Seasons pass over Northern Michigan like a vacationer's slideshow. Surrounded by Great Lakes Michigan and Huron, Michigan's Lower Peninsula boasts more than 1,000 miles of shoreline that rim the mitt-shaped peninsula - affording unequaled recreational activities for locals and visitors alike.
..Read MoreRent a car and explore this neck of the woods. Forested lands that go on forever, it seems, often concealing secluded slices of heaven.
..Read MoreLeave the rental car and set out on foot. Make sure you know where you are and where you are going. The woods in these parts go on for miles.
..Read MoreThey don't just like to fish here, they love to fish. It's a science, it's a passion. Try it.
..Read MoreFood is an important part of life in Northern Michigan. People live close to the earth and celebrate their harvests.
The National Cherry Festival, July 5 to 12 in Traverse City, is a week-long celebration of the area's bountiful harvest. It's among the biggest and oldest festivals in the nation. For more information, call 800-968-3380 or visit http://www.cherryfestival.org
..Read MoreOn Saturday, May 24, 2008, sample some of Michigan's finest microbrews and specialty bratwurst.
..Read MoreThere are thousands of miles of back roads, bike trails, logging roads, and hill terrain open to bikers, and they take advantage. There is very little traffic in this part of the state and biking is safe and fun.
..Read MoreBeaches, which abound along both sides of the Lower Peninsula, make great spots for picnics. Some are lonely and deserted, some are noisy and crowded, and some are ideal for people to quietly hunt Petoskey stones, the fossilized coral that washes up on Lake Michigan shorelines. The stones, more than 350 million years old, are proof that shallow seas once covered most of the state.
..Read More(800-462-696; http://www.boyne.com), Petoskey, MI. With eight 18-hole championship golf courses and one 9-hole course spread out between Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, Crooked Tree Golf Club, and the renowned Bay Harbor Club, located along bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan, the choices are endless for golf enthusiasts.
..Read More(877-422-7526; http://www.garlandusa.com) 4700 N. Red Oak Rd., Lewiston, MI. The four 18-hole championship golf courses, all designed by owner Ron Otto, cut through a landscape dotted with pine, hardwoods, and numerous small lakes and streams. Water comes into play on more than half the holes. The Fountains: Fountains, the newest of the four courses, opened in 1995.
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