• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Michigan South to North

"Following Lake Michigan north of Manistee is a good bet. Follow M-22 around the Leelanau Peninsula is nice, with good places to stop along the way. North of Traverse City, follow US31 north along the shore to the Mackinaw Bridge. "
John

Don't forget 119, the tunnel of Trees. It's at 31 and Petoskey. That was in my top few roads of our trip. Absolutely gorgeous.
 
I came to the same conclusion about heading into Canada and west to St. Paul. That light bulb came on last night about 11 PM. I will be leaving from the Oberlin, Ohio area Monday morning. I would consider putting 100 or 200 miles in on Sunday evening. I have a lovely aunt to visit. If anybody wants company in that time frame, just say the word. Camping sounds great. Any weather, temperature, varmit, bug advice would be appreciated. I hope that see that handsome pooch in the side car on the road.
:clap
 
This is a first draft of my route in case anybody wants company. I will leave Oberlin, OH Sunday afternoon/ evening. Does anybody have campsite recommendations. Look forward to seeing you all in St. Paul
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 9.39.18 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 9.39.18 PM.jpg
    87.6 KB · Views: 52
John - If you have the time I'd suggest following the southern shore of Lake Superior at least as far as the Keweenaw (sp?) Peninsula. Take 41 till you can cut over on 26 along the north shore to Copper Harbor. Have lunch at The Gay Bar (Gay, MI) on the way back. I'll be continuing west to Bayfield WI which has a very nice little community campground on the shore, then following the coastline a bit further to Cornucopia before turning south at Herbster and taking very rural roads down to Stillwater.

You'll meet some incredibly nice people in Wisconsin the route you show, but it's not much for scenery. Also, because I travel with a dog, I hug the lakes as long as possible so he (okay, we) can take refreshing dips when the humuggity is bothersome. Few lakes can help you shed excess body heat as quickly as Superior!

Nuther thought...in southern MI why not go west a tad and avoid the chaos of Detroit and Lansing, then angle either right or left to ride the shoreline of either Lake Huron or Michigan?
 
John - If you have the time I'd suggest following the southern shore of Lake Superior at least as far as the Keweenaw (sp?) Peninsula. Take 41 till you can cut over on 26 along the north shore to Copper Harbor. Have lunch at The Gay Bar (Gay, MI) on the way back. I'll be continuing west to Bayfield WI which has a very nice little community campground on the shore, then following the coastline a bit further to Cornucopia before turning south at Herbster and taking very rural roads down to Stillwater.

glenfiddich, I'll be following your advice after I run up M22 and 119. I do hope to cut down to the Driftless area unless we head over to Duluth.

All, I am running from my start to somewhere near Cadillac, MI. Any recommendations on where to stay. Only requirements are clean accommodations a good place to eat nearby. Walking distance for great eats is a bonus after being on the road all day.

-Dennis
 
Dennis - Michigan has an awesome tourism website. Google PureMichigan - I can't remember if it's .com or .org - and look up Cadillac. Saturday the 19th we'll be camping just to the west of there, Kestelwoods campground is near where 37 and 55 cross. Sunday we'll hit the coast by Manistee early, then do 22/119 up to the Mighty Mac. We'll hotel it that night in St Ignace (after three days camping I need to reduce the personal stench factor or Barley won't sleep with me). Then up to Paradise and hugging the coastline to Wisconsin. Wave if you see us.

We'll catch the Driftless on the way home.

Pete
 
The MI meander...

.... Sun 7/20th.. Arriving same general area, somewhere between Cadillac & Petoskey. Flight of 3. Looking at that campground "godfather" mentioned
...it must be Kestelswood Campground?? ; but there is a KOA 23mi north, near Buckley. And there is a town park up in Petoskey.
We're taking the north route around Superior; arriving MOA Wednesday afternoon. Camping near Wawa & Thunder Bay....
OR Marathon & Grand Marais, MN... depending on progress.
Will catch the south segment after rally enroute to Oshkosh/EAA show.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

"travel'n" john
13' R1200RT
 
Last edited:
Kesselwood campground is about a mile south of M 55 on M 37. There is a campground just before you get to Mesick on a lake, I think it's called Hodenpyle dam pond. The KOA is just north of Buckley. There is a state park in Traverse City but it is very busy this time of the year, in fact you may want to stop early or call ahead as our campgrounds fill up fast this time of year.
 
John - If you have the time I'd suggest following the southern shore of Lake Superior at least as far as the Keweenaw (sp?) Peninsula. Take 41 till you can cut over on 26 along the north shore to Copper Harbor. Have lunch at The Gay Bar (Gay, MI) on the way back. I'll be continuing west to Bayfield WI which has a very nice little community campground on the shore, then following the coastline a bit further to Cornucopia before turning south at Herbster and taking very rural roads down to Stillwater.

You'll meet some incredibly nice people in Wisconsin the route you show, but it's not much for scenery. Also, because I travel with a dog, I hug the lakes as long as possible so he (okay, we) can take refreshing dips when the humuggity is bothersome. Few lakes can help you shed excess body heat as quickly as Superior!

Nuther thought...in southern MI why not go west a tad and avoid the chaos of Detroit and Lansing, then angle either right or left to ride the shoreline of either Lake Huron or Michigan?

This is a great suggestion, Thank you. My route is the general direction according to Google Maps. Now that the GPS is up and running, it should be a little easier to venture. The Southern Route of Lake Superior sounds great.
 
Back
Top