The Ultimate Michigan Bucket List

Julie Bitely

| 3 min read

Community
Michigan has hot spots, cool lakes and plenty of fun between. We’ve compiled a list our favorite things to do in the great lakes state throughout the year. Here are 50 ideas to get you started:
  1. Take a Pictured Rocks boat cruise
  1. Visit the International Auto Show
  1. Watch Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from Woodward Avenue
  1. Cheer on all four major league Detroit teams: Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons
  1. Attend a football game at The Big House or Spartan Stadium
  1. Go apple picking at one of Michigan’s many apple orchards
  1. Spend a day at Michigan’s Adventure theme park
  1. Take the coney challenge between Lafayette and American Coney Islands
  1. Explore Detroit’s Riverfront
  1. Go ice skating at Campus Martius
  1. Watch antique cruisers drive by during the Woodward Dream Cruise
  1. Experience an Eastern Market Flower day or shopping experience
  1. Visit Hitsville USA
  1. Attend the Cherry Festival in Traverse City
  1. Bike to and around Belle Isle
  1. Go to Hell…Hell, Michigan, that is.
  1. Visit one of Michigan’s many zoos like the Detroit Zoo, Binder Park Zoo or John Ball Zoo
  1. Hike the Porcupine Mountains
  1. Check out a Grand Rapids brewery
  1. Climb the Sleeping Bear Dunes
  1. Walk on a lake that is safely frozen
  1. Kayak to Turnip Rock
  1. Visit the Soo Locks
  1. Witness ArtPrize during the day and at night
  1. Go wine tasting in the Leelanau Peninsula
  1. Walk the track at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome
  1. Go skiing up north
  1. Cliff jump in Marquette
  1. Sled dog race in the U.P.
  1. Experience an electronic music festival such as Electric Forest or Movement
  1. Climb a lighthouse
  1. Spend summer time at a cottage “up north”
  1. Take a carriage ride on Mackinac Island
  1. Shop at Bronner’s and eat a chicken dinner in Frankenmuth
  1. Ride the S.S. Badger Car Ferry from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
  1. Get soaked in a Michigan waterfall
  1. Take photos in Holland during Tulip Time
  1. Step back in time at The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village
  1. Search for Petoskey stones on the shores of Petoskey
  1. Celebrate Fat Tuesday in Hamtramck
  1. White water raft the Menominee River
  1. Visit the Heidelberg Project
  1. Get hands on with science with your kids in Ann Arbor
  1. Lay on the rotunda floor at the state capital
  1. Paddle board on your local lake
  1. Play a round of pickleball
  1. Go hunting in one of Michigan’s forests
  1. See a concert at a historic Detroit venue like the Fox Theatre, the Masonic Temple or St. Andrew’s Hall
  1. Spend a day at the Michigan Renaissance Festival
  1. Swim in all five great lakes
If you’re feeling brave, and to better absorb Michigan’s natural beauty, go “off the grid” while accomplishing half the items on this list. We think it makes the “Pure Michigan” experience even more enjoyable.
Did we miss anything from your Michigan bucket list? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo credit: A Healthier Michigan (cropped from original)
**Disclaimer: This post originally went live in 2015 to reflect a bucket list fit for the new year.

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