This self-guided driving tour of southeastern Michigan will help you discover some of the early innovators and leaders in the development of the automobile—and the impacts they have had on our world. 

Travel the scenic Blue Star Highway and back roads between South Haven and Saugatuck to discover a distinctive and diverse community. The Blue Coast Artists cultural heritage tour is a treasure trove offering a behind-the-scenes look into the studios talented working artisans, agri-tourism farms, wineries and sites within quintessential towns.

At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, 1975, the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, loaded with 26,116 tons of iron ore. She overtook the Arthur M. Anderson just beyond Two Harbors, Minnesota. The two captains discussed the worsening weather and decided to take the northerly route across Lake Superior to Whitefish Bay and the Sault Locks. Our maritime heritage tour follows the progress of the two ships from the south shore of Lake Superior, where stories of shipwrecks and survival draw visitors to museums, glass-bottom boat tours, lighthouses and the big lake itself.

The Lake Michigan Trails, “Windswept Dunes and Hidden Lakes,” can offer you a panorama of earth and sky above the Cut River or the quiet majesty of bald eagles and trumpeter swans at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

The Lake Superior Trail, Rugged Shores and Falling Water, will lead you on a quest inland through deep forests to the mighty Tahquamenon Falls or along the shore to secluded, historic lighthouses and the glorious cliff-side display at Pictured Rocks.

Since the last ice age—about 10,000 years ago—pounding surf and incessant winds have created the largest freshwater dune system in the world along Lake Michigan’s eastern shore. There the rising sands eventually blocked the original river mouths and created inland lakes. Then new channels broke through the sands to the big lake. When Southwest Michigan’s early European settlers looked at the sheltered lakes and the channels, they imagined towns, safe harbors and commerce—and Southwest Michigan’s Historic Harbortowns were born.

North, south, east, west…it doesn’t matter which direction you head in the Pure Michigan waters. There’s always a North Woods adventure waiting around the corner. 

Navigate the streams and rivers of St. Joseph County in southwest Michigan and catch a glimpse the past, discover historic and natural sites, and charming small towns.  It’ a lazy or not so lazy day going with the flow.

Follow the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway in Michigan. Presented by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Hemingway Society.

Uncover the stories of a region called the Western Upper Peninsula (UP). Along the trails discover the stories, and the historic and cultural sites that are scattered throughout the natural geographic features of the landscape in the Western UP.