Michigan and a couple of Great Lakes

Jim started planning this route for us last spring 2025. We like to travel the end of August and September. The crowds are gone (except Labor Day) so campsites are easier, traffic is lighter… all good for our mode of travel! We decided to start in Wisconsin near Green Bay where our former Billings friends Erin and Ryan live. They graciously said we could keep our vehicle at their house for the month we would be cycling.

So the route takes us north from Suamico Wisconsin following Lake Michigan north into Michigan through Marinette, Escanaba, Manistique (in the Upper Peninsula) and then at the uppermost part we turn south to cross the famous Mackinaw Bridge into Mackinac City. The we’ll follow the east Lake Michigan shoreline south through Traverse City as far as Muskegon. From Muskegon we head north east to Bay City on Lake Huron. We will head along the Lake Huron shoreline (up “the thumb”) for a ways before we circle back west toward Saginaw, Grand Rapids, northwest to Holland then north along the shoreline of Lake Michigan to Ludington. From Ludington we catch a ferry across Lake Michigan to Manitiwoc, Wisconsin and head north west to Green Bay and Suamico. We are expecting about 30 days. Our travel mode is the usual camping, motels and hopefully WarmShowers. My brother Paul (who lives in Billings, MT) will be joining us in the early days of our trip for a week or so).