Northern Michigan honeymoon help
We also spent part of our honeymoon in Northern Michigan.
We spent a night at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac - expensive but totally worth the experience.
Congrats. Our friends own Harold's Resort on Spider Lake. It's about 10 miles from TC right on the water. Beatiful foilage in the Fall. Great rates for the cabins. You're right on the lake. You can rent pontoons and stuff. Minutes from exceptional dining and wine tours. Check out their link:
You did not state your specific likes or interests. So for variety sake, here's a more natural and scenic approach.
I'm a camper, canoer/kayaker, hiker, nature lover. When I'm traveling long distances (New York State, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, circum Lake Superior) I only camp 2 nights in one spot and keep moving.
Height of fall colors occur a couple of weeks earlier up north. I like the fall colors when some green is still part of the mix. That means no naked trees. Early October for upper lower P.
Height of the tourist season up north ends at Labor Day so check times and availability.
Ludington State Park
Dunes along Lake Michigan with hiking trails. Huge park. 400 campsites
Mackinaw City
Rustic Cabins are available at Wilderness State Park
Colonial Michilimackinac - 18th century restored large wood stockade fort and fur trading village
Historic Mill Creek Discovery State Park - crafts and operating saw mill
M119 tunnel of trees scenic drive from Cross Village to Harbor Springs
Traverse City / Leelanau Penisula
Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore - Pierce Stocking Drive M109 - scenic drive with many turnouts and views: hiking available. Dune hiking and new bike path along M22.
Canoeing on the Jordan River - 1, 2, or 3HR easy canoeing river in scenic wilderness area start at Graves Crossing SFCG
Close UP (60 M from Mackinac City)
Upper & Lower Taquamenon Falls - rent canoe or rowboat to take to island at lower falls
Whitefish Point - lighthouse and museum at historical treacherous point on Lake Superior
Stop to buy and eat smoked fish and pasties (traditional meat, potato, and rutabaga pies eaten by miners in the UP)
Mackinac Island (day trip w/ ferry)
only if you like overly touristy little shopping village w/ horse drawn carriages - not my cup of tea. It does have a stone-walled fort, Fort Mackinac and the Grand Hotel Resort (real pricy but can be toured for a price)
Distant UP
Munising (124 M from Mackinac City) - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - 3 HR scenic boat cruise of Lake Superior rocky cliff coastline colorfully stained by minerals.
Waterfalls - the UP has over a 100 of them. See book "A guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls" by Penrose.
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If you want water and to see sites, Mackinaw City is the place to go. You could head up to the UP (mosquitos should not be a problem in the fall) for a day and check out Tahquamenon Falls. Oswald Bear Ranch is also a cool place to visit up there. Petoskey is less than an hour south with great views of Little Traverse Bay. If you want to see some of the most beautiful scenery in Michigan, check out the "Tunnel of Trees" on M-119 Between Harbor Springs and Cross Village on your way back to Mackinaw City. Hotels are great, but condos and houses are easily rentable up there too.
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Yeah, good choice.
On a bye-week. In retrospect, it was a great decision. The weather in late September is still very nice, warm; it's often drier and more predictable than spring and summer.
As it happened, the weather for our wedding featured crystal-clear blue skies, though it was unseasonably cold, even for Michigan - temp in the morning was in the low 40s. But considering the number of weddings I've attended with cold rain, we were very fortunate.
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on a honeymoon. fly-fishing, bird-hunting, white water rafting, skiing, jet-boating were part of ours. and you can certainly fly-fish and bird hunt on drummond.
about 15 minutes SE of TC. Not cheap, but very nice. just jot a note below if you'd like info. Also, I love Sutton's Bay.
My family has a cabin in the eastern UP, so we are up there often and know the area well. My wife and I really like that environment though, so we chose somewhere that was similar, but off our "beaten path". We rented a lake house right on Lake Superior in Lutsen, MN. We took food, and my wife did the cooking (I realize this sounds unrealistic, but she truly enjoys it). We went sight seeing a couple times (water falls, lighthouse), but owtherwise we were able to be seculded for about 6 days, very relaxing. Loved hearing the waves at night.
It sounds like your going right at the end of August/start of September. That's a great time for northern Michigan. It's starting to get a little cold at night, but you can still have some very beautiful days, the bugs have died down, and the lakes have had all summer to warm up.
Congrats and enjoy!
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It can be expensive - but renting a house that's on one of the great lakes with a beautiful view is a nice way to do it. You can hang out at the house relaxing with a view if you don't feel like going out - or it gives you a nice home base to go out and see/do other things from. There are usually a lot of options on VRBO. Depending on how much you pay, you can get one without close neighbors - feels like you have a beach/great lake to yourself.
The Inn at Bay Harbor is simply incredible. It's also half-way between Petoskey and Charlevoix, and about 30 min from hiking and other outdoor activities at Boyne Mountain.
If you'd rather stay in downtown Petoskey (which is a great place), consider Stafford's Perry Hotel. Great views of Little Traverse Bay and you can walk everywhere in town.
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Make that your home base. Take a day trip up to Houghton and up the Keweenaw Penisula. There are some great breweries up that way if that's your thing.
If you're up for the U.P. and seeing a couple different things:
- Spend a day in the Soo and take a boat ride through the locks
- Head to Munising and take a sunset cruise to see Pictured Rock
- Check out Marquette - awesome up North town
- Hike Tahquamenon Falls for a day
- And a couple days on Mackinac Island
Can't go wrong...
Go south instead. Or if you're feeling saucy go to Marquette. Good microbrewery's, party with college kids, hike some trails/hills, and gamble.
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How long are planning? What do you like to do (sightseeing, drinking, hiking, sailing, etc)? What is your budget?
There are many fantastic things to do "Up North". You could spend 2 weeks in NW lower Michigan and still not have seen or done everything you want to do. If you want to voyage to the UP, that will be even more dependent on your interests. if you are hikers, bikers, kayakers etc, you could spend a week or two in the UP easily (and that doesn't count Mackinac Island).
But Suttons Bay is a really beautiful place. I've spent a decent amount of time up there and have been considering it as my own honeymoon destination in the near future..