Start your tour along Lake Michigan from the western border of the state. Come from Chicago into Michigan on Highway 196 north and enjoy white sandy beaches and two great campgrounds in Holland. Take pleasure in a spectacular view and the aroma of thousands of tulips at the Tulip Festival each spring.
Follow 196 north to 31 north and stop by the family friendly Grand Haven beaches and campgrounds and time your tour around the annual United States Coast Guard Festival in late July. Watch the large ships and yachts pass through the inlet and stroll the boardwalk.
Follow further north on Highway 31 to find Muskegon, with the only nationally certified "clean beach" of the Great Lakes. Continue north to beach towns like Pentwater, Ludington and Manistee, which offer wonderful campgrounds, trolley tours and quaint souvenir shops. Veer off 31 and take Route 22 north and spend time climbing the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Enjoy a dune buggy ride if you are adventurous.
Take Highway 72 over to Traverse City, which hosts the delicious Cherry Festival every summer, where the entire city is based around the inviting Traverse Bay. Further up Route 31, visit Charlevoix, with the pristine Lake Charlevoix connected by inlet from Lake Michigan. Continue to the top of the "mitten" of Michigan to the awesome 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, connecting the lower and upper peninsulas (U.P.) with Lake Michigan (on the west) and Lake Huron (on the east).
Plan your tour to take you across the Mackinac Bridge and continue on I-75 north to Sault Ste. Marie, where the Upper Peninsula connects to Canada. Tour the amazing Soo Locks, which offer a view of the system that allows ships to transition from one waterway to another from Lake Huron and Lake Superior.
Travel the Lake Superior Trail, which goes from highways 28 west to 123 north past the grand Tahquamenon Falls, then on further to the boat tours of breathtaking Pictured Rocks in Munising along the shores of the unspoiled and frigid Lake Superior. Travel south along the Lake Michigan Trail of the U.P. to partake in the campgrounds and sites from the north side of Lake Michigan.
Travel from I-75 at the Mackinac Bridge, and on either side of the bridge, pick up a boat ride to Mackinac Island nestled at the tip of Lake Huron. Absorb the quiet, old-fashioned side of nature with a car-less island complete with horse and buggy rides, bicycle rentals and tours of the old Fort Mackinac.
Take 23 south from the mainland and visit Cheboygan and Alpena for some spectacular views of the east coast of Michigan. Going south, visit the quaint, friendly towns of Oscoda and Tawas with piers, lighthouses and campgrounds right along Lake Huron.
Twist around the "thumb" of Michigan, which highlights lots of little towns along Highway 25 with tranquil beach views of Lake Huron. Go further south to Port Huron and Detroit, where you can find bridge access to Canada across channels of Lake Huron. Take in some fun at Downtown Detroit, just off the lake, which offers casinos and Greektown among other entertainment options.
Travel along the southeastern border of Michigan on I-75 to enjoy Lake Erie, the shallowest Great Lake, just south of Detroit. Visit Wyandotte and Grosse Ile with pretty views of the water. Stop by Monroe for the three marinas to fish for walleye, which is considered the best in the world, from this lake,.
