This is not my favorite time of year, okay. I was just outside and even though the temp is stuck in the mid-twenties, the wind is fierce and cuts like cold steel. So it feels like zero. Or worse. But even though I don’t look forward to this long cold passage we call winter, I understand that others do.
I’m reminded that lots of my fellow Michiganians live for this time of the year. It’s when they can finally enjoy skiing, ice skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, dog sledding and on and on. Some of you live around here: You can complete this list as well as I can.
The fact that Michigan has four distinct seasons is a huge advantage for residents and visitors alike. Yeah, it’s a cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true: Michigan has something for everyone. Sure, it’s winter. But spring is mere weeks away. And that’s when, from a travel standpoint, things really hit high gear.
Come spring, people from near and far will begin to reach out, defining for themselves in countless personal ways, what the tourism pros call Pure Michigan. And admit it: There’s a ton to discover here.
Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of anywhere on Planet Earth. Along our Great Lakes are more than 100 beaches open to the public and some of the highest and most impressive sand dunes anywhere.
You can find two National Lakeshores here as well as the only national marine sanctuary in the Great Lakes region. And don’t forget the 100+ lighthouse that trace our lakeshores.
Like visiting maritime museums or diving to see shipwrecks up close and personal? You can do both here. In the case of the latter, you can find nearly a dozen shipwreck-diving preserves.
Michigan’s 99 state parks and numerous campgrounds and wildlife refuges are carved out of our state’s storied timber stands, where representatives of approximately 100 species of trees stand guard.
To all of this you can add seemingly endless miles of trails for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, hiking and biking. Not to mention 800+ golf courses.
Those are just the biggies, of course. They’re the attractions everyone talks about. But they represent only the tiniest tip of the iceberg of potential that is Michigan. So how do you get help in tapping into the rest of this berg, the goodies that lie beneath the water line?
Trips with a Twist often talks about the little or lesser known treasures you can find along the back roads. One of the best ways to get connected with them is to seek out one of the 14 Michigan Welcome Centers maintained by Michigan’s Department of Transportation (MDOT).
In all, MDOT runs some 81 rest areas along major highways. Fourteen of these are Welcome Centers. Here’s where you can get your grub hooks on the good stuff—brochures, guidebooks, maps, newspapers and other materials prepared specifically for the good of the traveling public.
Plus, you can talk to well-informed staff members who have deep and broad knowledge of the region they represent. Visitor or lifelong resident? No matter. The Welcome Centers have the most complete information about travel opportunities and resources throughout the Great Lakes State.
You can find Michigan Welcome Centers in these locations. Click on the links to get specific locations and hours of operation. Enjoy.
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