1 Straits of Mackinac/Mackinac Island/Mackinaw City

There’s a reason this area is a tourist destination. Well, many reasons, actually! One great lake, two great lakes and fudge and souvenirs for everyone! Whether you like lake watching, freighter/boat watching, people watching, shopping, bike riding, dodging piles of horse poop (no vehicles allowed on Mackinac Island so watch your step), fudge or colonial history, this area will have something you love!

Some great spots in the area of note include Mackinaw City, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Wilderness State Park and of course “Big Mac” aka the Mackinac Bridge itself! It’s especially lovely when lit up at night, you can get a front row seat in one of the lake view camp sites at Straits State Park in St. Ignace.

2 Cheboygan/Cheboygan State Park

The humble and somewhat industrial city of Cheboygan is a far cry from the more crowded/touristy Mackinaw City, but it’s definitely worth visiting for a variety of reasons! Come visit Cheboygan Brewing Company for a tasty cold beer or two on the upper deck, catch a flick at a real downtown movie theater or drive to Cheboygan State Park – which offers a swimming beach where you can see Big Mac, tent/trailer camping and rustic/modern lodging you can rent (you can even rent a replica tipi),

I stayed in a rustic cabin right on the water in 2018 and loved it! All three of the cabins are right on Lake Huron, and honestly, a lakeside campfire is just amazing!

I also stayed in the former rangers residence which you can now rent as lodging for my 25th wedding anniversary in 2022. It was wonderful, secluded, and oh so comfortable! I’ve done every type of camping there is – backpacking, rustic, modern, tent camping, so having a dose of “glamping” was a nice treat.

Lastly, if you want something really different to do in Cheboygan, you can charter a car ferry to the very, very NOT at all touristy Bois Blanc Island. I’ve never been to BB, or “Bob-lo” as the locals call it. I hear tell they are looking for a full time teacher for the island’s whopping two students! Kind of makes one wonder why the teachers never stay – I mean, how ill behaved are these two students, anyway? 🙂

3 Hoeft State Park/Rogers City

There is a strip of of U.S. 23 along Lake Huron north of Rogers City with absolutely breathtaking views of the lake that will make you want to drive into it in wild abandon to join Aquaman in his quest to do whatever it is that he does. Talk to fish? Honestly I have no idea!

The state park called Hoeft offers lovely white sand beaches, tent/trailer camping and cabin/lodge rentals (you can rent the green Sears Roebuck house pictured above) or a more modest mini cabin in the campground. The day use area has an impressive stone pavilion with a fireplace built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Keep in mind the bathrooms have not been updated for accessibility and the stalls are very, very tight!

The freighter views cannot be beat, and Rogers City itself is a sleepy, pretty, quiet town with all of the loveliness of a coastal town without the hordes of fudge-obsessed tourists.

4 Black Lake/Onaway State Park

Northeast and Northwest MI boast a decent number of large inland lakes with waves big enough to rival those of actual “great lakes.” My husband and I recently camped at Onaway State Park and quickly fell in love with our lakeshore campsite views! Though the wind was something else in its ability to quickly deplete our propane and firewood supply, the views of Michigan’s eighth largest lake (depending upon what list you read) made it hard for us to be too mad at it.

A duck family provided daily and nightly entertainment! Who needs scripted streaming TV when you can watch a poor struggling baby duckling bobbing around in feisty waves squeaking for its mother? Actually, there were TWO ducklings from two duck families were cheeping for their mamas! Yes, thankfully this episode had a happy ending!

Onaway State Park, which opened in 1920, is one of Michigan’s oldest state parks. Its campground offers two day use areas, a rocky beach, tent/trailer camping and a cabin rental. There are 25 lakeshore sites in the “lower” area (which was built first) and more than 60 spots in the “upper” part on a wooded bluff. I hear that many of the sites in the upper campground are unlevel.

If you prefer flush toilets and showers to accompany your camping experience, plan for a very brisk walk from the lakeshore campground or camp on the bluff in the “upper” campground. Or drive to it. Figure it out! Rustic toilet facilities are OK by me on a short camping trip, but they may not be for everyone.

I’m not a fan of “lawn” camping in flat unforested sunny wastelands, so Onaway and its old growth trees, including cedars, pleased me very much!

5 Presque Isle

Presque Isle (which means “almost” an island in French) is a delightful spot for a day trip. Like lighthouses? Fuhgeddaboutit! Like maritime history? Check! Like chances to see freighters? Yup! Want to entertain those lingering fantasies about being a lighthouse keeper (me raising my hand)?

Presque Isle is located about a half hour or so north of Alpena, where portions of Die Hard 2 was filmed. You know- the one with the snowmobiles? Alpena is a cool northern MI town to visit even if you’re not at all interested in movie trivia! Be sure to check out Grand Lake, it is gorgeous!

There are plenty of other cool things to check out in this wild and lovely area of Michigan. Some of the state’s largest inland lakes are near the tip of the mitten, there’s a metal George Washington head sculpture sitting in a field west of Onaway, Ocqueoc Falls are the only natural waterfalls south of the Mackinac Bridge and supposedly it’s elk country. I like to joke that because I’ve never seen an actual elk that they are not real. Prove me wrong! 🙂