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Ever heard of the “third coast?” That’s “up north” speak for the Great Lakes coastal areas, but to my mind, the term conjures magical Michigan. For the last 25 years, I’ve spent at least one week of every summer — two weeks when my kids were growing up — on its crystalline shorelines.
In the summertime, the lake water has the clarity and color variations — turquoise, azure, royal blue — you’d expect in the Caribbean. While some Michigan beaches can be rocky, there’s usually sand underneath and plenty to build castles. “Pure Michigan” is the tourism industry’s slogan, and I’ve savored its sensory nuances from fresh cherries to towering white sand dunes to scenic coastal and stream-side bike paths.
When I was a teen, my Ohio-based family headed northward many summers for cooler temperatures, maritime play, and small-town coziness. After I moved to Virginia, got married and had kids, my father died of pancreatic cancer at age 62. My mother, my three siblings and I wanted to ensure we spent rejuvenating quality time together each year. So our mom started renting a house every summer where our family could reunite on Michigan’s lovely shores.
Over the decades, the houses have changed as our families grew, and we started needing two to host us all. We’ve stayed on Lake Michigan (my absolute favorite), Traverse Bay and two stunning inland lakes, Lake Charlevoix and Torch Lake. We also spent a few days on gorgeous Lake Huron.
Many times, we were far enough north that the sun set late over the west-facing expanse of our beach. When I had three children under the age of six, taking long sunset walks along Lake Michigan after I tucked them in kept me sane. I still love watching the colors of the sky — pinks, reds, corals, oranges — change as the sun sinks lower, its beauty reflected by the clear waters.
Michigan native Amy Miller knows exactly what I mean by the state’s irresistible allure. Raised in Detroit, the retired host for WDET, the city’s NPR station, now lives in Beaverton, Michigan, and never imagined she’d settle and retire in her home state.
At age 23, she moved away, with the mindset that she would never return to Michigan as she “wanted to see so many beautiful places across the country.” She moved to Alaska for 17 years and also lived in Florida, Alabama and Missouri. When she got the WDET job, Miller moved back because her parents were in their 70s, which she — "wrongly,” she says — assumed were “their twilight years.” Again, she didn’t expect to stay.
Fast-forward 20 years, her parents are still going strong in their 90s, and Miller has realized that “Michigan is a jewel,” she says.
"It is unlike any other state in the country because we’re surrounded by the Great Lakes, because we have so many natural resources, and because we have such a rich history. I can't imagine ever living anywhere else.”
With more than 3,200 miles of shoreline, Michigan is one of the top states offering a coastal experience. The state boasts “more lighthouses than any other state,” says Miller, which number over 120. Many — like the historic Au Sable Light Station and Little Sable Point lighthouse — make beautiful destinations in themselves. She’s also partial to visiting White Fish Point in the Upper Peninsula, which has its own lighthouse on Lake Superior’s “shipwreck coast” and the small but fascinating Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which has the bell from the steamer Edmund Fitzgerald, the region’s most famous wreck.
Plunging into the water itself can be chilly but invigorating, and as Michigan natives say, their lakes are “unsalted and shark-free,” which makes swimming in them most relaxing. I usually do a steady breast stroke for 30 minutes, simultaneously admiring the horizon of water and shoreline. When the wind is up, you even get white caps on the big lakes.
I find gazing at Lake Michigan’s calm or wavy expanse to be as renewing as any ocean. Instead of shell seekers, we became rock hounds in our many lakeside strolls looking for the distinctive Petoskey stone, a smooth and fossilized coral that’s unique to these parts.
I adore the fresh and locally focused foodie vibe across the state, and most small towns — Leland, Glen Arbor, Ludington and Empire — have New England-esque charms, usually without the crowds. My family is partial to the Leelanau Peninsula, the pinky finger in the oft-used hand map of lower Michigan. Nearby, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a truly stunning national treasure where I’ve hiked repeatedly. It offers a 7-mile scenic drive with jaw-dropping views from high dune overlooks.
Miller also advises visitors to take the ferry to car-free Mackinac Island in Lake Huron, which has a surprising 70 miles of trails in its 3.8 square kilometers, lots of horses and a picturesque historic Grand Hotel. For history buffs, Miller recommends heading to Dearborn to see the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, along with Greenfield Village. She also loves visiting the “midcentury modern town” of Midland, which has the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio tour.
Miller says you can almost always find a treasure-filled backroads path to any destination, and I look forward to discovering new treats each year. This summer, I’ll enjoy watching my first grandchild play in the sand and water as we head to Michigan’s western coast. And I can’t wait for the sunset strolls!
Have any of YOU ever been to Michigan? Did you love it? Let us know in the comments below.
