Ideas for Staying Active in the Summer

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay for Saturday:). This weekend is the official start of summer, and I couldn’t be happier.

As Memorial Day approaches (still can’t believe it’s already that time of year again?!), I’ve started thinking about summer. This time of year is one of my favorites, because I get to research and solidify some of our summer plans. (I’ve mentioned before that my fiance and I have a summer road trip tradition of heading to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to camp for a week). This year, we are planning a shorter trip to accommodate our busy summer, but still can’t wait to get away for a long weekend. Planning out details for this trip got me thinking about all the other great outdoor activities I want to fit in this summer.

I was actually born in Tennessee, but moved to Michigan when I was 2 years old. I have lived in Michigan ever since, and grew up with very active and ‘outdoorsy’ parents. My childhood was filled with bike rides, camping trips, hikes, kayaking, snorkeling, boating, sand dunes, skiing, beaches, bridges, and lighthouses. You name it – they introduced me to it. Since I’ve gotten older I’ve really discovered the unique kind of joy and peace that comes from these outdoor activities. They really create a meditative experience for me; even if the activity is physically intense, there is something so refreshing about getting sweaty outside.

Whenever I make my summer bucket lists of trips and activities, I always look through past vacations for ideas.

Here are my favorite ways to stay active outdoors and take full advantage of the summer season.

• Visit lighthouses
  • Oh boy, Michigan has so many lighthouses to offer. I love walking out to the lighthouse because they are usually right on the beach and are all so different. We have visited quite a few but still have so many more to go! Each lighthouse is different and I love how unique they are.
    

    

    
    
    

• Walk Mackinaw Island

  • I couldn’t talk about Michigan without mentioning Mackinaw Island. Mackinaw Island is so unique, and I love that people actually live, work and go to school there year round. There is awesome hiking, shopping, fudge, horses, and scenery to see here. If you walk all the way around the island it is less than 10 miles, or you could hike up some of the beautiful scenic trails. Not to mention that it is known for it’s amazing fudge!
    

    

    

    

• Swim in the Great Lakes (or any body of water near you)!

  • • Holy cow, the Great Lakes are amazing. We are absolutely spoiled to live less than half an hour from some of the best beaches in the country. Lake Michigan is my favorite, but every single one has something to offer. The beaches are spectacular and of course, filled with ice cream shops and light houses. They also are usually situated right by some incredibly cozy and busy beach towns with great downtowns!
      

      

      

• Climb sand dunes

  • Mmmm Lake Michigan is known for some amazing sand dunes. Sleep Bear Dunes is a once and a life time experience up by Traverse City, and if you ever have the chance to visit you absolutely need to go here. There is a whole park that shows the history of these dunes, and if you’re brave enough you can run down the dunes and burn a million calories climbing back up!
    

    

    

• Snorkel or Scuba Dive

  • These Great Lakes come with so many opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, or scuba diving. When I was younger, we would always snorkel and not have to drive far to find somewhere to go. Once I got my scuba diving certification, I discovered just how many shipwrecks there are close to shore. We’ve seen a lot of cool wrecks that were within swimming distance from the beach! If you’re not into scuba diving, there are also lots of glass bottom boats that take you right over the wrecks.
    

    

• Hike some trails

  • Love, love, love hiking. I didn’t fully appreciate it until I left for college, but talk about an inspiring and calming experience. While you are burning energy and calories, hiking always has a way to clear your mind. There are SO many trails to hike in Michigan. Some of the best are up in the Upper Peninsula, but these trails are all over the state. Pictured Rocks has a famous backpacking trail that runs through the entire park. We hiked parts of it last summer and saw so many groups of backpackers!
    

    

    

• Go Camping

  • I know I’m biased, but I also think Michigan has some of the best state parks. My favorites have to be those on Lake Michigan, namely Traverse City and Petoskey, but there are some great campgrounds on inland lakes like Higgins Lake, Mullet Lake, or Houghton Lake. I absolutely love pitching our tent and knowing that we’ll be grilling camp food and making smores under the stars for dessert.
    

    

    

• Go for a bike ride

  • Along with hiking, there’s also so many different bike trails. In each major city there seems to be a stretch of paved trails that were built recently, connecting surrounding cities for miles. I’m not much of a mountain biker, but those trails are just as easy to find too. Biking riding is a classic and you can’t go wrong! My favorite is the Kal-Haven trail that stretches for about 30 miles, connecting Kalamazoo to South Haven. You can ride your bike right to Lake Michigan and stop along the way for dinner and ice cream!
    

    

• Visit Pictured Rocks

  • We went to Pictured Rocks last year on our camping trip, and were overwhelmed with so much to do. I had been there when I was younger, but didn’t remember too much. We camped, hiked, visited town, drove to all the different stops, saw all the waterfalls, and kayaked, and still didn’t cover it all. These rocks are so unique in their coloring that it literally looks like they are painted. Definitely a sight to see!
    

    

• Explore waterfalls

  • There are many, many waterfalls on these hiking trails that they are easy to find as well. The state’s most well known waterfall is Tahquamenom Falls in the Upper Peninsula. It is in Paradise, Michigan and contains two main sets of falls. There is an upper and lower falls, and you can do the five mile hike between the two to see each. We did the hike last summer, expecting it to be relatively easy and something that we could do out and back, but it was definitely more challenging than we expected. There is a brewery at the Upper Falls which was awesome!
    

    

    

• Go kayaking or canoeing

  • I feel like a broken record, but there are also so many different rivers that run through Michigan! It’s easy to find one to kayak or canoe. While many are slow moving and not that exciting, being on the water is always a fun experience. Two years ago we went up north to Indian River and canoed that river – we were nervous because they told us that about 80% of people tip their canoe/kayak at some point because the river is so fast moving, but we were proud to say that we made it with no tips!
    

    

    

I am a firm believe that Michigan is an incredibly beautiful, versatile and unique state, and that about 90% of the people who live here still have no idea what all it has to offer. I love that you can do any of these activities in each state and they are completely different. A hike in Michigan will bring many things that you don’t see anywhere else. Love where you live and get out there to experience nature. There are so many beautiful things in this world.