
Episode #17
Michigan - The Great Lakes State: Car-Free Islands, Motown, and Norther Wilderness
Michigan touches four of the five Great Lakes and holds more freshwater coastline than any other state in the country. In this episode of Exploring America State by State , we explore a state that feels like two completely different places — Detroit's industrial and musical energy down south, and the wild forested wilderness of the Upper Peninsula way up north. We drive M-22 around the Leelanau Peninsula's cherry orchards, the arching Tunnel of Trees along the northern coastline, and the cliffside overlooks of Pictured Rocks. Along the way: the root-beer-tinted Tahquamenon Falls, the crystal-clear spring at Kitch-iti-kipi, remote Isle Royale, and the towering Sleeping Bear Dunes. We visit car-free Mackinac Island, Detroit's Motown Museum, and watch massive freighters pass through the Soo Locks. We also flag the tourist traps around Mackinac Island's fudge shops and ferry package upsells, cover RV travel logistics (including the Mackinac Bridge's wind restrictions for tall rigs), the best free and paid RV camping in the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests and at Sleeping Bear Dunes, where to stay from the historic Grand Hotel to Upper Peninsula lodges, getting around by ferry and Amtrak, and the food that defines the state — Traverse City cherries, Detroit Coney dogs, Upper Peninsula pasties, and fresh Great Lakes whitefish. Plus: peak cherry festival and Mackinac Island season, honest budget expectations, and cell coverage advice for the remote Upper Peninsula. Next stop: Indiana, a state of rolling farmland, motor speedway history, and small towns that carry real Midwestern heart.






