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Michigan has many monikers – like the Great Lakes State. According to the , it is also known as The Trails State, with thousands of seasonal routes crisscrossing the state – from hiking and biking to paddling and skiing, and so much more. These various paths are so important to the state’s image that a designated Michigan Trails Week is even held every fall, this year September 17-24.

The first patented drive-in theater was opened in 1933 in New Jersey, launching a national trend for outdoor family entertainment fueled by the growing automotive industry. Over time, as many as 5,000 drive-ins operated throughout the country.

Michigan is the self-proclaimed “Great Beer State,” and July has once again been designated as “Michigan Beer Month” by the state legislature and Governor Whitmer. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate, you’ll find plenty of places to sip and sample in the Little Traverse Bay region.

Early French explorers were the first to discover grapes growing wild along what they ultimately called Riviere aux Raisin – the River Raisin, which flows for about 139 miles through Jackson, Hillsdale, Washtenaw, Lenawee and Monroe counties, before emptying into Lake Erie. Today, more than 240 years later, this region maintains its agricultural roots and is home to the newly established River Raisin Wine Trail.

To celebrate its vast system of trails – biking, hiking, paddling and even horseback riding – the Michigan Department of Natural Resources implemented the Pure Michigan Trails (including Water Trails) and Pure Michigan Trail Towns designation program in 2019. Since that time, the program has grown in terms of the number of communities and organizations looking to highlight the unparalleled experiences that can be found off the beaten path around the Great Lakes State.

Most have at least heard of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway, but some may be surprised that he and his family – parents Clarence and Grace, along with his five siblings – spent their summers at their cottage Windemere on Walloon Lake.

Kayakers looking to expand their horizons, enhance their paddling skills, and enjoy a multiday nature-based journey will find that Uncommon Adventures in Benzonia provides all that and more.

There are thousands of miles of inactive rail lines meandering throughout Michigan’s countryside, and removing those tracks can be expensive.

With its expansive sugar sand beaches, towering dunes, meandering waterways, bustling marinas, and quaint communities, Harbor Country — also referred to as the Hamptons of the Midwest and Michigan’s Riviera — is a summer vacation paradise.

There were no sirens that day. Given the rarity of tornadoes in northern Michigan, cities like Gaylord (Otsego County) aren’t equipped with such emergency alert systems. So, when an EF3 tornado touched down heading for the community of just under 4,300 on the afternoon of Friday, May 20, 2022, residents were notified by a CodeRED text message. Those on the west side of town were afforded a seven-minute warning, as many as 11 minutes for those on the east side. This was the first tornado to hit Gaylord – ever.