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Planning a Circle Tour of Lake Michigan

For a summer road trip, follow the shores of this Midwestern Riviera.

If sun, sand and water are your favorite things, the Circle Tour of Lake Michigan is the vacation for you.

The 1,100-mile drive along this Third Coast is an easygoing road trip that appeals to beach bums, lighthouse lovers, boating buffs and anyone who likes to wander in and out of wineries and fudge shops.

It's a great family trip because there's a beach every few miles, almost always with a playground. On the northwest side of the lake, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one big sandbox.

Many of Michigan's 18 beach parks, especially Ludington State Park, are like resorts, and some families stay there an entire week. Beach-boutique towns like South Haven and Saugatuck add shopping and fine dining.

You can do it in a car or a motorcycle; you can camp or stay in motels. It's all things to all people, the perfect vacation for anyone who likes urban as well as outdoor scenery.

However, planning the 1,100-mile Circle Tour isn't easy, because you need a new place to stay every night or two. It would be nice to be able to stop when you feel like it, but in summer, you risk being turned away or getting the worst place in town, especially on weekends.

You also have to plan around such large festivals as the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City. It fills the area for miles around, meaning you'll either have to reserve far in advance or stay somewhere else.

So it's best to reserve a place for every night. Late winter and spring is the time to start nailing down plans.

I've gone on the Circle Tour twice, both times the third week of June, both times clockwise. Counterclockwise works, too; plan according to whatever festivals you'd like to catch.

Here are some tips to get you started.

For an overview of what you'll see on the trip, see Circling Lake Michigan.

For a nine-day sample itinerary, see Lake Michigan's greatest hits.

For more about traveling with children, see Lake Michigan with kids.

When to go: The summer season kicks into high gear on the fourth week of June and continues until mid-August.

If you want to avoid crowds but would like fine weather for hanging out on the beach, aim for the first half of June and the last half of August or early September.

I like to travel the third week of June, when the days are longest and you can swim or sightsee until nearly 10 p.m.

Many people try to be on Mackinac Island when the lilacs bloom in June, but that's hard to target. We hit them at peak the first time, the week after Lilac Festival. But when we were there during Lilac Festival, they had peaked a week earlier.

2013 events in Michigan: Memorial Day weekend, Fort Michilimackinac Pageant at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City. June 8, Leland Wine & Food Festival. June 14-16, Lilac Festival parade weekend on Mackinac Island. June 22, Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. June 27-29, St. Ignace Car Show. June 29-July 6, National Cherry Festival in Traverse City.

July 4 and every Saturday through Labor Day, Fireworks Over the Bay from St. Ignace.

 July 12-14, Blissfest music festival near Harbor Springs. July 20, Inland Seas Summer Festival in Suttons Bay. July 20-27, Venetian Festival in Charlevoix.

July 26-Aug. 4, Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven. July, Sleepy Bear Music Festival in Lake Ann, between Traverse City and Empire. Aug. 1-4, Waterfront Festival in Menominee. Aug. 8-11, National Blueberry Festival in South Haven. Aug. 9-11, Ship & Shore Festival in New Buffalo.

Aug. 23-25, Rendezvous at the Straits traditional powwow in St. Ignace. Sept. 2, Mackinac Bridge Walk across the Mackinac Straits.

And consider the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends a big festival everywhere.

2013 events in Wisconsin: June 1-2, Outta Sight Kite Flight in Kenosha. June 7-9, Lighthouse Festival in Door County. June 7-9, Pirate Festival in Port Washington. June 8-9, Thunder on the Lakeshore Air Show in Manitowoc. 

June 29-30, River Rendezvous in Manitowoc. July 20, Fish Day in Port Washington. July 26-28, Taste of Wisconsin in Kenosha.

Aug. 1-3, Brat Days in Sheboygan. Aug. 16-18, Tall Ship Festival in Green Bay. Aug. 23-25, Maritime Heritage Festival in Port Washington. Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Dairyland Surf Classic in Sheboygan. Aug. 31-Sept. 1, Kites Over Lake Michigan in Two Rivers.

Milwaukee has non-stop festivals in its 90-acre lakefront Henry Maier Festival Park. They include Polish Fest in June, the big Summerfest music festival in June-July, Festa Italiana and German Fest in July, Irish Fest and Mexican Fiesta in August and Indian Summer Festival in September.

2013 events in Illinois: Aug. 7-11, Tall Ships Chicago.

How to plan: Remember that the shift between Central and Eastern time zones occurs between Menominee and Escanaba on the Upper Peninsula and at the Michigan-Indiana border.

The DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers for each state is handy, but you can use road maps.

Accommodations: In summer, the best lodgings in prime beach locations, including state parks, require a two- or three-day minimum on weekends. If you only want to stay in a town one night, reserve at a chain motel.

There's a variety of cabins in Michigan state parks, and they're very nice. For weekends, reserve them on the first day they're available, a year in advance.

For more, see Michigan's great lake cabins.

Campsites in the most popular Michigan beach parks are 100 percent reservable; for weekends, reserve them the first day they're available, six months in advance.

In Wisconsin, reserve campsites 11 months in advance. Some site are first-come, first-served. Wisconsin also has two rustic cabins right on Lake Michigan in Point Beach State Forest.

There also camping at Indiana Dunes State Park and Illinois Beach State Park.

For more, see Camping around Lake Michigan.

The Upper Peninsula is never very busy, and it has many town parks along the lake where camping is first-come, first-served.

It also has many mom-and-pop motels, though they're disappearing fast. For a spur-of-the-moment trip in peak summer, the U.P. is the place to go.

For places to stay on Mackinac Island, see Mackinac Island by bicycle.

For places to stay in Sheboygan, see Sights of Sheboygan.

For places to stay in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, see Two trails from Two Rivers.

For places to stay in Green Bay, see Packer country.

For places to stay in Door County, see Where to stay in Door County.

See our Milwaukee and Chicago sections for more about those places.

Cruising: The Grande Mariner of the Great Lakes Cruising Company offers an eight-day Magical Lake Michigan cruise from Chicago's Navy Pier that stops in Holland, Beaver Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Mackinac Island, Sturgeon Bay and Milwaukee.

Beaches: For more, see America's freshwater Riviera.

Lighthouses: The Western Michigan Tourist Association gives out a free guide to lighthouses.

Bicycling: Many people like to ride around the lake. Bicyclists can use one of the two ferries to avoid the freeways and industry around Chicago and Gary, Ind.

The S.S. Badger connects Manitowoc, Wis., and Ludington, Mich., and the Lake Express connects Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich.

Bicycle trails follow part of the lake. In Chicago, there's the 18-mile Lakeshore Trail.

Wisconsin has the 30-mile Interurban Trail the north edge of Milwaukee to Cedar Grove and the 12-mile Rawleys Point-Mariners Trail between Manitowoc and Two Rivers.

In Michigan, there's the 23-mile Little Traverse Wheelway between Harbor Springs and Charlevoix and the 20-mile Lakeshore Trail from Grand Haven to Holland. Bicyclists also like the 20-mile Tunnel of Trees road from Cross Village to Harbor Springs.

The one dicey part of the northern route is U.S. 2 across the Upper Peninsula, which is heavily used by trucks.

Bicyclists are not allowed to cross the Mackinac Bridge on their own. For $5, they can get a shuttle from the Mackinac Bridge Authority; there's a phone at the south end of the bridge. On the north end, ask at the administration building.

Bicyclists planning a Circle Tour might want to tag along on the League of Michigan Bicyclists' Shoreline West Bicycle Tour, which travels 503 miles from New Buffalo to Mackinaw City over nine days in August.

For more about Wisconsin trails, see Bicycling in Wisconsin. For a map and directory of Michigan trails, contact the Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance.

Last updated on March 18, 2013