One of my goals for the year was to visit a new state, and I got to check that off earlier this year.
Our friends were getting married in Michigan, so we decided to make a long weekend out of it since we had never been before.
DAY 1:
We landed in Detroit, grabbed our rental car, and hit the road. We made a pit stop in Ann Arbor for lunch at Frita Batidos. The cuban style burgers and milkshakes (batidos) were so good! Then we spent a little time wandering around the town. The Law Quad at the University of Michigan was actually really cool – looks like it’s straight out of Harry Potter.
We booked the cutest little cottage on Strawberry Lake (near Pinckney, Michigan), and everything was strawberry themed…like seriously everything. It was so cute though! We finished up day 1 with a cozy night in.
DAY 2:
Good morning, Michigan!
Our first stop was coffee at Bearclaw Coffee Co, a tiny drive-thru coffeeshop. I ordered a large but it was actually GIANT. Oops! From their, we drove to Howell and walked around a bit before grabbing lunch at the Crunchy Pickle. The deli had really good sandwiches and gourmet Italian sodas. You could also order any sandwich on a giant pickle instead of bread which I think is hilarious!
We headed back to the airbnb to get ready for our friends’ wedding – the reason we were in Michigan to begin with – and spent the night dancing and celebrating.
DAY 3:
We woke up bright and early, grabbed coffee at Good Sense in Howell, and hit the road to Traverse City.
A few fun facts I learned about Traverse City:
• TC produces 75% of the tart cherries grown in the U.S
• Wine Country of the North: Known for Rieslings, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wines, thanks to the cool climate and glacial soil.
• TC runs through the 45th Parallel, the same as the Bordeaux wine-growing region in France.
The drive was beautiful, especially as we made our way up the Old Mission Peninsula. Our first stop was Chateau Chantel for a wine tasting (plus a delicious charcuterie) with some amazing views of the vineyards and Lake Michigan. We ended up buying a couple bottles of wine – my favorites were the Bubble Cherry (very sweet & bubbly) and the Late Harvest Chardonnay (sweet & citrusy) .
We continued up Old Mission Peninsula to check out Mission Point Lighthouse which was the cutest little light house you ever did see, and we got our first UP CLOSE look at Lake Michigan.
It was finally time to head to our glamp ground for the night – you read that right – Zack and I aren’t really campers so we rented a geodesic dome for the night – aka a dome home. It was so sick! It had everything including an amazing outdoor tub, a full kitchen, indoor bathroom, and a cozy campfire. The owners also provided fire starter, a complimentary bottle of wine, and a s’mores kit which was so sweet! I would absolutely recommended!
We had picked up some groceries on our way to the glampsite, so we cooked up some hot dogs and fixins’ and ate by the fire! And of course we roasted some marshmallows for s’mores.
It was also crazy how late the sun set – it was light until almost 10pm every night!
DAY 4:
After an amazing nights sleep, we woke up ready to explore. We picked up breakfast Bubbie’s Bagels, and let me tell you, these were some of the best bagels I’ve EVER had. And because I wanted to try ALL the places – we grabbed coffee at Factory Man before heading to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for the day.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is about 40 minutes from Traverse City, and is famous for its towering sand dunes and views of Lake Michigan. We drove along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which is a one way loop with 12 stops to check out along the way. Some are viewpoints and others are short hiking trails. A few of my favorite stops included:
Stop 1 – Covered Bridge
Photogenic wooden bridge.
Stop 4 – Cottonwood Trail
Apparently this is a 0.5 mile loop but we must’ve taken a wrong turn because we hiked much longer but we got some incredible views of the dunes!
Stop 9 & 10 – Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook
By far the most popular stop, this is where you’ll see the insane 450-foot dunes that drop straight down to Lake Michigan. The photos truly don’t capture how steep the dunes are! We did NOT climb to the bottom but you’re more than welcome too – just know it’s a hefty fine if you have to be rescued!
Also – isn’t it crazy that this is a LAKE?? It looks like the ocean!
On our way back to Traverse City, we stopped at Moomer’s – a cute little ice cream shop on a dairy farm. Definitely a great little stop!
We spent the evening exploring downtown Traverse City – there’s tons of cute shops you can check out. I loved Cherry Republic – a cute little gift shop with all the cherry things you could imagine! We grabbed dinner at Taproot Cider House and tried out some cherry ciders, an apple grilled cheese, and a cherry bbq chicken pizza (it’s the cherry capital, so we had to try all the cherry flavored things!).
We spend our last evening relaxing at our dome home by the campfire…and of course more s’mores were enjoyed!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I didn’t really know what to expect from Michigan – and honestly, it wasn’t even on my travel radar – but I’m so glad we made the trip! It was really beautiful, and I love that we got to explore a few different parts of the state. Our long weekend felt like the perfect mix of chill and adventure.
– Courtney
check out these michigan mini vlogs on youtube
hardys on holiday 