Michigan

"The Great Lakes State"

Michigan is a land of sparkling blue waters, untamed wilderness and warm hospitality. More than 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline define Michigan's boundaries and its changing seasons support a variety of activities. Michigan is revered for its vibrant fall colour and bountiful harvest. The multi-hued reds of sugar maples, the sun-inspired yellow of birch and poplar and the deep royal purples of oak splash against the indigo blue of the Great Lakes. Hundreds of roadside farmers' markets and pick your own orchards and more than 60 wineries dot the landscape in Michigan, providing easy access to the season’s freshest produce and fruit from the vine.

Lakes, campgrounds, wildlife refuges and nearly 100 state parks and recreation areas are scattered throughout both peninsulas of the state. There are thousands of miles of hiking, biking and riding trails through millions of forested acres. Michigan also has more public golf courses than any other state in the nation, with more than 800 public golf courses and is known as America’s summer golf capital. Some of the world’s best courses await. The Upper Peninsula is considered the best place in the US for snowmobiling with thousands of miles of groomed trails, and rentals widely available. There are well over 100 state parks and recreation areas across the state.

Come here to explore more than 3,200 miles of coastline, some of the world’s highest freshwater sand dunes and stunning sandstone cliffs along two national lakeshores.

Michigan has more light-houses than any state with more than 116 dotting the Great Lakes shoreline. Some still shine, others share their stories as museums. Experience these as a volunteer keeper or on a relaxing excursion.

Land Area: 57,022 square miles

Population: 10,095,643

State Capital: Lansing

Largest City: Detroit

Local Time: EST – 5 hrs behind the UK

Michigan enjoys four distinct seasons. Temperatures range from an average low of 6°F (-14°C) in January in the Upper Peninsula, to an average of 83°F (28°C) in July in the Lower Peninsula.

7 parks

Michigan is a place to enjoy the simplest of pleasures. Like sugar-sand beaches, forests adorned with the most vibrant of colors, quaint towns that welcome you more warmly than a summer day and cities that stir the imagination. Midwestern life feels anything but small here, where stunning lakeshores, deep forests and dramatic cliffs and dunes reveal themselves with every adventure. The landscape is matched only by dozens of eclectic towns and an iconic city with a reputation for making great cars – and even greater music and entertainment.

Within the Great Lake State’s expansive borders – which sweep northward to Canada – reside some of the nation’s greatest variety of things to see and do. See small towns styled like Dutch villages, idyllic islands that keep to a horse-and-carriage pace and romantic lighthouses like Big Red (Michigan’s most photographed) rising up out of vast, cobalt-blue lakes. Spend some time in quintessential college towns such as Ann Arbor and East Lansing, or explore the Upper Peninsula’s natural wonders, including shipwrecks, colonial forts and kilometers of snowmobile and cross-country skiing trails. 

Immerse yourself in one of the USA’s most historically significant cities, Detroit, teeming with unique neighbourhoods and rich with diverse cuisines, eclectic shopping and stand-out museums that do more than just showcase exceptional art. Catch a professional baseball, hockey, basketball or football game at the city’s grand sports arenas or an unforgettable show at a historic theatre. Here, the city’s Motown legacy is kept alive at Hitsville U.S.A., Motown’s first headquarters, while its automotive heritage is preserved at Detroit Historical Museum and the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. View Diego Rivera’s famous Detroit Industry Murals at Detroit Institute of the Arts, take a walking tour of Corktown, the city’s oldest ethnic area, or check out the iconic architecture of the Fisher Building. 

Discover apple and cherry orchards and beach towns beyond the coastal dunes. Look for a Petoskey stone, fossilized coral often found on the beaches here. Go boating on any one of thousands of inland lakes in the summer and ice skate in winter. Hike through colourful forests in the fall, and head to Traverse City wine country in the spring, when “blossom time” is in full swing across the state. Recreation here is year-round, from fly-fishing to flyboarding, sledding to swimming. Visit natural wonders like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – 64 kilometers of shoreline and a vision of Michigan like none other – with its waterfalls and layered, multicoloured cliffs towering over Lake Superior. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a paradise shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago, embodies the wild spirit of Michigan with its 135-meter bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan.