The Great State of Michigan
Michigan had been a state on our bucket list from the beginning of our travels. We had heard from other RV’ers that it was one of the most beautiful states, and we couldn’t wait to check it out.
Almost two years into our travels, we finally got the opportunity to go.
We had heard summer was the ideal time to visit, but fall is what worked out for us, and we knew seeing the fall foliage in that area would be beautiful as well.
We headed up to the Upper Peninsula first, as we knew the leaves would change their first and temperatures would get colder there first as well. We found out about an opportunity to work at the Michigan beet harvest right before we headed up, so we had to change plans a bit and hurry through the state quicker than originally planned, but we still saw a lot. It was enough to fall in love with the state and ensure a trip back at some point!
The Michigan Upper Peninsula
We only stayed one place in the Upper Peninsula, and it was on a casino’s property- for free! Kewadin Casino in Manistique. They actually have two 30 amp hookups they allow anyone to use, with no time limit! There are many other sites to park in with no hookups, but they did have picnic tables and nice level sites. We enjoyed our time there. It was very quiet and a good place to spend a few nights. It’s first come, first served and they don’t take reservations.
Kitch-iti-Kippi
The first place we explored in the U.P. was Palms Book State Park. The whole reason we wanted to go was to see the beautiful Kitch-iti-Kippi Springs. It was absolutely breathtaking. It’s a natural spring that keeps the water 45 degrees year round. There is a pully system attached to a floating dock where you can self propel yourself and a group of people from one side of the water to the other.
It was a really fun and cool experience, and we’d recommend it to anyone. There’s not much else to do at that state park, but the spring is well worth the drive out. It wasn’t too bust the day we went, but I could see having to wait in line for a while to go out on the floating dock on a busier day.
Pictured Rocks
Our second destination in the U.P. was Pictured Rocks. There are so many different areas of the shoreline to explore, we barely scratched the surface on our one day there. I’d plan to spend multiple days there to really see it all.
Unfortunately, I waited until a little over a week in advance to try and book a boat tour, and they were all sold out, as were the kayak tours as well. Seeing the area from the water is a whole different experience that we will have to wait and enjoy another time!
Munising Falls
First, we hiked to Munising Falls, which was a relatively easy and pretty hike. Our second stop was Miners Castle, which we saw from two different observation decks. After that, we drove over to Miners Beach. This was a beautiful beach where you could see the cliffs and many of the popular features in the area right from the beach. We really enjoyed our time here with our friends, the Smiths!
The Smiths got lucky and scored a water-front site at Munising Tourist Park Campground. We visited them there and got to enjoy a campfire on the beach of Lake Superior, just steps from their rig, which was super cool.
The Lower Peninsula
Wilderness State Park
After our time in the U.P. we headed down to the Lower Peninsula. Our first stop was Wilderness State Park. We absolutely loved this park. It was right on the water, and we enjoyed rock hunting at the beach each day we were there. We got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets too! We had originally planned on taking the ferry over to Macinac Island during our time there, but for various reasons decided to wait until the next Michigan trip to do that. We just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful state park we were in.
Boondockers Welcome in Frankfurt, Michigan.
Our next destination was the Traverse City area. We actually stayed in Frankfurt, at a Boondockers Welcome host’s property. It was absolutely free and he even provided a 30 amp hookup and water! If you haven’t heard of Boondockers Welcome, we highly recommend it! You can read more about it HERE.
The first brewery in the area we visited was Five Shores Brewing. We enjoyed some tasty brews there, and enjoyed the outdoor dining areas they had. We also had a fun time at Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm, which was right down the road. The kids got to feed and pet the alpacas for only $3 each! It was a fun experience. The leaves were changing like crazy, and Aaron sent the drone up a few times to capture all the beauty! October is a great time to visit Michigan.
Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm
In Traverse City, we brought our bikes and biked a good bit of the TART Trails, which we really enjoyed. We hit up a few breweries (Right Brain and Silver Spruce) and ended with dinner at Mama Lu’s, in downtown, which was delicious! We made several stops for the kids to play at a park we passed as well as at Clinch Park downtown, right on the water.
At the beach downtown, Casen found a Petosky Stone! We had been searching for a while, and finally found one. It’s Michigan’s state stone, and it’s only found on the shores of The Great Lakes, so we were all pretty excited!
Sleeping Bear Dunes
Our final day in the area was spent exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was INCREDIBLE. It was probably my favorite thing in Michigan. We stopped in the Visitor Center and grabbed Jr. Ranger booklets for the kids and then headed to hike the Empire Bluff Trail. I cannot recommend this hike enough! It wasn’t super long or difficult, and you had the option of continuing to explore the dunes more once you got to the top. The views were absolutely breathtaking!
Michigan Beet Harvest (pictures to come!)
Our final destination in Michigan was actually a job opportunity that some of our RV friends told us about! Each fall, Michigan farmers harvest their sugar beets and bring them in huge truckloads to different locations of the Michigan Sugar Company. Aaron, and four of our other RV buddies all scored jobs being supervisors at the 2020 harvest! It’s about a month’s work, and the payout is pretty nice.
Most shifts are 12 hours and there are some fast paced days and some slower days. RVers are provided a free RV site with hookups in a local park, and it’s a great way to make some extra cash in a seasonal job! Right now, as I’m writing this, Aaron has worked about 2 weeks and probably has about 2 more weeks to go. If it continues to go well, this might be a yearly thing for us. If you’re interested in learning more, visit https://www.michiganbeetharvest.com/ and if you apply, be sure and put down Aaron Grijalva as your reference, as he will get a referral bonus for sending you their way!
We will put together a more in-depth article about everything the harvest entails and an honest review about what the work was like as soon as it’s over, so check back!
All in all, we love Michigan. Fall was an incredible time to come and explore, but we definitely want to experience summer here too, so we WILL be back!