State of Mind

9 spring and summer ideas to get you started exploring Michigan:

National Cherry Festival in Traverse City

This annual summer staple lasts eight days in one of the Midwest’s favorite cities.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Voted previously as the “Most Beautiful Place In America” and one of the top 21 best beaches on Earth, you can climb this National Park’s glacier-carved perched dunes, camp, search for Petoskey stones by the shore or take a trip out to one of the Manitou Islands.

Tulips in Holland

This town takes tulips seriously, with more than six million planted around town. The annual festival in May celebrates the area’s Dutch heritage with parades, food and fairs.

Mackinac Island

Three words: no cars allowed. And fudge.

The U.P.

You can take the Mackinac Bridge to get here, and that’s just the beginning of the adventure. Explore the state’s oldest town, sea caves, waterfalls and a few Great Lakes in a rare place where you can truly get away from it all.

Tigers Game in Detroit

It’s only a 45-minute drive to downtown Detroit’s Comerica Park where you can take in the energy of an MLB game in this fan-favorite stadium.

Golf

A sure sign that summer has arrived is the opening of more than 650 golf courses around the state -- including the University of Michigan Golf Course, one of the finest university-owned courses in the country.

The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village

Though this museum is located in nearby Dearborn, you could spend a couple of days taking in its 250 acres of exhibits and attractions.

Bountiful Beaches

One of the benefits of being a two-peninsula state is miles of coastline. One of the best examples is the 200-mile stretch on the west side along Lake Michigan. The sand is soft, the water is clear and the sunsets are totally worth it.