Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Michigan and I agree that Michigan isn’t exactly at its best in March.

+1

Fellow Michigander here. Very gray and cold.

I grew up in Michigan and I agree that Michigan isn’t exactly at its best in March.

I generally avoid Michigan on early spring. Cold, dreary, gray, and a non-zero chance of snow. And that's in Detroit. The further north you go, the more likely it is that it will still be winter.

Add Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Traverse City, and other parts of the NW part of the lower peninsula to the list.

Anonymous wrote:Isle Royale
UP + Painted Rock

In the summer though…

Ooops, it’s Pictured Rocks…just beautiful!!

Isle Royale
UP + Painted Rock

In the summer though…

The Henry Ford Museum is interesting at any time of year. It's like the Smithsonian American History Museum. Next door Greenfield Village is like an 1800s Colonial Williamsburg or Plimoth Plantation. OK in spring, except in rain. The Henry Ford also sells tickets to the Ford Truck Plant which runs M-F and is classically Detroit and very interesting.

Jan-March is winter. Unpredictable snow and rain. April can be lovely early spring with daffodils and tulips. Or grey and rainy like March.

We actually have a famous tulip festival and it's in early May. So that tells you that MI spring is April-May.

https://www.holland.org/tulip-festival/

The DIA is a nice art museum with some famous pictures and good traveling shows.

There are good live music scenes all the time if you are an aficionado of any Detroit genres.

Detroit is close to Canada if you have a passport and would like to try Chinese food in Windsor (I hear good things but don't have recs).

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has interesting events. Some of which only travel to a few US cities. Look at the University Musical Society, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and events.umich.edu. This semester, I went to an Armenian shadow puppet show and an Indonesian gamelan concert.

I grew up with a northeast background. The Great Lakes lakeshore reminds me a lot of Maine and that type of summering. If you have done that, Michigan will feel familiar.

What do you like to do on vacation, OP? Especially in cities and in rainy weather?

Love Michigan - especially during the summer. Favs:
- Detriot - fun vibrant city. Art museum is one of my favorites of anywhere as it has such an ecletic collection and itsn't too big. Also Ford Museum and Rouge assembly plant
- Sleeping Bear Dunes & Glen Arbor - simply beautiful up there and the dunes are so fun to play on. Kayak the Crystal River.
- Upper Peninsula is just as beautiful but much less crowded then Glen Arbor and Mackinac Island (which I didn't love). Lake Superior is even more crystal than Lake Michigan. Pictured Rocks is awesome as is 12 mile beach.
- Isle Royale National Park is a wonderful. Great hiking and it is so remote that you'll make friends with all the people staying there because there are so few of you. We saw moose and wolves.
- Porcupine Mountains were pretty but not too much different than East Coast.

Anonymous wrote:The airport.

That bad? Why?

The airport.

Agree that summer is better time of year to go to Northern Michigan. That is perfection!

Detroit is actually quite hip with lots of great restaurants. Detroit Institute of Art is a fabulous museum.

Early spring really not the best time of year to be there, honestly. Depends on where specifically you are thinking of going, to an extent. It's a very big place- Marquette to Detroit is a 7 hour drive.

Summer is glorious, especially along the Huron or Michigan shores, or one of the bigger inland lakes.

I've never been to michigan and was wanting to explore there in early spring. What are some nice areas to visit and see? Things to do? What are your favorite parts?