When it’s Summertime in Michigan
In which a few unassuming first-time visitors discover Pure Michigan.
The shores of Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
July 3 - 11
Lake Higgins, MI
Traverse City, MI
Mackinac Island, MI
Munising, MI
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18
When it’s summertime in Michigan, let the sunshine be your guide. Let the Great Lakes hold your hand and welcome you. Let a northwest breeze draw you further in. If it’s your first time here, as it was for us this summer, prepare yourself for the simple pleasure of discovering an enchanting new place that isn’t new at all.
Lake Higgins on the 4th of July
When it’s summertime in Michigan and friends ask if you’d like to join them at Lake Higgins, the only correct answer is yes. You’ll think you’re pulling up to just another lake until your eyes spot an exotic shade of teal you believed was only possible in tropical places. You’ll watch your kids wade out a quarter mile, still able to stand in the light blue shallows. You’ll devour brats from a local butcher shop and cherries from a nearby farm as you confirm this must be a favorite weekend in recent memory.
Lake Higgins, MI
When it’s summertime in Michigan, hike through the hot, soft sand of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore until you stumble upon a stretch of Lake Michigan that looks like an ad in a travel magazine. Toss your clothes onto a towel and dive in the blue water until you’ve cooled off enough to endure the sweaty trek back over the dunes—a trek you absolutely will not be able to convince your children it’s time to do.
The Dune Hike, Sleeping Bear Dunes
Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes
When it’s summertime in Michigan, take the scenic route through Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petoskey. Stop at a roadside farm stand for fresh berries, pasture raised eggs, and ciabatta baked in a home oven the next town over. Pick up a bundle of cedar logs for the fire pit (don’t skip this step). Question whether you need to step foot in a grocery store ever again.
East Park, Petoskey, MI
When it’s summertime in Michigan, hop on a ferry to Mackinac Island. Bike eight miles of Huron’s lakeshore views and climb the steps to Arch Rock. Pet the horses and meander through village streets looking for something and nothing at all. Buy a postcard, write a whimsical message, and send it to someone you wish could join you here.
Arch Rock, Mackinac Island, MI
Biking the loop
Ferry about to go under the Mackinac Bridge
When it’s summertime in Michigan, drive over the Mackinac Bridge to that oddly disconnected but desperately inviting piece of the state they call the UP. In Munising, board a boat of any kind to see the caves and cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Hike to the top of the cliffs and gaze down at the colorful rock walls, double blinking at the thrilling clarity of Lake Superior.
Pictured Rocks National Seashore via a boat ride from Munising
Pictured Rocks, view from the boat
Pictured Rocks, view from the cliffs
When it’s summertime in Michigan, you simply must visit Kitch-iti-kipi. Even if you can’t pronounce it and autocorrect won’t let you type it in your maps app. Go anyway. Pull your fellow travelers across the turquoise lake on a self-propelled raft. Study the bubbling spring that pumps out 10,000 gallons of water per second. Let yourself wonder where all that water goes in a lake that stares back at you as still as glass.
Kitch-iti-kipi, which means “Big Spring,” in Palms Book State Park, Michigan Upper Peninsula
Pulley-raft ride across the spring
When it’s summertime in Michigan, sit by a fire every night letting its embers carry you back to the warmth of the afternoon. All the better around a fire of cedar logs from a roadside farm stand. Let the cedar smoke dance around your stories from the day and whisk you into the pages of every novel you’ve ever read.
When it’s summertime in Michigan, you cannot let the night sky decide when it’s time for bed. The Michigan sun acts like a toddler who wants to stay up and play. Instead, listen to your sleepy eyes and how much they wish to close even as daylight still seeps through the window shade. If you’re like me and soaking up the splendor of a new place, you’ll probably stay up too late anyway. A latte from a local coffee shop will ease your regrets.
Wildflowers beside Lake Michigan in Petoskey
Once you’ve said goodbye to Michigan, let the Great Lakes leap from the map into your memories. Text every friend you know who grew up here and tell them you’re in on their little secret about the crystal-clear lakes and the cedar fires and the tropical blue lakeshore beaches. Let the roadside wildflowers and rest-stop waterfalls enchant you into dreaming about the next moment of another summer when you can find your way back here.
Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Seashore
With Thanks to the Locals
Thanks to our neighbors from Stanford!
Thank you Pastor Jeff and Mary!
We have several people to thank for making our stay in Michigan so fun and memorable.
Thank you Krista and Scott and your parents for welcoming us to their beautiful home on stunning Lake Higgins on the 4th of July—and finding an easy place for us to park (at a friend’s construction business nearby). Lake Higgins was not on our itinerary or our radar, and it was an absolute highlight of our time in Michigan to spend the day together catching up. Thank you for the warm hospitality, the boat ride, the brats, and for sharing your beautiful spot with us!
Thank you, Jen Emma, for sharing the tip about Kitch-iti-kipi. What a gorgeous and unique place that we likely wouldn’t have made it to if you haven’t mentioned it. So envious that you summer here regularly. Friends in Norfolk/VB: make your day yummy and visit Jenn’s bakery, Sloanan’s Bakery Box.
Finally, thank you Pastor Jeff & Mary (our pastor and his wife from our church in Guam) for opening your beautiful home in Munising for us to stay and get a sweet break from RV life. We had a wonderful time cooking in the full-sized over and using a dishwasher (!), and we appreciate all the local info and tips about trailheads, boat rides, etc. Truly the only thing missing in Munising was you.
And finally, because I took way too many pictures, here are a few more. Summertime in Michigan. Turns out…
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is embarking on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-26 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare—and our 24 years together through it all. This trip is intended to create space to reflect and reset before civilian life begins.
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