Swimming Northern Michigan
Summer’s not summer without a day at the beach and Northern Michigan offers some of the best beaches anywhere.
Photo by Karl Damus on Unsplash.com
There are many signs that spring is unfolding into summer and one sign is when the trillium bloom. These protected wild orchids are a wild flower. There are up to 50 species of trillium and in Michigan, the most common species is the trillium grandiflorium or large flowered trillium.
In Northern Michigan, late April through mid-May is trillium season. The woods explode with a carpet of trillium and create an incredible landscape that exists only for these few weeks. When the first trillium bloom, there is an excitement in Northern Michigan as within a few days, the woods will contain thousands and thousands of these spectacular flowers.
Take a drive along M-119, the Tunnel of Trees, from Harbor Springs to Cross Village where the geography couldn’t be more perfect for trillium viewing. Or drive The Breezeway from Boyne Falls to Atwood and see an explosion of trillium in the woods.
Picking trillium is discouraged because the three leaves below the flower are the plant’s sole food source. Five varieties of trillium are endangered but not the most common white trillium. Love trillium? You can take home trillium art. Boyer Glassworks creates one-of-a-kind trillium paperweights.
Summer’s not summer without a day at the beach and Northern Michigan offers some of the best beaches anywhere.
The Harbor Springs History Museum offers a unique look at the history of the community, starting with the first Catholic missionaries.
Little Traverse Conservancy protects land and scenic areas and provides opportunities for all of us to appreciate the environment.
It’s just for kids–a fishing pond in Petoskey! Kids can throw a line in this one acre pond stocked with trout.
McGulpin Rock, near Mackinaw City, has been used as a navigational tool by explorers and mariners since before the Pilgrims landed.
The North Country Trail is the longest trail in the U.S. and stretches from North Dakota to New York, passing through Northern Michigan.