On January 26, 1837, our beautiful mitten was granted statehood, which means the Great Lakes State is turning 183 years old! So, in celebration, we’re sharing 183 things we absolutely adore about Michigan.
- We have the coolest shaped state
- And the nicest people
- Two peninsulas. One state.
- 11,000 inland lakes larger than 5 acres
- The greatest number of different foods grown of any state except California
- Longest freshwater shoreline in the US & more shoreline than any other state in the lower 48 (yes, more than California)!
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
- You don’t have to pay money to go to the beach
- Yoopers and Trolls
- The handy map, of course
- Michigan rock hunting is the best on Earth
- Sea Shells City’s Giant Clam
- Cherry pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company and The Cherry Hut
- Christmas time in Frankenmuth
- Riding bikes around Mackinac Island
- Surfing the Great Lakes
- 3,177 miles of Great Lakes shoreline (and no sharks or stinging eyes!)
- Rollerblading the TART Trail
- Freshwater fishing. There is no bad fishing season.
- Four seasons, each with its own allure
- Cherry blossoms
- Trilliums
- Michigan barns have their own styles
- Bonfires on the beach
- Ernest Hemingway
- Empire Asparagus Festival
- Beaches and skiing both in the same state
- Sunsets in Pentwater, Ludington, Manistee, Onekama, Frankfort, Empire, Glen Arbor, Leland, Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs … pretty much everywhere
- Sunrises on Lake Huron
- Ancient copper mines
- Elmore Leonard
- Village Cheese Shanty
- Walking over the Mackinac Bridge
- 20,000 miles of quality trout streams
- The Accidentals
- Vasa Trail
- Our sweet, small towns
- Pyramid Point
- Award-winning wine
- Trout Unlimited founded on Au Sable River
- Rick and Marty Lagina
- Jim Harrison
- The 45th Parallel
- Uncle John’s Cider Mill
- 40 of the state’s 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes
- Morel mushrooms
- Empire Beach
- The Northern Lights
- Vernors (which we also use to cure all colds)
- Petoskey Stones
- White Pine Village
- Madonna (Born in Bay City)
- Adams Fly invented on Boardman River
- Stormy Kromer
- Blueberries
- Cheeseburger Festival in Caseville
- ‘Up North’ is anywhere north of Bay City
- Faygo
- “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock (you’ve gotta admit it’s catchy)
- Turquoise waters of Glen Lake
- North Country Trail
- Detroit-style pizza
- Craft beer great’s like Hop Lot, Stormcloud, Short’s and so many more
- Cruising state highways (especially M-22, M-119, M-185)
- S.S. Badger
- Moose in the Upper Peninsula
- Wilderness State Park
- Longest-running wolf study in the world: wolves on Isle Royale
- Horses on Mackinac Island
- Christopher Paul Curtis, author of Bud, Not Buddy (born in Flint)
- Leelanau Conservancy
- Better Made and Great Lakes Potato Chips
- Motown (Aretha, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations)
- Watching boats going through the Soo Locks
- Farmers Markets
- Pasties
- Lighthouses. And lots of them. (116 to be more precise)
- Beach volleyball after work
- Fayette Historic State Park
- Ice Cream (Moomers, Hudsonville, Michigan State University Dairy Store, Jones Homemade Ice Cream, House of Flavors)
- Black squirrels (and red and gray!)
- Author Jerry Dennis
- Tom Brady (played at University of Michigan)
- Straits of Mackinac
- Winter sports: tubing, snowboarding, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, fat tire biking
- Sandy beaches
- Water skiing
- Cheesy potatoes. We could eat them every single day.
- Apple orchards
- Arch Rock
- Summer picnics
- Ironton Ferry
- Loons
- Michigan round white potatoes—they make the best mashed taters!
- Joshua Davis
- North and South Manitou Islands (and Mackinac, Beaver, Hog, Garden, Bois Blanc)
- Fort Mackinac, Fort Holmes, Colonial Michilimackinac
- Holland Tulip Festival
- National Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming
- Tahquamenon Falls State Park
- Leland Blue + Frankfort Green (coolest rocks ever)
- Our neighbors in Canada
- Greenfield Village
- Traverse City Film Festival & Fresh Coast Film Festival
- Grand Traverse Conservancy
- Two-tracking
- Ice wine
- Panfish fishing inland lakes
- Motor City
- May Erlewine
- National Cherry Festival and U.S. Navy Blue Angels
- Strawberries
- Tunnel of Trees fall color tours
- S’mores—these are a few of our fave recipes
- Ice skating in downtown Grand Rapids
- Birch trees
- Being in the snow belt
- Interlochen Center for the Arts
- Kiteboarding
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- Hunting in the largest state forest system in the nation
- Sugar Loaf Mountain, near Marquette, and Sugar Loaf in Cedar
- Paddleboarding on Lake Michigan + every Great Lake
- Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
- Spring’s tree buds (much overlooked)
- Canoeing the Manistee River
- Porcupine Mountains State Park—camp in a yurt
- Literally everything at Cherry Republic
- World’s Longest Breakfast Table at Battle Creek Cereal Fest
- Ice boating. Yes, this is a thing. (video proof)
- White-tailed deer
- Harbor Beach, the world’s largest man-made freshwater harbor
- The Lions, and Tigers and Red Wings, oh my! And the Pistons, sometimes
- Brockway Mountain Drive, Copper Harbor
- Gallagher’s Farm Market
- Booming craft distilleries (Grand Traverse Whiskey, Northern Latitudes, Iron Fish and way more)
- Bayview Mackinac Race (Port Huron to Mackinac Island sailboat race)
- Gordie Howe International Bridge
- Sandhill cranes
- Torch Lake
- Little Traverse Conservancy
- Kellogg’s
- Bavarian Festival in Frankenmuth
- Shinola watches
- Kayaking the Sleeping Bear shore
- Hiking Manistee National Forest
- The historic and beautiful Grand Hotel
- Cycling Leelanau Peninsula
- White pines
- Great Lakes Charter Fishing
- Cherry sausage
- Mackinac Island fudge
- Zingerman’s
- Whitefish (best restaurants to get it at)
- Trout: brook, brown and rainbow
- Greektown, Detroit
- Jeff Daniels
- Classic cars
- Henry Ford Museum
- Maple syrup (video: how to make your own at home!)
- Lilac Festival on Mackinac Island
- Arcadia Bluffs
- Ice climbing at Pictured Rocks
- Michigan’s Adventure
- Cops & Doughnuts
- Grand Island
- Painted turtles
- Long summer days; sunsets at 9:30
- Meijer (without a “s”, or with, whatever you prefer)
- Michigan auto industry
- Crooked Tree Center for the Arts
- Fox Theatre
- Hops. So many hops.
- Winter steelhead fishing
- Crystal-clear ice (it looks like you’re walking on water! Photo proof)
- Leelanau Cheese Company (1 of the world’s 66 best cheeses)
- Art Prize in Grand Rapids
- International Auto Show
- The Mystery Spot
- These awesome 13 ski runs
- Snowshoeing to local wineries
- Mom-and-Pop resorts
- Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine (we’re celebrating 40 years in June 2020!)
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