Leave 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.

Empire Bluff Trail: It's located in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, just south of the little village of Empire. This is a short three-quarter-mile hike that traverses a wooded bluff with open meadows offering stunning views of the village and surrounding countryside.

Jordan River Pathway: The trailhead is located off U.S. 131 about 12 miles north of Mancelona. It starts at Deadman's Hill Overlook, a clearing along a high, wooded bluff that overlooks the unspoiled, wild Jordan River Valley. Woods, water and hills stretch as far as the eye can see with no sign of civilization anywhere. The pathway offers a long 18-mile, two-day backpacking version and a shorter, but very strenuous, 3.5-mile hike.

Shingle Mill Pathway is located in the wild and scenic Pigeon River Country State Forest, and offers loops of two, six and 10 miles. The pathway, located 10 miles east of Vanderbilt off I-75 on Sturgeon Valley Road, is a heavily forested area that best epitomizes the term "up north." Covering nearly 100,000 acres, this vast forest is home to black bear, deer, eagle, coyote, bobcat, wild turkeys and the largest free-ranging elk herd east of the Mississippi.

Dune Climb Stairway is located in P.J. Hoffmaster State Park just south of Muskegon off U.S. 31 on Pontaluna Road. This is the best place in Michigan to learn about the world's most extensive set of freshwater dunes. The Gillette Visitor Center was built to serve as Michigan's sand dune interpretive area. The Dune Climb Stairway climbs 165 steps up a steep dune where a display identifies surrounding land formations. A panorama of Lake Michigan, shoreline and dunes stretching as far as the eye can see unfolds before you.