Lake Michigan is the only one of the five Great Lakes that lies entirely within the United States border, making the Lake Michigan loop an easy and accessible road trip for any midwest traveler. We began our loop in Madison, WI, and headed south around the lake through Chicago traffic before making our first stop at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI.
Bell’s Eccentric Cafe — Kalamazoo, MI
No trip is complete without a stop at a local brewery, and Kalamazoo, MI, happens to one of the best in the nation. This stop took us a little ways off the lake loop, but it was well worth the detour. Bell’s Brewery is known for its popular Oberon citrus wheat ale. You can enjoy the original Oberon or try out a flight of some of their many variations. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Flamingo Fruit Fight which is a tart ale flavored with passionfruit and lime. And you can’t go wrong with the food either!
New Holland Brewing — Holland, MI
Making our way back to our route, we made our next stop at New Holland Brewing for a few drinks and a nice walk around the town of Holland. While the soft pretzel appetizer left something to be desired, the Lost Dune blueberry ale was in my Top 10. Ethan is a big fan of their Dragon’s Milk series, so we made sure to stop in the gift shop for a souvenir glass. We didn’t have enough time to visit the tulip fields nearby, but if you’re making the trip, I’d highly recommend it as they look beautiful.
Empire, MI
This charming little village lies along the Lake Michigan shoreline and is the closest village to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Our first day of camping in the area was on the rainy side, so we spent most of it walking around and checking out the local shops. We stopped at Shipwreck Cafe which quickly became our favorite lunch spot. We also checked out The Misers Hoard Antiques and Nature Walk Studios, both of which were rather charming and had cute little knick-knacks. Knick-knacks or not, the owners of the antique store are well worth a visit in their own right just to hear about all their travel stories. Very pleasant people.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, MI
There are three national lakeshores in the United States, Sleeping Bear Dunes was the most recently established in 1970. This lakeshore is named for an Anishinaabe traditional oral story about a mother bear and her two cubs. The story is told that the mother led her two cubs from Wisconsin across the lake to Michigan where the two cubs drowned before reaching the Michigan shore. The two cubs surfaced as the North and South Manitou Islands. The mother bear waded ashore and now watches over her two cubs from the dunes.
The dunes of Sleeping Bear boast magnificent views of the Lake Michigan shoreline, especially from Empire Bluff Trail. With many trails to choose from, this lakeshore is a beautiful destination with cultural attractions as well.
Mackinac Island, MI
As a spontaneous addition to our lake loop, we ventured into Lake Huron for a brief stop at Mackinac Island. We visited Fort Mackinac, where we watched a rifling firing, and walked over to the Grand Hotel. We visited the shops along Market Street and ate lunch at The Great Turtle Brewery. Although we only had a couple hours to enjoy the island, there is much to see that we’ll need to come back for.
This time around the lake, we only had time for Michigan stops, but next time we make the loop we’ll plan for some extra stops in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin shoreline. Looking forward to making another trip around the lake.
kpctravels.com 