Gold Coast
The forest-cloaked Manitou Islands provide an off-the-beaten-path adventure. They’re part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, hence the entrance…
Must-see attractions in Gold Coast
Gold Coast
The lakeside park is one of Michigan's largest and most popular playlots. Once inside, people simply pull over on the roadside and make a break for the…
Gold Coast
One of the state’s most visited parks, Holland offers a lovely huge beach on Lake Michigan that’s stellar for sunset gaping and lighthouse views. A cafe,…
Gold Coast
Michigan's excellent wines taste even better on Brys Estate's sprawling deck, which provides stunning vineyard and bay views. Tastings from $8; cheese and…
Leland, Northport & Suttons Bay
In the early 1900s, tiny commercial fishing villages dotted the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Fishtown is one of the few that has been preserved. Wander…
Gold Coast
Round Barn goes beyond vino with its grapes – it also uses the fruit to make DiVine Vodka, a smoother elixir than the kind made with grains or potatoes…
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area
Gold Coast
Nordhouse Dunes, a 3450-acre plot within the Huron-Manistee National Forest, features perhaps the wildest stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline. Dunes rise…
Gold Coast
Chinook Pier has a lot going on. There’s a seasonal mini-golf course (adult/child $3/2) and farmers market (8am to 1pm Wednesday and Saturday). Wet Mitten…
Gold Coast
Fans of Ernest Hemingway will recall the store, with its 'high false front,' from his short story 'Up in Michigan.' As a youth, Hemingway used to hang out…
Gold Coast
Everyone gathers for the musical fountain performance each evening in summer. It's a trippy tradition to watch water spray high in the sky while…
Gold Coast
The 48-acre urban park is all beach – a wide, gorgeous one with squeaky clean sand. It’s mega popular in summer, especially for families, who appreciate…
Gold Coast
A quiet, Irish-influenced enclave of some 600 people, Beaver Island floats in Lake Michigan offshore from Charlevoix. Forest covers most of its 9-mile…
Gold Coast
With 3 miles of beachfront, 6 miles of hiking and cross-country skiing trails, and climbable dunes that rise 260ft in the air, visitors are all over this…
Gold Coast
Learn about dunes! A 0.7-mile (one way) boardwalk trail takes you from the parking lot to the Lake Michigan shore. Prepare for loads of stairs up and down…
Gold Coast
Connoisseurs often regard Tabor Hill Winery as the region’s best. The vintner provides tours and lets you belly up in the tasting room for swigs of its…
Gold Coast
It is one of the Old Mission Peninsula's stalwarts, pouring renowned chardonnay and pinot noir (five-wine tasting $5). The patio overlooking the vineyard…
Gold Coast
Life guards patrol the long expanse of fine sand. There are bathrooms and concession stands, though not enough to spoil the peaceful, dune-laden scene. It…
Gold Coast
The park is north along Hwy 119 and has a beautiful beach. Look for indigenous Petoskey stones, which are honeycomb-patterned fragments of ancient coral…
Gold Coast
It gets lots of kudos for its chardonnay, pinot noir and dessert wines (five-wine tasting from $7, three-wine flight from $10). The romantic, French-style…
Little Traverse Historical Museum
Gold Coast
This small museum has a worthy Hemingway collection, including rare first-edition books that the author autographed for a friend when he visited in 1947.
Gold Coast
Located in an old schoolhouse, Peninsula makes fine whites and is often less crowded than other wineries. A five-wine tasting costs $5.
Gold Coast
Vollie Fox, Hemingway's fishing buddy, lived in this building next door to Horton Bay General Store. Young Ernie would stay at the inn, which is now…
Gold Coast
A popular place to immerse in all things Dutch. When the gardens bloom in spring, Veldheer charges a fee (adult/child $12/6). Otherwise it's free to check…
