National Geographic Traveller (UK)
From lakeshore to city
Whether you’re looking for city style, iconic towns or lakes that feel like oceans, the diversity of Michigan’s two peninsulas are sure to impress. Words: Brian Thacker
Visit the Midwest state of Michigan, set in the heart of the Great Lakes region, and you’ll find two unique peninsulas to explore, divided by the five-mile-long Mackinac suspension bridge.
THE UPPER PENINSULA
RUGGED AND REMOTE
With 1,700 miles of freshwater shoreline, quaint rural towns and an interior full of forests, waterfalls and wildlife, the Upper Peninsula is as wonderfully unspoiled as one can get in America. Visit car-free Mackinac Island — where it feels as though time has stopped completely — and Tahquamenon Falls, dubbed ‘the Root Beer Falls’ due to their distinctive brown hue, derived from the mineral content of the surrounding soil.
THE LOWER PENINSULA
CITIES AND SPORTS
The centrepiece of the Lower Peninsula is undeniably the vibrant city of Detroit. Here, local artists have no limits, visitors can trace the city’s great history through cars and music, and gastronomes can devour a Coney hot dog in the afternoon and then dine in award-winning, farm-to-fork restaurants in the evening. Adventure lovers needn’t travel far to soak up the scenery of the Pinckney-Potawatomi Trail, or go kayaking and standup paddleboarding on the Detroit River. Indeed, visitors to the Lower Peninsula will find more than just Detroit. Towns such as Traverse City, Holland and Grand Rapids — known as the beer capital of the US — promise hours of exploration, fantastic fine wines and delicious local produce.