Gem	Location	Category	Distance	Details	Suggested By
Zingerman’s Warehouse Shop	Ann Arbor	Shopping	Local to Ann Arbor	A “secret” Zingerman’s shop located at 710 Phoenix Drive in Ann Arbor. It is part of the Zingerman’s Mail Order Customer Service Center and Warehouse. A self-service small shop with artisanal products, open 9 am – 9 pm, 7 days a week. You will find a variety of products that change frequently, often including reduced-price cheeses, chocolates, and non-perishable specialty goods. Parking is available just outside of the door. Local Zingerman’s customers can also order products from Zingerman’s Mail Order and pick them up here.	Susan Shields 2/2024
Tall Ship sail on Traverse City West Bay	Traverse City	Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Farther Afield	The Manitou is a replica 1800’s tall ship that offers a variety of sailing tours. My family likes the 2-hour options (adult price in the $50-75 range). Guests we’ve taken have been very enthusiastic about this experience. Crew has been super friendly and accommodating – good with kids and helpful with ability limitations (my mom sails with a walker:) We’ve carried on a sandwich dinner (with their blessing) which is great for families. There’s even an afternoon Moomers ice cream;) tallshipsailing.com/manitou/	Judy Dean 2/24
Historic Fisher Building Tour	Downtown Detroit	Food & Drink Cultural Historical Shopping	Day Trip	The Fisher Bldg, designed by Alfred Kahn, is an Art Deco masterpiece and one of Detroit’s pure gems. 1-hour tours (primarily on Sat/Sun) are sponsored by “Pure Detroit” and tickets ($10-12 p/p) can be reserved online. I’ve taken visitors and they’ve loved it! Fun shopping and interesting food options nearby – great for a day trip! Also, Pure Detroit has also hosted tours of the Guardian Bldg (also Art Deco) as well as a Skyscraper tour in the pass, check website to see what’s available. puredetroit.com/ www.fisherbuilding.city	Judy Dean 2/2024
Saginaw Forest	Ann Arbor	Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	Saginaw Forest is an 80-acre parcel of land in Scio Township, open to the public and managed by the U-M School The Environment and Sustainability. The paths are maintained and peaceful, as the forest is not heavily used. It is a manageable size with a selection of trail options. Parking is available at the 2/42 Church located at the intersection of Wagner Road and W. Liberty Road. This is a nice site for taking a short hike or leisurely walk. There is no charge. Dogs are allowed on a leash. It does not accommodate mobility restrictions. The park is open from sunrise to sunset. Parking is free. Park in the SW corner of the 4/24 parking lot where the trailhead begins. Information, map and directions may be found at: seas.umich.edu/about/field-properties/saginaw-forest	Susan Shields 2/2024
Beaver Island	Charlevoix, MI	Outdoors Natural Area	Farther Afield	It is a nature lover’s paradise. Pristine forests are surrounded by the crystalline waters of Lake Michigan with one of the most amazing dark skies for star gazing anywhere in Michigan. A great place to hike, bike or kayak. If you want to take your car over on the ferry you will need to make your reservation well in advance of your trip. Reservations open in January and fill up very quickly. Don’t wait. Reserve your spot ASAP.	Sharon Grayden 2/2024
East Kearsley Street	Flint	Cultural Historical	Day Trip	The several blocks include Applewood (C S Mott Estate), Flint Institute of Arts, Sloan Museum of Discovery, Longway Planetarium, and more. For us, the most amazing collection of historical and cultural venues all within easy walking distance of each other. Finish with one, on to the next, without ever moving your car. Exceptional free parking and modest or no entry fees.	Jim Randolph 3/2024
Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University	Big Rapids	Cultural Historical	Day Trip	The extent of the racial prejudice in the U.S. is excellently presented. Unbelievable amount of artifacts including product advertising. It’s a three hour self-guided visit with museum administrators on site for questions.	David Kluck 3/2024
Arab-American Museum	Dearborn	Cultural Historical	Local to Ann Arbor	The history of Islam and the contributions it made to literature, art, architecture, mathematics, and medicine. Plan on 2-3 hours. Accessible to everyone. Modest entrance fee.	David Kluck 3/2024
Gilmore Car Museum & Heritage Center at Hickory Corners	Kalamazoo	Food & Drink Cultural Historical	Day Trip	The automobile heritage of dozens & dozens of car manufacturers in the early half of the 20th century. Oodles of gorgeous classic cars. Collection is spread throughout twelve buildings. There’s also a Classic 40’s-50’s diner to have lunch. Modest entrance fee. Totally accessible. Plan on 4 hours.	David Klutch 3/2024
Auburn, Cord, Dussenberg Museum	Auburn, Indiana	Cultural Historical	Day Trip	If you’re into classic automobiles, this is another place for you. Full of the 1920’s & ’30’s Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs. Modest fee or donation. Fully accessible. Probably a 2-1/2 to 3 hour drive I-94 west to I-69 south.	David Klutch 3/2024
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge	Trenton	Outdoors Natural Area	Day Trip	The John Dingell Visitor Center has wonderful exhibits and lots of hands-on things for the youth to do to enlighten/teach/learn about the environment. There are unpaved trails, long & short, to walk thru the refuge. Modest fee. Visitor Center fully accessible. Gift shop. Rangers available.	David Klutch 3/2024
Port Austin	Port Austin, MI	Outdoors Natural Area Accommodation	Farther Afield	Port Austin is on Lake Huron, at the top of the “Thumb”. This lakeside town is less crowded than those on Lake Michigan. Port Crescent State Park nearby has beautiful dunes on the lake. The Beachcomber Motel is very nice but fills up fast. The town is pleasant. The direct route to Port Austin is about 2.5 hrs from Ann Arbor. It is more enjoyable to go to Fort Gratiot (another worthwhile site) and then drive up the Lake Huron shore. This adds less than a half hour to the drive time.	Joseph Marker 3/2024
Fort Gratiot	Port Huron	Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Day Trip	Fort Gratiot is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan. Situated where Lake Huron empties into the St. Clair River. You can see the freighters going through the St. Lawrence Seaway. There are guided tours of the buildings on the 5 acre grounds — good for history buffs. Very enjoyable site. About 1.5 hour drive from Ann Arbor. Lakeport State Park is north of Fort Gratiot on Lake Huron. The St. Clair River flows south from Port Huron and is a scenic drive.	Joseph Marker 3/2024
Kensington Metro Park	Milford or South Lyon	Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	Amazing bird watching. Requires admission fee to the park.	Hilary King 3/2024
Hidden Lake Gardens	Tipton, MI	Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	The grounds are gorgeous. We went mid-week so it was very quiet and a peaceful setting. It was a sunny Fall day with picture perfect weather and colorful scenery. I really wish I had my grandkids with me … they would have loved it. And, they would have loved the Skywalk! You can spend as little or as much time there as you like. There are ample walking paths if you are up for a walk. It’s a great place to just sit on a bench and enjoy the great outdoors …. or read a book. There is nowhere to eat on the property. Pack snacks or a picnic lunch to eat outside the property’s perimeter. Overall I would go again to spend a leisurely half day and enjoy the Fall foliage. There is plenty of free parking. There is a student and senior discount. Call or check their website before you go as sometimes the Skywalk is closed. They sometimes have special events/programs that might enhance your visit!	Deborah Lahidji 3/2024
Art Walk on Wayne State Campus	Detroit	Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Local to Ann Arbor	Explore the beautiful Wayne State campus by following the art walk trail they have set up. Then also go to the history museum and the DIA across the street.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Art Walk	Fenton	Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	26 pieces of art scatered around the city of Fenton. A great treature hunt and follow it by a meal at one of the great restaurants.	Al Hersen 3/2024
Seven Lakes State Park	Fenton	Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	A nearby state park with some great hiking and biking trails, plus camping, fishing and swimming area. Plus some great birding.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Great Lakes National Cemetery	Holly, Mi	Cultural Historical	Local to Ann Arbor	A true national cemetery with lots of history	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Hack-Ma-Tack	Cheboygan, MI	Food & Drink	Farther Afield	Enjoy the northeast part of the LP and Lake Huron and end up at a hidden restaurant on a river with a unique building and decorations. Great food too.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Legs Inn	Cross Roads Village	Food & Drink	Farther Afield	Great drive thru the tunnel of trees to get there and then a fantasitic, unique stone restaurant on Lake Michigan. Some of the best polish food I have had.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
The Farm	Port Austin, MI	Food & Drink	Day Trip	Enjoy a trip to the Thumb and Lake Huron and end at a farm in the farm fields Great food.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Polish Village	Hamtramick	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	True polish restaurant in an urban atmosphere.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Sibley Gardens	Trenton	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	Historic eclectic restaurant in an out of the way place.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Zuckey Lake Tavern	Pinckney	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	Great atmosphere inside and a rooftop tables overlooking a lake. Can get there by car, bike or boat.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
The Laundry	Fenton	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	interesting building design and interesting food.	Al Hermsen 3/2024
Annual Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival	Caseville, MI	Food & Drink Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Farther Afield	The Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival is a tribute to Jimmy Buffett and all things tropical, musical and FUN! What started out as a 3-day festival in 1999 has become a fantastic 10-day festival filled with burger stands, live tropical music, a variety of vendors and retailers, activities for young and old, and a parade of fools that draws thousands of people to this town of 700 residents. It is a safe and fun environment. There are lots of motels, B&B’s, Airbnb rentals and great campgrounds with wonderful beaches. You can buy a button that lets you into all the nightly concerts. Most of the other activities are free, including parking! casevillechamber.com/cheeseburger-fest	Carol Pollack-Rundle 4/2024
McCourtie Park	on US12 west of 127 and Cement City	Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Day Trip	A former estate exhibiting over a dozen examples of 1930’s “el trabeio rustico”, the Mexican folkart of sculpting concrete to look like wood, in a park-like setting with a small stream. McCourtie made his fortune in oil in Texas and cement here. Free. Great for a picnic and short hikes over the sculpted bridges. Or combine with another Irish Hills attraction. On the National Register of Historic Places.	John Eder 4/2024
Largo Springs	Oscoda, MI	Outdoors Natural Area	Farther Afield	Gorgeous area of springs, small streams and boardwalks. Caveat: long stairway for access.	Lynne Ballbach 5/2024
Yankee Heritage Museum	Ypsilanti	Cultural Historical	Local to Ann Arbor	Able to ride on a WW II plane. Air show. Also near the Bomber Restaurant i Ypsilanti.	Sandy Regiani 5/2024
Huron County tip of the thumb	Port Austin, Caseville	Food & Drink Outdoors Natural Area	Farther Afield	Check out the Caseville cheeseburger festival in August. Grindstone City’s ice cream (general) store for amazing cones. Boat tour out of Port Austin to Turnip Rock is great. Multiple campgrounds, beautiful beaches, roads less traveled. Make it at least an overnighter, up to a week. Lots to do in the area. Most areas and restaurants are dog friendly.	Annie Withers 5/2024
Taquanamen Falls	Paradise, MI	Outdoors Natural Area	Farther Afield	Great place to learn about the Michigan geography. Tip: Start here to see all the UP waterfalls locations.	Robbi Duda 5/2024
Kitch-iti-kipi	Manistique (UP)	Outdoors Natural Area	Farther Afield	Palms Book State Park, located at the north end of Indian Lake, is home to Kitch-iti-kipi or “The Big Spring.” This renowned natural attraction is Michigan’s largest freshwater spring with more than 10,000 gallons of water per minutes gushing through fissures in the underlying limestone at a constant 45 degrees Fahrenheit. By means of a self-guided (accessible) observation raft, visitors can view this crystal-clear pool with an emerald green bottom.	Jim Randolph 5/2024
Williams Pinconning Cheese tasting	Pinconning	Food & Drink	Day Trip	Unique cheese.	Al Hermsen 5/2024
Posen Potato Festival	Posen, MI (near Alpena)	Food & Drink Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Farther Afield	Posen Potato Festival (Polish) takes place annually the weekend following Labor Day in September. There is polka music, a parade, delicious Polish foodm and many family oriented activities to celebrate potatoes.	Debbie Kwicinski 5/2024
Iron River	Iron River, MI, 250 miles from St. Ignance and Paradise, MI in the Upper Peninsula	Food & Drink Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Farther Afield	It has two main recommendations, the first being the Iron County Museum (actually in Caspian) which contains lots of history about Iron Mining and the Indians in the area) The other is its fantastic pizza at the Riverside. Riverside is opens at 4 pm and is a “cash only” place. Voted best pizza in the state and I think it is the best I have tasted everywhere, including in Italy! There is also an Indian Burial Ground on Chicagon Lake a few miles out of town. For skiers, Ski Brule Mountain is a great place in the winter! May be difficult to find inexpensive place to stay unless reservations have been made many weeks in advance.	Barb Goodkin 5/2024
Carosello Pasta	Dexter, MI	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	This tiny shop features FRESHLY MADE small-batch pasta and sauces – plus many tempting Italian imports. Delicious! You’ll find it on a small back-street (3126 Broad St) in Dexter. As a bonus, Dexter has another gem just one block away: Raterman’s Bread Haus (8080 Grand St) if you’re a fan of fresh-baked sourdough. They offer sandwiches and pizzas too. There are outdoor tables during the warm months for casual dining. Both venues are carry-out only — check their websites before you go for business hours.	Judy Dean 5/2024
Spag’s Bar & Grill	Williamston, MI	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	Great pizza	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
Klavon’s Pizzeria & Pub	Jackson, MI	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	Great pizza	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
SS Badger Lake Michigan Car Ferry	Ludington, MI	Cultural Historical Other	Farther Afield	The Badger has been transporting people & cars from Ludington to Manitowoc, WI and back since 1953. Check the schedule at www.ssbadger.com	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
Whitefish Point	Paradise, MI, Upper Peninsula	Outdoors Natural Area Cultural Historical	Farther Afield	Lighthouse at Whitefist Point and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, open May 1 – Oct. 31, with history of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Whitefish Point is located at the extreme southeastern end of Lake Superior. It is a critical turning point for all vessel traffic entering and leaving this largest of all the Great Lakes. The Whitefish Point Light Station was established by Congress in 1849; since then, a life-saving beacon has illuminated these dangerous waters for mariners continuously. Today, the Whitefish Point Light is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. Locks of Sault Ste. Marie are about 75 miles east, and Tahquamenon Falls are 30 miles west. Wonderful area to visit. May be hard to find inexpensive places to stay unless reservations are made many weeks in advance. shipwreckmuseum.com/	Barb Goodkin 5/2024
Royal Eagle Fine Dining	Harper Woods, MI	Food & Drink	Local to Ann Arbor	Monastery campus with beautifully landscaped grounds. Serves Russian food and holds European-style High Tea on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Also holds cooking classes and a Christmas Feast. Conservative dress code.	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
Wonderland Marine West (formerly Klave’s)	Pinckney, MI	Food & Drink Outdoors Natural Area	Local to Ann Arbor	The marina is on Portage Lake. Rent a pontoon boat and travel to Zuckey Lake. Have a snack at Zuckey Lake Tavern. The trip goes through 5 lakes in a chain. During the week is less busy and fall is beautiful.	Jan Lach 5/2024
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park	Cass City, MI	Cultural Historical	Day Trip	Largest collection of Native American petroglyphs in Michigan. One mile hiking trail loop along the Little Cass River. The hiking trail can be muddy.	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
Thumb Octagon Barn & Agricultural Museum	Gagetown, MI	Cultural Historical	Day Trip	100 year old barn, numerous other antique buildings. Many family oriented events.	Monthly Meeting 5/2024
St. Laurent Brothers Candy	Bay City, MI	Food & Drink	Day Trip	All kinds of homemade candy & chocolates. In-house roasted nuts. Large assortment of sugar-free candy.	Jan Lach 5/2024
Wilderness Trails Zoo	Birch Run, MI	Outdoors Natural Area	Day Trip	Wilderness Trails Zoo, open May through October, takes visitors through 56 acres of natural surroundings to see exotic animals such as primates, zebras, lions, reptiles, and parrots. There is a petting area and parakeet encounter for an up close and personal adventure with the animals. Today the zoo houses more than 200 individual animals representing over 50 different species. Many of the animals throughout the zoo were surrendered by pet owners or from people who kept them illegally. The zoo is located down the road from Frankenmuth. There is free parking and a fee to enter the zoo. Plan for 1-2 hours to walk around. wildernesstrailszoo.org	Ed Adams 6/2024