Regional Travel

Mainstream travel guides offer details about Michigan’s regions, cities, attractions, restaurants, and shops, with useful maps and contact information.

Burcar, Colleen, and Gene Taylor. Michigan Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff. 2nd ed. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, Inc., 2007. Popular among residents and tourists alike, this recently updated guide offers a panoply of Michigan’s wildest quirks, wackiest characters, and bizarre destinations, including Trenary’s Outhouse Classic.

Cantor, George. Explore Michigan: Detroit. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005. A former media personality and writer for The Detroit News, Cantor has prepared a series of travel and activity guides for key Michigan destinations, including the Motor City itself.

Cantor, George. Explore Michigan: Leelanau. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005. Though brief, this guide can definitely assist visitors on their tour of the Leelanau Peninsula, north of Traverse City.

Cantor, George. Explore Michigan: Mackinac. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005. As with all of Cantor’s compact travel guides, this one offers enough history, photographs, and practical information for any first-time visitor to fully experience Mackinac Island [1].

Cantor, George. Explore Michigan: Traverse City. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005. Cantor’s comprehensive take on the Traverse City area.

DuFresne, Jim. Lonely Planet Road Trip: Lake Michigan. Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2005. Longtime Michigan travel writer DuFresne guides readers along the “Michigan Riviera.”

DuFresne, Jim. Michigan Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places. 9th ed. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, Inc., 2007. A quirky take on the Great Lakes State, with the less-traversed routes and little-known attractions of both peninsulas.

Franklin, Dixie. Compass American Guides: Michigan. 2nd ed. New York: Fodor’s Travel Publications, Inc., 2005. Filled with photos and full-color illustrations, this guide focuses more on the cultural, historical, and geographical aspects of each region, and less on practical travel details.

Godfrey, Linda S. Weird Michigan: Your Travel Guide to Michigan’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 2006. Part of a series of state-by-state guides focused on odd places, this is an ideal guide for those who prefer visiting sights off the beaten path.

Hutchins, Brian. Michigan’s West Coast: Explore the Shore Guide. Roscommon, MI: Abri-Press, 2005. This book invites visitors to explore 500 public parks and points of access along the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Lower Peninsula.

Roberts, Bruce, and Ray Jones. Lighthouses of Michigan. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, Inc., 2005. A handy guide for exploring nearly 50 of Michigan’s lighthouses, presented in geographical order, with detailed descriptions, historical background notes, color photographs, and complete travel information.

Royce, Julie Albrecht. Traveling Michigan’s Sunset Coast: Exploring Michigan’s West Coast Beach Towns. Berkeley, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2007. This comprehensive guide gives visitors all the practical information needed to explore the Lake Michigan coast, from New Buffalo near the Indiana border to Mackinac City at the tip of the Lower Peninsula.

Royce, Julie Albrecht. Traveling Michigan’s Thumb: Exploring a Shoreline of Small Pleasures and Unexpected Treasures. Berkeley, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2008. This helpful book invites visitors to leave behind day-to-day stresses and explore Michigan’s undiscovered jewel, a region of quiet harbors, quaint villages, less-crowded beaches and inns, and small-town festivals.

Westervelt, Amy. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press, 2008. A comprehensive guide to the U.P. [2], with regional maps, historical tidbits, and practical details about area hotels, restaurants, and the like.