[warren zee]

Formerly from the east coast now living in and loving Ohio. Our daughter has an interest in Ann Arbor. We want to visit our new neighboring state.

1. Where should we go?
2. What parts of Detroit are safe and interesting?
3. Where is "Pure Michigan" at it's best?

[MSwartz]

I've always wanted to visit Isle Royale but being that it is very remote I've never gotten the chance. Also on my mind has been a visit to this monastery in the UP that is known for making fruitcake that is actually good, and Oswald's Bear Ranch. Visiting Mackinac Island on the way is worth it, albeit there are a lot of tourists. It would definitely be a good place to relax with your spouse.

Getting into the lower peninsula, one thing that I think is exceptionally good fun is going to the Silver Lake sand dunes, renting a buggy, and spending the day driving around on the sand hills and on the Lake MI shoreline.

There are of course a ton of things to do in the Southern half of the lower peninsula, but I would probably say the many Lake MI seaside towns is my favorite thing. The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village are great too if you're interested in museums.

Links:
-Isle Royale; Isle Royale National Park - Isle Royale National Park
-Monestary; Holy Transfiguration Skete | A Catholic Monastery of the Byzantine Ukrainian Rite
-Bear ranch; Oswald's Bear Ranch - Great Upper Michigan Attractions
-Mackinaw Island; City of Mackinac Island - Pure Michigan Travel
-Silver Lake rentals; Silver Lake Buggy Rentals - Home
-The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village; http://www.thehenryford.org/

[michmoldman]

I do not have enough time..or room to tell you what all in Michigan you should see. 90% of Michigan is "Pure Michigan" at its best. Head north and then West, or East...and you will be wishing you had moved here instead of Ohio...lol
Welcome!

[Coldjensens]

Traverse City and its surrounding areas, Taquamenon Falls. Pictured Rocks. Sault St Marie, Ann Arbor, Henry Ford/Greenfiled villiage;

That should be a good start, when you explores those come back for more suggestions.

[westboundrambler]

The UP. There's not much to anything else. The cities in Michigan are sad, but the northern nature and towns are wonderful.

[ManoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by westboundrambler

The UP. There's not much to anything else. The cities in Michigan are sad, but the northern nature and towns are wonderful.

That's not a very fair statement, I'd say.
Ann Arbor for one is a cool town. A fun college town and vibrant small city atmosphere, there is a lot to see and do there. The University of Michigan is home to some cool free museums, including a Natural History Museum with a neat fossil collection, an archaeology museum and an art museum. They aren't very big museums, but they are fun, and free to visit.

Nickels Arcade | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Allosaurus | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The City of Detroit has plenty of problems, but it is also home to a lot of cool pre-war architecture.
Anyone interested in architecture living in the Midwest should really go see The Book Tower, The Fisher Building, The Guardian Building, The Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, as well as the Unversity of Michigan Law school building in Ann Arbor:

214 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The Metro Detroit area is also home to many museums, including the much talked about Henry Ford and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, The Detroit Institute of Arts in Midtown Detroit, The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit (My sister went here last summer and was really impressed!), The Cranbrook Art Museum and Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills (The Institute of Science is having a big special dinosaur exhibit this summer, be sure to check it out if you love dinosaurs!), The Detroit Historical Museum, the Michigan Science Center in Detroit, and The Motown Historical Museum in Detroit. Not to mention the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, which is absolutely a great place to spend an afternoon if you love animals!

tiger bath | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are both great towns too. Grand Rapids has an art museum I've heard a lot about, a neat smaller zoo of their own called the John Ball Zoo, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

I'd say you'd miss out on a whole lot if you just skipped over lower Michigan, and went right to the UP!

Not to say the Upper Peninsula isn't great. I grew up in the UP, and live here currently. It is a great place to visit in the summer, because it's nice and cool compared to downstate!
On a UP trip, be sure to stop in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, the oldest town in Michigan, founded 1668.

The Soo | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
We have a lot of old churches and other buildings.

(I especially love our old courthouse!)

P9280047 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The Soo Locks are a big attraction here, the place were ships pass from Lake Huron into Lake Superior, and visa versa. This shipping point is so important to the US economy, that rumor has it the Soviets had a nuclear missile pointed at our small town of 14 thousand during the Cold War !

The Locks X | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The Valley Camp ship museum in Sault Ste. Marie is another must see stop here, it's an old lake freighter turned into a museum. They have some of the lifeboats from the Edmund Fitzgerald!

Museum Ship Valley Camp | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

We are right across the border from Canada here. If you have a passport, you can take the International Bridge into Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It's a bigger town then Sault Michigan, worth a visit as well. They have a ski resort called Searchmont over there, if you happen to visit during the winter.

Other places that can't be missed in the Upper Peninsula include the Tahquamenon falls near Paradise, The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, The Oswald Bear Ranch in Newberry is a pretty cute place, and Marquette, the largest city in the UP is also a fun town.
There is a zoo near Menominee, called the DeYoung Family Zoo in Wallace. It isn't as big as the Detroit Zoo, but it is home to over 30 big cats, so if you are a fan of Lions, Tigers and cougars, it is a great place to stop for a visit! It was featured on a National Geographic channel tv show for a little while. The people that own it do personal tours everyday, you can watch them feed the cats and hear them tell stories about them.

[fakkelsey]

The above poster did excellent work. Highlights in Detroit metro, that is, the must sees, (1) detroit renaissance center (2) henry ford museum. While there is much to do in Detroit these two things you need to do and cannot find in Ohio, as I know all of Ohio quite well (A great state as well). Lansing of course has the historical museum and capital, a worth while visit. The west side of the state is known for beautiful sandy beaches with some places having high dune overlooks. In Kalamazoo they have a world class car museum called Gilmore. Grand Rapids has museums but not Ohio quality. However, the Meijer gardens are world class. Take a dune ride on a buggy in saugatuck and visit the largest Passenger cruise ship that sailed the great lakes, a WW2 ship and a submarine in Muskegon. Top spots to the north are the Mackinac bridge and Island area, a #1 tourist destination. Pictured Rocks in the UP.

This is a short list off the top of my head of things you cannot see that I know of in Ohio (except a ship in Cleveland I believe). Yes, Ohio does have shore line and Islands but not the high dunes of West Michigan with the crashing waves. Grand Haven is the top beach town in my opinion. Ohio has big great cities but Detroit has a feel all to it's own that cannot be compared to. The bridge to the north is probably the states highlight though. Don't look for the same museum quality (except the ones I have mentioned) in Michigan as in Ohio but for nature of the Michigan style, the west coast (as we call it) and the UP are natures wonder lands. Waterfalls can be found a bit west of www.saultstemarie.com/ the oldest city in the state.

I do hope you enjoy your visit to the Great Lake State.

[teachbeach]

Lansing:
Capital/Capitol tour
Michigan Historical Museum
RE Olds Museum
Old Town
At MSU/East Lansing:
Eli & Edythe Broad Museum (just opened in 11/12)
Museum of Natural History (connected with Smithsonian)
Abrams Planetarium
Beal Gardens
Ann Arbor area:
Downtown AA
Kerrytown
Zingermans
Chelsea (Jiffy mix factory)

[allbusiness]

Wondering up the "West Coast" poriotn of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour from New Buffalo to St. Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck, Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Whitehall, Ludington, Manistee, Frankfort, Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petosky, Mackinac Cityetc. could take a week if you wanted. All beautiful, each unique, all PURE Michigan!

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by warren zee

Formerly from the east coast now living in and loving Ohio. Our daughter has an interest in Ann Arbor. We want to visit our new neighboring state.

1. Where should we go?
2. What parts of Detroit are safe and interesting?
3. Where is "Pure Michigan" at it's best?

West of 27 is great. North of US 10 and west of 131 is better. Sleeping Bear Dunes is pretty good as well.

Cross the bridge and wow PURE MICHIGAN. Drummond Island. Copper Harbor. Tahquamenon Falls. Porcupine Mountains.



In Detroit must see:

Pewabic Pottery

Belle Isle

King's Book

The River Front & the Bagle with Legs.

Drive down Boston Edison



NEARBY:

Greenfield Village


Next year you can come back and see some more.