Let’s take a road trip.
 One that takes in the side of the state that gets short shrift by a lot of folks, and doesn’t deserve it. You’ll learn that on your first, and later, other trips, to the uncrowded side of the state, from the tip of your Thumb and where cheese is king, to its northern sand beaches and salmon ports. Either use this to explore the area for a great summer retreat, or tuck it away for when the leaves green up, the water and the summer fun warm up.
Thumb Tack
If you’re looking for a quiet northern getaway you owe it to yourself to consider this area. Beautiful beaches and low dunes rise out of Lake Huron from Port Austin to Caseville, luring camping families to Sleeper and Port Crescent state parks, with a three-mile-long beach to spoil you on East Michigan’s sunrises and sunsets.
Into golf?
There are eight courses between the boundaries of the thumb, generally north of I-69 and east of I-75, including Port
Austin’s Bird Creek, a Bruce Matthews beauty that entertains 20,000 players annually.
Into history? Stop by historic Huron city, an entire town dedicated to late 19th- and early 20th-century life. It also contains a restored lifesaving station, forerunner of the Coast Guard.
 And if you like fishing, head for Grindstone City, where charter boats lie ready to take you and our kids out for salmon and lake trout, and kids will like karting and mini-golf in Port Austin.
Stop by and take in the treats of Bay City. Families enjoy the shows at the Delta College Planetarium and Learning
Center, a NASA-funded facility with a rooftop observatory and a state-of-the-art star show indoors.
Stock your fridge with a stop in Pinconning, home of the Colby-style cheese of the same name and stores that sell the stuff by the wheel or slice, take your choice. In summer, you can add it to the fresh produce you’ve picked up at the roadside stands that have been a part of the U.S. 23 landscape here since tourists first set tires to pavement in this part of Michigan.
 East Tawas starts the parade of top vacation towns in northeast Lower Michigan. With
miles of sandy beach, including a great city strand and Tawas Point State Park that just spells family beachfront fun, this is a great town to start your tour.In spring, Tawas Point is one of the busiest birding spots in the northern part of the state. Migrations start in March and April starting with returning waterfowl, and peak in May, when hawks, warblers, jays and other species stop off to rest. In summer, the migration turns human, as families head for the
warm waters of Tawas Bay, or cool refreshing Lake Huron on the other side of the point.
A few miles north, Oscoda welcomes the Au Sable River as it winds its way through East Michigan from Grayling, some 150-plus river miles west. Rent a canoe in town for a day trip down the river, or if you’re an
angler, head for the river for its spring steelhead runs. In summer, action turns to Lake Huron for lake trout and salmon, and on its beaches for fun in the sand.
Drive the River Road Scenic Byway through the Huron National Forest for overlooks of the Au Sable River valley and
the impoundments created by power dams along the way at Lumberman’s Monument, and a great view of the river along M-65 north of Hale. On the way, walk down the 227 or so steps
to the base of Iargo Springs, flowing clear and cold from the hillside as it was when Native Americans used it as a watering stop in their travels. Just remember, you have to walk up, too.
Both the Tawas and Oscoda
areas have great places to stay,
from beachfront hotels, to cozy
mom and pop beachfront
cottages for rent by the week.
North near Alpena, welcome
in spring and summer with a
visit to Island Park, a 600-acre
wildlife sanctuary right in town
along the Thunder Bay River.
Bike trails include the 13-mile-
long “bi-path,” for bikers,
bladers and walkers. See the
shipwrecks of the Thunder Bay
National Marine Sanctuary an
Underwater Preserve from
topside through a glass-bottom
boat, or if you’re certificate is up-
to-date, dive on them.
There’s more biking available to the north near Rogers City, including shoreline routes and the Herman Vogler Recreation Area near town and the Black Mountain Recreation Area in the county’s western edge, with
mountain bike runs from novice to advanced. The “Vogler” is part of the four-county Huron Greenways bike trail system running from Mackinaw City to Harrisville. And don’t forget a stop at the “soap lady.” Patty Pike creates scented goat milk soap using milk from her own herd of Alpine dairy goats. Later on, plan to come back in late July and early August when the salmon season is in full swing.One ideal place to stay spring, summer or fall in the area is Nettie Bay Lodge and Resort, on Lake Nettie. Besides great fishing and lodging, the lodge offers seasonal workshops on everything from outdoor photography and making furniture, to birding and seminars for women only who want to learn more about enjoying the outdoors. Or, choose from others including the lakefront Driftwood Motel or Manitou Shores Resort, or between Rogers City and Cheboygan, Shaginapi Resort, on secluded Ocqueoc Lake.
At Cheboygan, stop for a
bite at one of downtown’s
waterfront restaurants along
the eastern terminus of the
Inland Waterway, which runs
through two locks—one in the
city—to end in Crooked Lake
within sight of Lake Michigan.
Take in a show at the city’s
famous opera house, or watch
the birds return to Gordon
Turner Park, one of the Great
Lakes’ largest cattail marshes.
The five-acre site also has picnic
facilities, and a large beach to
return to this summer. Climb the
observation platform, look to
the north, and on a clear day,
you’ll see the twin spires of the
Mackinac Bridge 16 miles away.
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