my full discussion with Emily Bingham on the glory of Michigan summer, click here for this week’s episode of MLive’s Behind the Headlines podcast.
Editor's note: I value your feedback to my columns, story tips and your suggestions on how to improve our coverage. Let me know how MLive helps you, and how we can do better. Please feel free to reach out by emailing me at editor@mlive.com.
John Hiner Executive Editor Vice President of Content Mlive Media Group
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