island Archives - from Michigan with Love Blog

Spring Getaway to Mackinac Island

I’ve always been a little hesitant about traveling to Mackinac Island. As someone who writes about hidden gems within Michigan, what is “hidden” about Michigan’s number one tourist destination? Everyone in Michigan knows about it. Most people in the Midwest know about it. And it gets a lot of national recognition as well. So why bother?

Well, when I finally let my guard down about it, I discovered there’s a lot of history on Mackinac Island. And there’s a lot of unique places to visit that aren’t as well known!

So much so, that unless you live on Mackinac Island or visit every year, it’s hard to fully experience everything on Mackinac Island within one visit. Plus, there are certain times of the year where the island is less busy – like at the end of the season in fall or early in the season – such as our spring getaway to Mackinac Island!

Michigan Hidden Gems to Explore in 2023

Each year, I want to shine a spotlight on some of my favorite hidden gems in Michigan we explored the previous year. While many are new sights to us, some are such great treasures that we returned back to them this year. I guarantee you won’t find any other Michigan bucket list like mine! Here are my recommended Michigan hidden gems to explore in 2023.

Day Trip to Harsens Island

After over a year of (mostly) only exploring within Michigan, my family and I yearned to visit someplace special… But we also wanted to remain in Michigan, but feel like we ‘got away.’ The problem was – where to go? Mackinac Island seemed like an obvious choice given its on an island and cars aren’t allowed, but nah… there are too many tourists! We wanted to visit a place not many people know about. So we decided to look into Michigan’s other islands to escape to. The island we decided to visit for our latest day trip was Harsens Island!

Don’t know about Harsens Island? That’s ok, we didn’t either until recently. Located in Lake St Clair near the Canadian border, Harsens Island is reachable by ferry if traveling by car or bike. Alternatively, there are a few marina’s to dock at if traveling in by boat. Read on to discover how to experience an epic day trip to Harsens Island.

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