Escaping to Northwest Michigan for the Labor Day Weekend

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Well, my fellow travelers, it's just about that time again – Labor Day Weekend – the summer season's last hurrah. For many Americans, especially those with school-aged children, it's the final chance for a three-day family getaway. Of course, even those without kids can appreciate this opportunity to relax, hike, swim, and explore the great outdoors before the weather gets too cool for shorts and sandals. As travel writer Andrew Evans wrote last week in a post entitled “My own private Michigan,” “Labor Day is meant for filling up on summer memories, an almost-pagan rite of preparation for the coming schedule of winter.”

If you haven't yet decided where to go this weekend, it's not too late to consider an adventure in the fun-filled, northwestern corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula – a place that, to quote Evans, many former and current Michiganders “knew and loved as children.” For him, some of his fondest memories center around Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (9922 Front St., Empire, 231/326-5134, hours vary daily, $10 vehicles, $5 motorcycles, bicyclists, and pedestrians), where children gleefully tumble down enormous mounds of sand, dive into chilly Lake Michigan, and search for Petoskey stones along the shore. Other favored attractions of his include the uncrowded South Manitou Island, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes; the well-photographed Point Betsie Lighthouse (5 miles north of Frankfort, 231/352-7666, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sat. and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sun. Memorial Day-Columbus Day, incl. Labor Day, $4 adults, $2 children 6-11, children under 6 free), the top of which affords spectacular views; and the impressive Interlochen Center for the Arts (9900 Diamond Park Rd., Interlochen, 231/276-7800, show times and ticket prices vary), where you can watch live concerts and performances during the fall and winter months.

Although my husband, Daniel, and I will be spending part of this coming weekend at the Michigan Renaissance Festival (12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly, 800/601-4848, weekends late Aug.-early Oct., $20 adults, $18 seniors and students, $11 children) in southeastern Michigan, I agree with Evans about the many outdoor delights that northwestern Michigan offers vacationers. Even though I didn't grow up in Michigan, I've enjoyed much of this diverse region as an adult. Besides experiencing the above-mentioned diversions, you can explore various wineries and vineyards on the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas; enjoy the region's many gorgeous golf courses; stroll within the lovely resort towns of Traverse City, Petoskey, and Charlevoix; or relish Grand Traverse Bay aboard a classic tall ship. You'll also find a number of curious state parks in this region, including Ludington State Park (8800 W. M-116, Ludington, 231/843-2423, hours vary daily, $8 non-residents, $6 residents), where you can, among other activities, climb the dunes, hike amid the beaches and forests, fish and canoe in Hamlin Lake, and get an up-close view of the black-and-white Big Sable Lighthouse alongside Lake Michigan.

For more information about the delights of northwestern Michigan, consult Moon Michigan or, if you want something a bit more compact, Moon Spotlight Michigan's Traverse Bays and Mackinac Island. Naturally, wherever you choose to spend your Labor Day Weekend, I hope that you have a wonderful, safe, and memorable “last hurrah.”

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As always, I’m open to ideas for future posts. If you have any suggestions, burning questions, or destinations that you’d like me to explore in greater detail, please comment below or contact me via laura [at] wanderingsoles [dot] com.

Disclosure: While I occasionally accept free or discounted travel assistance when it coincides with my editorial goals, my opinion is never for sale, which means that everything written in my American Nomad blog and my Moon travel guides is my unbiased reflection of the things that I see, do, and experience while traveling across the United States.

Photo of Ludington State Park © 2010 Daniel Martone / Text © 2010 Laura Martone