Heritage Tours

Part of a national grassroots art movement, the Osceola Quilt Trail (OQT) is a self-guided tour through Osceola County, with over 80 giant, boldly painted quilt blocks on barns, businesses and other structures.

Experience the incredible 63-mile journey along the Tahquamenon Scenic Byway  through the vast untamed land of Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula. Explore the main route of Highway M-123 to experience the thunder of Tahquamenon Falls and the northern hospitality of villages like Newberry and Paradise, but leave time to branch out on byway spurs and visit our endless sandy beaches, silent lakes and restored lighthouses. 

Your pathway to Michigan's Sunrise Coast with nearly 200 miles of spectacular scenic views of Lake Huron and an astounding array of large public forest, park and recreational properties await travelers on the Huron Shores Heritage Route (US 23). 

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.

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.

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.