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As one of Michigan’s early lumber towns, Muskegon quickly grew up as an industrial and social center. Community leaders like Charles H. Hackley and Thomas Hume built elaborate homes, donated funds to build libraries and hospitals, laying a foundation for the future.

Janet Schrader was just five years old when she first began to play along the sandy, freshwater shores of Lake Michigan, after moving with her mother and siblings from the Chicago area to Berrien County in southwest Michigan. Her grandparents belonged to the historic Prairie Club, officially called Hazelhurst Camp, in Harbert and it was here that she learned to swim and build her first sandcastle.

Last summer, a 184-mile stretch of the West Michigan Pike, from St. Joseph to Silver Lake, became the state’s latest Pure Michigan Byway™ during a public ceremony at Muskegon’s Heritage Landing. The Michigan Beachtowns Association (beachtowns.org), which represents more than a dozen shoreline communities, collaborated with Travel Michigan and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to develop the byway.

Early voyageurs to Michigan made their way around the state by birch bark canoes. Then, it was Great Lakes steamers and the railroads that transported families to their northern cottages for summer respite.

Traversing along Michigan’s snow-covered ski trails, one can work up quite an appetite. Imagine being able to stop along the route and nibble to satisfy your hunger and provide extra energy to keep you moving along.

The blogging world was just taking shape in 2009 when Shannon and Cortney Casey stepped into the local wine scene with MichiganByTheBottle.com.

Michigan is home to nearly 20 historic forts, some dating back to the early 1700s—decades before the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Much like museums and historic homes, cemeteries offer a glimpse into the lives of a community’s citizens—from the elite to the unknown.

Tucked back in off Blue Water and Center roads in the heart of the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City, a lush 12-acre “Secret Garden” is waiting to be explored.

Who knew—summer camp is no longer just for kids! As many as a million adults, aged 21 and older, attend summer at more than 800 locations nationwide each year. And while some camps are theme focused—such as wine camp, baseball camp or band camp—many are created to replicate summer camps from our youth (with the addition of adult beverages, of course).

With two peninsulas, more miles of freshwater shoreline than any other state and countless opportunities from the thriving urban centers to the sprawling rural spaces, Michigan offers a wealth of ideas to keep you busy this summer season.

The year was 1899.

The intersection of Bay and Lewis streets in downtown Petoskey was taking shape with the completion of The Perry Hotel—the only one of this city’s grand turn-of-the-century resort hotels still in existence and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Station—which was part of the 500-plus-mile passenger and freight system that traveled between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Straits of Mackinac from 1854 until 1918.

Imagine yourself getting close to nature with an overnight luxury experience known as glamping. On a global scale, glamping—short for “glamorous camping”—provides guests the opportunity to spend the night in a safari tent, yurt, treehouse, renovated vintage trailer or teepee, often with the amenities of a four-star resort.