For a few years now Detroit and Sleeping Bear Dunes have been on my radar. An old friend had told me Motown had quite the culinary scene, and being the foodie that I am, I was interested. Combine Detroit with the Sleeping Bear Dunes along Lake Michigan that looks like it belongs somewhere far, far away from Michigan (Think Hawaii), and I was SOLD. If I’ve sold you, check out the Michigan travel guide I created below.
Itinerary:
Day 1 – Detroit:
I flew into Detroit with Spirit (hard to pass up a $94 one way non-stop ticket these days) and luckily my only delay was 30 minutes waiting to depart the plane because the bridge was broken. After all of the horror stories I’ve been hearing for the past few months, I’ll count my blessings. First stop of the trip was at Batch Brewing Company. The barbacoa nachos and “Leave a Light On” hazy IPA were chef’s kiss. The bartenders were also super friendly and helpful and told me if I had time to check out City Built Brewery in Grand Rapids, Kuhnhenn Brewery in Warren, Michigan, and Corner Brewery located right outside Ann Arbor.
After lunch I headed to the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum ($17 tickets), originally a factory where the Model T was created that now serves as a museum. Normally I take self-guided tours in museums but this time I decided to change it up. HIGHLY recommend taking the guided tour. There were so many fun facts I learned from the tour guide (including just blocks away from the plant was Henry Ford’s mansion – 140 Edison St. and the steering wheel was originally on the right hand side but ultimately was changed to the left because of Henry Ford) that I wouldn’t have learned on my own.
The same friend that told me about Detroit’s food scene told me if I only went to one restaurant while I was here, it’s Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails. The 2x Yelp! Detroit Restaurant of the Year did not disappoint! Their sockeye salmon in a bacon vinaigrette was the best meal of the trip. I also had no idea that Chartreuse is a French liqueur. The restaurant has many cocktail variations of their namesake so if you’re going to eat here, do it right and order one. I ended the night at Detroit Shipping Company. This place is hipster heaven: it’s two levels of shipping containers with a courtyard in the middle, multiple bars, a food court located inside on the first level, and ice cream on the second level.
Day 2 – Detroit:
If there was one restaurant on the trip that gave Chartreuse a run for its money, it was Dime Store. Day 2 started here for brunch. Normally I’m not much of a breakfast person, but I devoured my Duck Bop Hash – confit duck with Korean bbq sauce, pickled veggies, and potatoes topped with an egg. Dine in before 10am because this place gets crowded quickly.
I’ll be honest. There’s not a lot of must see attractions in Detroit. But the ones worth visiting are the Guardian Building – it’s just a skyscraper but when you enter the first floor lobby you’ll see why it’s worth a stop (free too); The Joe Louis “Fist” Monument, dedicated to the boxer Joe Louis and his efforts to fight racism; the Motown Museum ($15 for adults), a house that served as Motown’s first recording studio and is now a museum; and the Detroit Riverwalk, where you can walk along the Detroit River and wave to our neighbor to the north, Canada.
I rented a scooter (My new thing) to explore downtown and stumbled upon The Belt. It’s an alley located between Broadway and Library Street that’s full of art collections and bars/restaurants. It’s a truly unique space unlike anything I have stumbled upon and may be Detroit’s best kept secret. From there I scootered about a mile and a half away to Atwater Brewery in the historic Rivertown District. Founded in 1997, it was one of Detroit’s first craft breweries. Dirty Blonde, Detroit City Juice, and POG-O-LICOUS IPA were my favorites. If you have time, go to a Tigers game. It’s a really cool ballpark, conveniently located downtown and in walking distance from many hotels, and is just a great experience. There’s a bar located on the second level in the outfield that offers half off happy hour for the first hour and is an awesome spot to drink and watch batting practice.
Thoughts on Detroit…..surprisingly amazing culinary scene. There are so many restaurants on my bucket list that I didn’t get to check off. Interesting bars and breweries. Lacking on attractions. Feels like a city that’s going through an identity change. I’ve had two weeks to think about my visit to Detroit and I still can’t get a feel for it. Not good, not bad. If I could redo the trip I would have only spent one day in Detroit, half a day in Ann Arbor, the other half in Grand Rapids, and a full day at Sleeping Bear.
Day 3 – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:
When someone told me about Sleeping Bear Dunes and showed me pictures, I couldn’t believe it. It’s scalable dune beaches located on Lake Michigan. In fact, everyone who I told where I was going to had never heard of Sleeping Bear Dunes! Now that I’ve been there, I still can’t fathom it. Maybe it’s more popular within the state of Michigan, but while I was there it wasn’t even crowded.
The park was named after the legend of the Sleeping Bear. Not only did at one point did the large dune resemble a sleeping bear, but the Chippewa legend goes like this: A mother and her two cubs tried to flee a forest fire by crossing Lake Michigan from Wisconsin. The momma bear reached the shore first and climbed to the top of the bluff to wait for her cubs. Bud sadly they never did make it.
Sleeping Bear Dunes is located 4 hours from Detroit. I wanted to break up the trip and stop halfway in Grand Rapids for lunch at one of their many breweries (Nicknamed Beer City USA because of its 80+ breweries!). As soon as I got into town I immediately regretted not having enough time to spend here. If you ever visit Grand Rapids you’ll immediately know why. Lunch and an obligatory beer were had at Grand Rapids Brewing Company.
You can purchase a Sleeping Bear park pass at Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, Michigan, which is located minutes away from the Dunes, beaches, and hikes. The park pass is $25 per vehicle and is valid for 7 days. When you pay for the pass you’re also give a small sheet with step by step directions for each of the main attractions.
I did some research (Shocking I know) and was confirmed by the park ranger that the best hike in the park is Empire Bluff Trail, a 1.5 mile round trip leisurely hike to a boardwalk and overlook. The majority of the trail is within the woods and as you start to get close to the boardwalk and overlook, there is an opening where you can see the large dune in the distance. It caught me surprise at first and when I saw the view, my draw actually dropped. I saw the pictures beforehand and they were beautiful, but they don’t compare to the actual view. When you get to the boardwalk at the end of the trail, you get a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. Easily one of the top 5 views I’ve experienced.
After hiking the Empire Bluff Trail, I wanted to get an up-close picture of the main sand dune. I wanted to go down it and climb back up, but one, it’s a gruesome 45 minute+ hike back up, if you can’t make it back up you have to pay a fine (Rumored to be $3000) and get rescued, and I knew my fat ass wasn’t in shape. So I decided to settle for a picture. I drove to the “Sand Dune Hike” and what I thought would be a quick hike to an overlook couldn’t have been more wrong. After hiking multiple sand dunes for about 45 minutes I realized I had fucked up. I asked someone coming back how much further I had and I was only half way there. Turns out I was on a 4 mile roundtrip hike to the beach, which involved hiking the smaller (but still exhausting) sand dunes. Looking at my water bottle and seeing about a fifth left, I decided to turn back around.
Turns out the ACTUAL dune climb and overlook (Lake Michigan Overlook Platform) is located at Marker 9 on the Pierce Stocking Drive. In my opinion, this is the only marker worth stopping at if you are pressed for time. Standing on the Overlook Platform and looking at the people trying to climb back up the dune, I couldn’t help but think, they must be regretting their decision.
If you stay at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown, there is a great Southern restaurant located right across the street called Tupelo Honey. Order their famous sweet & spicy bone-in fried chicken and banana pudding for dessert.
Day 4 – Grand Rapids / Ann Arbor
Didn’t have too much time as I had to drive back to Detroit to catch my afternoon flight but I was able to walk the Blue Bridge in Grand Rapids, stopped at Biggby Coffee (Must be a Michigan thing), walked by the University of Michigan Football Stadium, and had breakfast at Stray Hen Cafe. I don’t know if I would come back to Detroit, but I definitely want to come back to Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor to do more exploring, especially during the fall.
Maps:
Where to Stay in Detroit & Sleeping Bear:
If you’re looking for place to stay in downtown Detroit that’s a convenient walk / scooter ride to most places discussed in this post and your budget is around $200 per night, Mint House Detroit – Times Square is a good place to stay. If you’re not afraid to stay in a hostel, Hostel Detroit is highly rated and a private room costs about $90 per night.
Lodging is limited around Sleeping Bear Dunes, which is why I stayed a couple hours away in Grand Rapids. I wanted to explore the city anyway so it just made sense for me to stay here. If you do end up staying in Grand Rapids, downtown is a convenient location, especially Homewood Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown. There’s a great restaurant located across the street, and it’s within walking distance of the Blue Bridge and a couple of breweries.
Transportation in Detroit & Sleeping Bear:
If you’re only staying in Detroit, you can get by without a rental car. Between walking, scooters, MoGo bikes, Uber/Lyft, and the Detroit People Mover (An elevated rail that makes 13 stops along a loop in downtown Detroit), you have plenty of options. And even if you are going to Sleeping Bear for a day, you can just rent a car for that day and save yourself money from having to pay for parking in Detroit.
Tips for Visiting Detroit & Sleeping Bear:
- Spend one day in Detroit, one day in Grand Rapids / Ann Arbor, and one day in Sleeping Bear.
- If you’re planning to visit a lot of breweries, it’s worth buying the Hop Passport.
- If you’re flying Spirit, save money by purchasing your flight at an airport. Spirit places a “Passenger Usage Charge” on flights booked online. By purchasing tickets at the airport counter, Spirit avoids the 7.5% federal tax that they would have to place on an online ticket purchase, thus saving you money.
- New Orleans Airport has a long term parking garage that charges $20 per day. But they also have a satellite parking lot called Park MSY Express Economy Garage Parking that only charges $12 per day and offers a 24/7 shuttle to/from the airport. Check to see if your hometown airport offers a cheaper, long term parking alternative.
- Download the Upside app to save gas.
- Use this website to see which neighborhoods to avoid in Detroit.
Bucket List for Visiting Again:
- Ann Arbor Art Fair in July
- Traverse City Whiskey Co. (Near Sleeping Bear)
- Baobab Fare (East African dishes in Detroit)
- Green Dot Stables (Sliders in Detroit)
- Candy Bar (Detroit)
- The Skip (Frozen drinks in the Belt in Detroit)
- Dequindre Cut Greenway (Detroit)
- Campus Martius Park (Detroit)
- Alligator Hill Trail (Sleeping Bear)
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park (Grand Rapids)
