Michigan Trail Tuesday is our attempt to showcase a different trail or trail segment each week. The Mitten State is home to thousands of miles of trails, including the new Iron Belle Trail that runs from Detroit in the southeast to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula and more miles of the North Country Trail than any other state. Heading home from a trip up north recently, our attention was grabbed by a sign for a nature preserve just south of East Jordan on M-66. The Cosner & Bennett-Barnes Nature Preserve is a beautiful piece of land protected by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Con ..read more

One of our goals for this year with Travel the Mitten was to explore at least two new sculpture parks. We’ve loved previous visits to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Dow Gardens, and Michigan Legacy Art Park, and in April we made a trip up to Elk Rapids to check out the Walk of Art Sculpture Park. We had heard a little bit about this park before visiting, but were blown away by the number of sculptures, the beautiful trails, and the serenity of this well-preserved property that borders Lake Michigan. The Walk of Art Sculpture Park is home to more than 30 sculptures, a network of t ..read more

We love visiting Charlevoix and stopping at the beach, walking out to the lighthouse, dining and shopping downtown, and learning about history. One thing that has always fascinated us were the unique houses in the neighborhood by the beach, which are usually referred to as the Mushroom Houses. These unique homes (as well as a few other buildings in town) were built by master builder Earl Young, who had a very unique way of building homes and a style that has made these houses a point of interest for several decades. In April we finally did a self-guided driving and walking tour to see all of ..read more

When William G. Milliken State Park (then known as Tri-Centennial State Park) was dedicated in May of 2004, it became the first urban park in the Michigan state park system. Detroit made an ideal location for this project, and as we celebrate 20 years of this park we will take a look at its history as well as what it has to offer visitors. Now named for Michigan’s 44th governor, this 31 acre park is home to some amazing trails, a state harbor, and a 63 foot tall lighthouse. The lighthouse at the park is a scaled-down replica of the Tawas Point Lighthouse and is the park’s most recogniza ..read more

Michigan Trail Tuesday is our attempt to showcase a different trail or trail segment each week. The Mitten State is home to thousands of miles of trails, including the new Iron Belle Trail that runs from Detroit in the southeast to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula and more miles of the North Country Trail than any other state. We visited five of the preserves in the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy collection last year, and recently had the chance to check out another one of their properties. Portman Nature Preserve in Paw Paw has two miles of trails that pass through woods and ..read more

We don’t always have to travel far to find a great park for a short and scenic walk, and Heritage Park in Grandville has become one of our local parks. This park is located close to I-196 and the Rivertown Crossings mall and offers a scenic walking trail, a fishing pier, a basketball court, a disc golf course, a playground, and a historic schoolhouse. If you’re looking for a beautiful park that’s fun for the whole family, Heritage Park has you covered. The walking trail at the park circles around a pond that is usually full of ducks and geese. We’ve also seen a heron here and many other smal ..read more

Michigan Roadside Attractions on Travel the Mitten highlights our attempts to explore the many interesting things that can be found on the highways, byways and back roads of Michigan, ranging from the interesting to the unusual. Portland, the “City of Two Rivers” in Ionia County, is home to several historic bridges and a handful of beautiful parks. It also offers many great opportunities for outdoor recreation. One of its parks is home to a statue honoring canoeing legend Verlen Kruger, who spent many hours paddling the Grand River in the area. If you haven’t heard of Krug ..read more

Fresh off two big Michigan wins in USA Today 10 Best Reader’s Choice polls (Ludington for Best Historic Small Town and Saugatuck for Best Coastal Small Town), a favorite vacation destination has a chance to be named Best Summer Travel Destination in the country. Mackinac Island is one of 20 finalists in this contest, as it draws praise for its history, natural features, recreation opportunities, and downtown shops. We love visiting this beautiful island in Lake Huron and wholeheartedly agree that it deserves to be in the conversation for best summer travel destination! Today we’ll take a look ..read more

Michigan Trail Tuesday is our attempt to showcase a different trail or trail segment each week. The Mitten State is home to thousands of miles of trails, including the new Iron Belle Trail that runs from Detroit in the southeast to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula and more miles of the North Country Trail than any other state. Just 15 minutes from downtown Kalamazoo, the Lillian Anderson Arboretum features trails that have been popular with locals for decades for good reason. We recently made our first visit to this beautiful 140-acre property, and were blown away by the towering trees ..read more

Port Huron is home to many great parks and outdoor areas, but the one we find ourselves coming back to the most is Lighthouse Beach and Park. Here you can visit the historic Fort Gratiot Lighthouse (Michigan’s oldest lighthouse), enjoy a sandy and accessible beach on Lake Huron, look for rocks in the water and along the beach, watch freighters go by, let the kids check out the playground, or spend some time enjoying a picnic. We recently picked this as our spot to watch the 2024 solar eclipse from and it proved to be a scenic and perfect spot – it was cool to see the light in the lighthouse t ..read more