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Michigan Travel

Perhaps because the waters that virtually surround Michigan lack the salty tang of the ocean, most people do not think of it as a place defined by water. And yet it is. Lying at the heart of the Great Lakes, the state is embraced by four of these five inland seas — Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie.

The lakes are everywhere an inescapable presence: no point in Michigan is more than 85 miles from one of their shores. And the waters also divide the state into two distinct parts. The five-mile-wide Straits of Mackinac separate the Lower Peninsula, with its familiar mitten shape, from the lushly forested Upper Peninsula, which juts out from the northeastern border of Wisconsin.

Michigan's Steamship SS Keewatin

The SS Keewatin, the last of the elegant Great Lakes passenger steamships, is now a floating museum docked in Douglas, Michigan, just across the Kalamazoo River from Saugatuck (see page 62 for more about Saugatuck).

Dutch Winter Fest in Holland, Michigan

If you're looking for a delightful way to usher in the holidays, consider going Dutch--as in Dutch WinterFest.

Held each year here in Holland, Michigan, it celebrates the season with colorful pageantry and old-world charm.

Holland was founded by Dutch settlers in 1847, and its streetscapes reflect their Netherlands heritage, with stepped gable roofs, brick walkways and inlaid tile over doors and windows.

Manistee, Michigan

I never expected to find a time warp on Michigan's western coast. But that's exactly what my husband, Walter, and I found in Manistee several years ago during its Victorian Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend.

Charlevoix, Michigan

Each year, our travel plans include a stop in Charlevoix, Michigan, home to art galleries, gift shops, cafes--and mushroom buildings.

Yes, you read correctly! Charlevoix features 26 unusual residential and commercial buildings designed and built by Earl Young, a local architect and real estate agent. The cozy-looking structures are built out of stone and feature low, curved rooflines.