10/13/2025
Michigan 2025 Summary
2497 miles, give or take a few
7 states counting Missouri.
3 Great Lakes & a dozen or so waterfalls & even more lighthouses
More sand than I ever thought Michigan had
Amazing Aurora Borealis
The best parts - the weather, the crystal clear water, the state parks and the locals we met along the way! We planned for colder Michigan weather, instead we were given beautiful summer/fall temps. Michigan locals thought it was hot. One small shower on a day we really didn't want rain, but we made it through. And one overnight storm on our way through Wisconsin.
Fall colors were on point, lake water is so clear & cold, stuck my feet in all 3 great lakes. Bought us the annual pass for Michigan State parks and America the Beautiful Pass for National parks because we fell in love with all of them.
Lower Michigan ~ We visited Indiana Sand Dunes National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline plus a few smaller city parks to see the dunes & Lake Michigan up close. We followed Lake Michigan Circle Tour for the most part. Off the major interstates, visiting small towns along the way.
Once we reached Mackinaw City, before crossing "The Bridge", we took the ferry to Mackinac Island. No cars on this island (except an ambulance we saw). The island smelled like horses. Not a fan. We spent the day strolling the historical fort area and eating some amazing brussel sprouts at Great Turtle (2 thumbs up!). Then a bit on the Lake Huron Circle Tour to Cheybogan
Upper Peninsula ~ Yooper Land, UP North, our destination. When they say cell service is limited, believe them. There were more areas of no service here than in all of Alaska. Most of UP was closing down for the season & preparing for winter, even though it was unusually warm. The Upper Peninsula has so many beautiful waterfalls. We were only ble to visited a few. Tahquamenon Falls is the brown falls (root beer colored), not because it's dirty, but because of tannins. Miners Falls in Munising. Bond Falls, Randall's favorite. Alger Falls just down from our campsite, Jacob's Falls & Canyon Falls wrap up the ones I can remember names for. I loved them all. I'm a waterfall fan.
Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. We recommend a sunset cruise. This is the moment it rained on us, so it was cloudy & cold, but still gorgeous. I can only imagine the beauty if it was a clear sunny fall day.
On up to Copper Harbor, this time following the Lake Superior Circle Tour. Every turn & hill produced another "ahh" moment. Again, the colors of their trees were so much better than Missouri. Received a "raw" piece of copper for my birthday from a local. I did not find any in the wild.
And then home, via Wisconsin and Wisconsin cheese curds. Oh my how they taste so much better fresh! Our "squeak" was top notch as the curds we had were made just a few hours before we picked them up.
Our final days were on the Great River Road through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois & Missouri, with a short detour to Mark Twain Lake & the Hermann Missouri.
Overall a great trip! 2 weeks with each other for our 31st wedding anniversary (Oct 15)), and even though we both were sick through most of the trip we still had a great time. It was our first extended vacation in our motorhome. We have a few things to change before our next trip, but we LOVED it!
Join us again on our next adventure, wherever that may take us. As another traveler said, there is so much to see in our great country.
