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Trips around Lake Michigan give you the unique opportunity to explore over 1,600 miles of the American Midwest! Covering the upper peninsula and mainland Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Indiana and Illinois – you can hit four states in five days for a great, low-cost fall vacation!
Guest Post by Robert Lampros
Taking some time for this trip during September, October, or November will give the best opportunity to see great fall colors at wide range through the states and all the way up to the northern edge of the country. Our itinerary focuses on outdoor exploration out of Chicago and includes camping, hiking, and lots of coffee shops.
We’ll embark first by heading north from the city, through Wisconsin for a long drive day to get to the upper peninsula! Then we’ll explore a few places in the UP before heading over the Mackinaw bridge and spending a night outside of Traverse City, Michigan, and head back to Chicago to close out our five-day vacation.
Lake Michigan Round Trip Day 1: Through Wisconsin We Go!
Day one is a driving day with the option to stop in either Milwaukee or Green Bay along the way! Our destination is our campsite so the earlier you can leave, the better, in order to try to make it with a little light left to set up camp!
Milwaukee, WI
A little under two hours from Chicago, you’ll come to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where you could stop for breakfast or brunch. You’re still about 4.5 hours away from the campground so leaving by noon at the latest is going to be your best bet.
There are two great breakfast spots right off the highway to keep you moving through the day!
The National Café
Open Thursday through Sunday at 8:30a – The National is just south of downtown Milwaukee where they make everything from scratch and have a diverse menu from a full English breakfast to huevos rancheros, to what they call the ‘ultimate’ breakfast sandwich. They even have vegan options!
Engine Company 3
This restaurant offers a tapas brunch starting at 8:30a every Wednesday through Sunday. A unique breakfast that you’ll actually be willing to wait for the two-hour drive for (instead of just hitting up McDonald’s on the way out of town)! Featuring dishes from all across the world, Engine Company really highlights Wisconsin ingredients for classic cheese curds, a locally sourced meat omelet, fresh bakery toast, and more. You can even explore a map of their farmers on their website!
Green Bay, WI
If you skip Milwaukee and take the extra hour to head straight to Green Bay, you should get there right around lunchtime. The Narrow Bridge Brewhouse is a good option for a variety of dishes like pizza, cauliflower wings, burgers, & sandwiches!
As you head out of Green Bay, you’ll reach the state line and enter the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!
Indian Lake State Park
Less than three hours from Green Bay you’ll reach Indian Lake State Park! This Park has ample campgrounds directly on the lake that give incredible sunsets and light background noise of the waves lapping against the rocks. Set up camp and then head into town to stock up and find dinner!
The campground offers firewood and ice, but you’ll want to head to nearby Manistique for your food. The best grocery store in town is Jack’s Fresh Market, just on the other side of this small town from the campground. We’re a big fan of the classic hot dog on a stick for our first day at the campground since they’re so easy and you don’t need much equipment or dirty many dishes!
At Jacks – you might notice a freestanding hot station filled with foil packages. These are pasties! Pronounced past-ee, they are savory meals inside of pastry dough. The grocery store makes a different kind each day and they will fill you up like an entire meal. We’d also recommend the chocolate donuts that Jack’s bakery bakes.
Lake Michigan Round Trip Day 2: Exploring the Upper Peninsula
Time to explore!
Manistique, MI
After making breakfast at the campsite (we opted for a diner-style egg breakfast skillet over the fire) – head into see a little more of Manistique! Check out the student-run coffeehouse called The Grind for local roasts and an opportunity to support the Manistique area schools.
The road leading to Jacks has multiple parks and a long walking path alongside Lake Michigan. You can park in any of the small lots bordering the road for an out and back walk that takes you by the local lighthouse and ends at the boat marina.
Escanaba, MI
A town you passed through on the way to Indian Lake, Escanaba is another small town in the UP that is worth exploring the shops and lakefront for beautiful views!
Lake Michigan Round Trip Day 3: Exploring the Upper Peninsula (Part II)
Palms Book State Park
Palms Book is home to a very special lake. Lake Kitch-iti-kipi is a pristine spring-fed lake that with a small boat to view the underwater gushes and churning sand as ten thousand gallons pour from under the lake every minute! This Park can get a little crowded, so a weekday visit is recommended wherever possible.
The lake forms a small river that winds out of view through the pine trees. The boat is hand operated and available for groups to take across and back to get a fantastic view of the entire lake and river.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
For a chance to see Lake Superior and access some great hiking trails – drive about an hour north of Indian Lake to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore! There are a lot of access points to choose from and multiple trails leading to waterfalls. The Miners Castle Overlook is the most popular point in the park and offers three different vantage points of the rock formation.
Plan for more small hikes as the majority of the trails are 3 miles or less (most are under 1 mile). You can really spend all day at the national lakeshore and then either find dinner in nearby Munising or head back to the campsite!
Lake Michigan Round Trip Day 4: Returning to Mainland Michigan
Now that we’ve spent two days running around the Upper Peninsula, it’s time to head down the east side of the lake and cross back onto Mainland Michigan. Wake up and take down camp as we’ve got 3 and a half hours of driving to do!
Mackinaw
The highlight of the day is Mackinaw Bridge. This bridge connects the two sides of the state and if you look east, you’ll see Lake Huron too! That makes 3 great lakes in one trip! There is a roadside exit just before the bridge that gives you a great view before you leave the upper peninsula.
On the other side of the bridge, you’ll find Mackinaw City – known for ice cream and fudge, you might want to take some time to stop off and explore the town a little bit!
The Lakeside Route
Your GPS is going to try to take you along route 75 but it’s time to trust your directional senses to deviate from the GPS and take state highway 31. While adding a little time to the route, you’ll be able to go alongside the lake the majority of the time, soaking in as much of lake Michigan as you can! You’ll pass through a number of small towns along the way that you wouldn’t hit if you took the interstate the whole way!
Rennie Orchard
Round out this fall vacation with a trip to the apple orchard! Rennie Orchard is just off the state highway and adds almost no extra time to the lakeside route. The orchard has fantastic Michigan Honeycrisps as well as other fall activities like hayrides!
Lodging
Either keep camping using any number of state parks outside Traverse City, search around for some cabin camping, or check out Hipcamp where we were able to find a fun restored 70’s trailer to slowly transition from camping to the big city again. This gave us a chance to really freshen up before the final drive home!
Lake Michigan Round Trip Day 5: Making the Drive Home Fun!
The time has come for the five-hour drive from Traverse City to Chicago but that doesn’t mean you have to go straight home! And if Chicago is not home for you, check out the best areas to stay in Chicago!
John Ball Zoo
Inside Grand Rapids is the John Ball Zoo! This zoo is great for all ages and gives you a chance to see some wildlife if you scared them all away at Indian Lake! The forest realm has a tiger walk where tigers can go near the path and roam between multiple areas.
Other than the animals, the park is home to the ‘funicular’ which is a monorail/tram that runs up and down the hill to the forest realm, so you don’t have to walk all the way back once you reach the corner of the park!
Conclusion
Driving around Lake Michigan is an unforgettable experience that any Chicagoan or midwestern tourist should try at least once in their life!
Robert Lampros
Midwest CampingRobert is the co-founder of Midwest Camping. He has spent a month backpacking the Appalachian Trail and has another combined six months of camping under his belt from throughout his life.
Midwest camping is an up and coming Chicago-based site devoted to providing travelers information about the best campsites and camping gear in the midwest!
www.midwestcamping.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CampingMidwest
Looking for more camping ideas? Check out the 10 Best Camping Sites in Texas!
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Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. As an empty-nester, Annick enjoys sharing her tips for traveling for those with champagne taste and beer budgets.