Great Lakes and Sand Dunes
WRITTEN SEP 19, 2026
8 days and 9 nights | July 2025
Last summer, we shook up our usual vacation plans. Instead of spending a week at the beach along the Gulf, we headed Up North into Michigan.
We beat the heat, picked cherries, rode bikes, did some fishing, wandered through small towns, and spent plenty of time in and around the water.
There are so many coastal areas to choose from in Michigan, and late summer is a popular time to visit. We chose to make our home base on a small inland lake and take day trips throughout the week, usually within an hour or two of the house.
If you don’t mind spending some time in the car, this is a great way to experience several different parts of the region. If driving isn’t your idea of a vacation, choosing one town along the coast and staying put would probably be the better option.
Our Itinerary at a Glance
Friday July 4th
Drive from Nashville to South Bend, Indiana
South Bend Cubs Minor League Baseball Game
Saturday July 5th
Drive to Bellaire, Michigan
Dinner and Ice Cream in Bellaire
Short’s Brewing Company
Ruthie’s Chicken and Dairy Twist
Check In to our Airbnb on Intermediate Lake
Evening of fishing and swimming
Sunday July 6th
Free Day around Bellaire and Central Lake
Rainy morning at Brownwood Acres – general store and donuts
Monday July 7th
Sleeping Bear Dunes
Glen Arbor
Lunch at the River Club
Mini Golf
Glen Haven Beach
Evening at our Airbnb
Tuesday July 8th
King Orchards – Cherry Picking
Fishing and Swimming at the House
Antrim Creek Natural Area – rock hunting and wading
Wednesday July 9th
Grand Traverse Bay Fishing Charter
Free afternoon at the Airbnb
Antrim Creek Natural Area
Thursday July 10th
Mackinac Island
Schepler’s Enhanced Ferry Tickets
Mackinac Wheels Bike Rentals
Cannonball Oasis Snack Center
Murray Hotel Fudge
Friday July 11th
Charlevoix
Fishing – Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse
Swimming – Michigan Beach Park
Browsing the shops
Lunch – The Back Lot Food Truck Park
Antrim Creek Natural Area – fishing and rock hunting
Saturday July 12th
Drive to Chicago for a one night stay
Field Museum
Sunday July 13th
Drive Home
Getting There
The drive to Bellaire, Michigan, from our home near Nashville is about 12 hours. We chose to split it into two days of driving over the 4th of July holiday, driving about eight hours the first day and stopping for a night in South Bend, Indiana.
South Bend was pretty quiet this time of year and there was not a whole lot going on. We bought tickets to a minor league Cubs game for that night. The park was very nice, but the weather was so hot and the air was so still that I didn’t make it the whole game. A few of the kids and I headed back to the hotel to cool off.
The next morning, we took our time grabbing breakfast before getting back on the road to make our way toward Bellaire.
Bellaire, Michigan
Bellaire is a very small inland town in the northwestern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Our Airbnb was a short drive from town, on a lake called Intermediate Lake.
When we first arrived, we spent some time on Bridge Street, a cute old main street lined with shops and restaurants.
Short’s Brewing Company was our late lunch early/dinner stop on the way into town. It was a great spot with plenty of seating for our group of 9. We shared a couple of pizzas and salads and vowed to return at least once during our stay.
After dinner, we wandered through a few shops and stopped at Ruthie’s Chicken and Dairy Twist for dessert. It’s a cute little local ice cream shop with sundaes and soft serve.
We spotted an old Cinema while walking through town and started scheming about returning for a movie night during our week. Somehow, we never made that happen.
Before checking into the house, we stopped at Merrie’s Market for groceries. It’s small but well stocked, and we were able to find most everything on our list.
Then we headed to the lake.
We spent our first evening getting settled, fishing from the dock, and enjoying the crisp, cool air around the fire.
Free Days around Bellaire
We planned a few day trips in advance, but we also intentionally left ourselves some free days to hang around the house, relax, and enjoy the slower pace.
Our Airbnb came equipped with a canoe, kayaks, and a paddle boat, along with a small dock. The lake was a manageable size for the kids to get out and paddle or fish most every day.
The boys discovered a school of longnose gar that they followed around with their fishing poles. It was very exciting when they finally caught one.
During the day, we took some floats into the water. In the evenings, the dock became the fishing spot while we built a fire on the shore.
Overall, we had an amazing week of weather. Although the water was chilly, it never kept us from wading or floating on a sunny day.
On these free days, we also explored some of the nearby areas.
Brownwood Acres
One rainy morning, we made our way to Brownwood Acres. There were a few craft vendors set up behind a general store selling jams, jellies and candies along with another small house serving fresh donuts.
We came ill prepared for the situation.
The rain got harder. The grounds got muddier. There were only a couple of small buildings to take cover in. The donut line was much longer than expected and it wasn’t moving quickly. And it was also cash only.
We managed to scrape enough cash together to buy one box of donuts, and once we committed to the line, we weren’t bailing.
We brought the donuts home to share, and no one could deny that a fresh donut was a great reward for braving the rain.
Cherry Picking at King Orchards
Driving through the countryside around Bellaire and throughout the peninsula was beautiful. I was especially surprised by the number of cherry orchards tucked along the country roads.
Thankfully, we happened to be visiting during cherry season, so on a day with much better weather, we made our way to King Orchards, only about 10 minutes from our Airbnb.
I loved our afternoon there.
The trees were hanging full of picture-perfect cherries, and the farm store was packed with cherry products, souvenirs, and a donut counter.
We were certain we had picked way too many cherries, but we proceeded to eat every single one without issue.
Antrim Creek Natural Area
Another favorite activity on our days around Bellaire was finding new fishing and wading spots.
While we were at the orchard, one of the staff recommended we visit Antrim Creek Natural Area. We were so grateful for the recommendation because we ended up returning there many evenings during our stay.
The rocky shore was perfect for rock hunting, and we found several Petoskey and Charlevoix stones. The water stayed ankle deep for quite a ways out, making it an easy place to wade, look for fish, and let the kids explore.
And the sunsets were incredible.
Sleeping Bear Dunes and Glen Arbor
Sleeping Bear Dunes was one of the day trips that we had decided was a “must-do” for the week. It was about an hour and a half from the house and required only a little pre-planning.
We purchased a national park pass before our trip at recreation.gov . The pass was valid for a week, which gave us some flexibility to choose the day of our visit based on the weather.
We went on a Monday morning, and the crowds weren’t bad.
The climb was fun, and the dunes were such a unique experience. It’s hard to comprehend how large they are until you’re standing on them.
Once we climbed the face, we spent most of our time letting the kids explore the rolling hills at the top and finding lookout points with views of the lake in the distance.
We had been warned by plenty of people – and plenty of signs along the climb – not to descend the dunes all the way to the lake. We didn’t even make it far enough to worry about that.
All our time was spent on the first few hills and wandering along the winding paths that branched off from the main trail.
After the dunes, we drove into Glen Arbor.
Glen Arbor is an adorable small town with a handful of restaurants and shops. Looking back, I wish we had walked around and explored a little more while we were there.
We parked and walked up to The River Club for lunch and mini golf. The weather was ideal for sitting outside and watching kayakers float by on the river. It was a great family-friendly spot and a nice way to enjoy the fresh air on a gorgeous summer day.
We had gone back and forth about scheduling a Platte River float trip while we were in the area. We weren’t accustomed to the cool summer temperatures and worried that it would be too cold, so ultimately we abandoned the idea.
Later, we learned that the Platte River is relatively shallow and tends to be warmer in late summer.
We’ll put that one back on the list for next time.
I had considered booking the float trip with Riverside Canoes, which offers both a one-hour and a two to three hour float trip.
After our lunch in Glen Arbor, we fit in some beach time at Glen Haven Beach on Lake Michigan before making the drive back to our house for the evening.
Fishing on Traverse Bay
Another activity we planned ahead of time was a fishing charter on Grand Traverse Bay.
The dads woke up early one morning and took 4 of the kids out for a half-day fishing trip. They came home with several large lake trout – enough for a couple of meals at the house, plus more to bring home to Tennessee.
Our families don’t pass up fishing opportunities when we travel. The poles come with us wherever we go.
Our kids were wide-eyed at the number of creeks, ponds, and lakes we passed on our drives around Michigan, and they checked several new species off their lists while we were there.
A Day on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is one of Michigan’s most popular destinations. It is well known for being car-free, with visitors arriving by ferry and getting around the island by bike or horse-drawn carriage.
The Grand Hotel is an iconic resort on the island, and visitors can purchase admission to visit the property for the day. You can also wander through the village and sample fudge from one of the many shops wafting the smells of chocolate out onto the sidewalks.
We left with a box of fudge from Murray’s Hotel after a nice family on the ferry told us it was the best fudge on the island.
Our drive from the house to Shepler’s Ferry was about an hour and a half. We were on a slight time crunch that day because of an unfortunately timed work conference call that couldn’t be rescheduled. We had also been warned to arrive early because of summer crowds.
Despite all of that, we decided not to rush.
We arrived at the ferry in the late morning and took our chances. We did upgrade our ferry tickets to the “enhanced” option because we didn’t know what to expect with the lines and needed to make the most of our limited time.
That turned out to be helpful for us. We were able to bypass a very long line for our return trip from the island.
By dumb luck, we snagged the last two parking spots at the ferry and then strolled up to Mackinac Wheels bike shop just in time to rent the last few bikes available for our group.
The ferry dropped us off in the center of the village, which was very crowded. We dodged crowds and horse carriages and abandoned a few coffee shop lines as we made our way to the bike shop.
The village was charming, but I was relieved to hop on the bikes and leave it all behind.
For me, the highlight of Mackinac Island was the bike ride.
I was astounded how blue the water was. The scenery looked more like the Caribbean than a Great Lake.
We made our way around the island, stopping at Cannonball Oasis Snack Center at British Landing about half way through the route.
Luck was truly on our side that day. We rolled up to the snack shop and walked straight to the window to order just as the line behind us began to grow.
We claimed a couple of picnic tables for our group and ate before getting back on the bikes.
We made several stops along the ride at beaches and view points. There are plenty of scenic places to stop along the 8.2 mile route, such as Arch Rock and Devil’s Kitchen.
After returning our bikes, we had a little time to wander through the souvenir shops before loading back onto the ferry for our ride home.
Charlevoix Pier and Yachts
For our last full day in Michigan, we left our options open. We could stay at the house or explore another nearby town – Charlevoix, Petoskey, or Traverse City.
Charlevoix was only about 35 minutes from our house, so it seemed like an easy choice.
We planted ourselves at Michigan Beach and the South Pier Lighthouse.
The pier was a great spot for fishing, and the kids caught several rock bass. The neighboring beach had beautiful, crystal-clear – and very chilly – water for swimming.
While the kids fished and swam, we watched yacht after yacht after yacht pass through the channel from Round Lake to Lake Michigan.
The boats were impressive, to say the least.
The town of Charlevoix was also fun to explore. The streets were lined hanging flower baskets, shops, and cafes, and we stopped to watch the drawbridge raise and lower for the ships passing through.
On a nice day, it would be an easy place to find a cafe, sit outside, and people-watch for an afternoon.
Traveling with a group of 9, 5 of whom are kids, we usually look for easygoing places to eat.
We found a food truck park called The Back Lot for our lunch spot. Local little league teams were filing in while we were there, but there was still plenty of room for our group to spread out and find something for everyone.
Fried fish and sandwiches were enjoyed by all.
Then it was time for one last evening at the house – fishing from the dock and sitting around the fire.
Getting Home
For the drive home, we chose a different route through Chicago.
My son and I had to fly out of Chicago to make it to a disc golf tournament in Kansas, while the rest of friends and family drove home.
It was a long day of travel for everyone.
The group staying in Chicago for the night made a pit stop at the Field Museum before resting up for the long trek home the next day.
What I Would Do Again
Make the Day Trips
I don’t mind time in the car when on a vacation, and the day trips from our base near Bellaire were so enjoyable.
I loved getting to experience the Dunes and several different towns around the peninsula without having to pack up and move every few days.
Stay on a Smaller Inland Lake
Having a small dock in our backyard – and feeling comfortable with the kids paddling around the lake – made for the perfect spot for us.
You will never find me on a jet ski or spending an entire day on a boat, but I love the freedom and ease of being able to paddle straight out from the house, sit on the shore with a good book, or let the kids fish from the dock.
Rent Bikes
The weather was perfect, the landscape was flat, and the scenery was beautiful for our ride around Mackinac Island.
I would absolutely explore the option of biking some other trails around Sleeping Bear Dunes and elsewhere in the area on a future trip.
Things I Would Do Differently
Rethink the Driving Plan
Although it would make for a longer day, I would consider driving the whole way in one day or choosing a different route and stopping point.
Stopping in another Lake Michigan coastal town like South Haven or Saugatuck, could be fun. Planning ahead would be key, since summer is peak season for visiting many of the towns along the coast.
Take the Tubing Trip
We didn’t know any better when we dropped our plans for the tubing trip.
We went back and forth so many times about whether we wanted to do it. After spending a week in Michigan, we would be much more confident going for it next time.
Skip Brownwood Acres
On a dry and sunny day, the general store and donut shop could be a fun pit stop.
But I enjoyed our time – and donuts – at Kings Orchards even more, and I don’t think we needed both on the itinerary.
Next Up: Summer 2027
Our entire extended family has already booked a Michigan reunion week for next summer.
We will be staying around Torch Lake, which isn’t too far from where we were in Bellaire.
We can’t wait to revisit some of our favorite spots, and see some new sights.
I think we will tackle the tubing this time, spend more time in Glen Arbor, visit Leland and the Leelanau Wine Trail, do more fishing and rock hunting and cherry picking, get some quality time with the cousins and the whole family, and maybe even catch a movie at that little cinema in Bellaire.
I already foresee that the week will go by way too fast.
Last summer, our week in Michigan was such a nice break from the heat. We loved all the options to get on the water, wander the coastal towns, and slow down.
Slow days in quiet lake towns with your favorite people really cannot be beat.
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