Outdoor Book Club - Women Who Love Books + the Outdoors
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Book Club Schedule
  • Contact

Outdoor Book Club Blog 

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

Love letter to Michigan: 27 quirky ideas to express your love of the Mitten

5/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I love Michigan. I love living here, I love raising my kids here, I love that I get to host the Outdoor Book Club here and I love vacationing here. Michigan offers an amazing range of cultural, natural and environmental treasures: long winding roads through orchards and glacier-carved mountains, an Upper Peninsula where the woods look the same as when Hemingway fished there, and rivers teeming with fish and spirit. Michigan is essentially an outdoor adventurer's paradise.

But the people are pretty great too. I graduated from high school in Troy, but now make my home on the west side of the state in Grand Rapids, and have felt at home in both places. The combination of blue-collar honesty plus the focused creativity and fostering of entrepreneurship makes Michigan one of the best places on earth. Seriously.

Still need convincing that Michigan has cornered the market when it comes to awesome? Here's a list of places and activities you can only do in Michigan, mostly in the summer and fall, that proves it:

  1. Go on a Crystal River rafting trip. You and he whole family can splash through its gentle currents and explore its winding curves.
  2. Drive a dune buggy or ATV through the Silver Lake sand dunes.
  3. Beaver Island is the largest island in Michigan and can only be reached by plane or ferry. Fun fact: it's often called the Emerald Isle, a nod to the island's original Irish population.
  4. Mackinac Island — The ultimate "Up North" Michigan tourism location. Go beyond fudge and bicycles and spend some time getting to know the fort and back side of the island.
  5. Get your zen on  this summer with yoga on Belle Isle.
  6. Fall down the dune climb in Sleeping Bear Dunes. Try not to face plant, but realize we all do it (at least if we've really put our hearts into it).
  7. Hunt for Petoskey stones.
  8. Look for agates near Lake Superior (ignore the fact that this link on how to find agates is from a Minnesota paper — everyone knows Michigan has the best agates).
  9. Hike the Porkies.
  10. Hear wolves on Isle Royale, Michigan's only national park.
  11. Tour a copper mine (pick axe optional).
  12. Ooo and ahhh at the musical fountain in Grand Haven — Vegas has nothing on this lakeshore treasure.
  13. Bike the orchards along the Macomb Orchard Trail.
  14. See a concert at Interlochen.
  15. Stand halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
  16. Wine trails! 
  17. Zip line! Enjoy the amazing views of Lake Charlevoix from six tree-top platforms.
  18. Go on a culinary tour of Michigan's amazing farm-to-table food.
  19. Hang out with your dog at the Grand Haven Dog Beach.
  20. Meet a cow on a Country Dairy tour.
  21. Plan a college reunion float trip!
  22. Try your hand at a flight simulator at the AirZoo.
  23. Go back in time at Fort Mackinac.
  24. Dive shipwrecks in the great lakes.
  25. Go to race car driving school.
  26. Take amazing photographs on a guided Great Lakes photo tour.
  27. Book an eco-tour to experience the biologically unique habitats, wildlife and natural beauty in the UP.


What about you? Share how you love the state you're in with your favorite Michigan outdoors activities in the comments below.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Jill Hinton Wolfe,

    Chief Heroine

    I love helping women discover their inner heroines.

    NOTE: Affiliate products are clearly marked with an asterisk (*) and you can always ignore the link and go straight to the company website if you prefer. Or... if you enjoy this site, buying through my affiliate links is a great way to support my efforts get more women outdoors & reading :)

    Jill's books

    Kindle Bestseller Publishing: Write a Bestseller in 30 Days!
    Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
    Dumplin'
    Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message
    News of the World
    The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters
    Summary of Essentialism: by Greg McKeown | Includes Key Takeaways and Analysis
    Dolores Claiborne
    An American Marriage
    The Shining
    Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying
    Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
    Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
    Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
    Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Live a Healthy Life!
    Exit West
    This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
    Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel
    Educated
    Summary of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: by Mark Manson | Includes Key Takeaways & Analysis


    Jill Wolfe's favorite books »

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Backpacking
    Book Club
    Books
    Celebrities
    Gear
    Inspiration
    Michigan
    Mountain Biking
    Outdoors
    Planning
    Reviews
    Skills
    Travel
    Video
    Women

    Archives

    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013

©2019 Outdoor Book Club Terms of Service
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Book Club Schedule
  • Contact