US Summer Road Trip Outdoor Adventure Destinations: The Great Lakes

Lake Michigan, South Manitou Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes.

We share five US Summer Road Trips that are in and near the Great Lakes in this article. All of these destinations have an Outdoor Adventure flair to them and all are within six hours of driving from Traverse City Michigan! US Summer Road Trip Outdoor Adventure Destinations Great Lakes awaits in this article.

WE WILL BE BREAKING APART THE US INTO REGIONS, AND FROM THE PLACES THAT WE HAVE LIVED AS NOMADS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, AND WE WILL SHARE OUR SUMMER ROAD TRIP GUIDES WITHIN SIX HOURS OF THOSE LOCATIONS! IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SUMMER ROAD TRIP DESTINATION IN THE Great Lakes Region WITH OUTDOOR ADVENTURE ENERGY THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU.

Our full list will feature the summer road trip guide from these destinations that we have lived in:
1. Columbus Ohio (Midwest)
2. Traverse City Michigan (Great Lakes)
3. Grand Junction Colorado (Mountain West)
4. Seattle Washington (PNW)
5. Malibu/Joshua Tree California (SoCal)
6. Paso Robles California (Central Cali)
7. Sedona Arizona (American Southwest)
8. Tamarindo Costa Rica (Lower Central America)

Here is your Summer Road Trip Great Lakes Destinations List!

Marquette and Munising Michigan.

This double whammy of towns in the UP of Michigan gives you enough outdoor adventure exploration that you could spend the entire summer here. (Some do.)
Both spots are located right on Lake Superior and offer camping, biking, hiking, and kayaking options that seem endless. Marquette in particular has some solid elevation hiking (watch our Roamie video above in the article) and Munising allows to jump off to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island National Recreation Area.
We took the ten minute ferry ride to Grand Island and stayed the night in one of their rustic cabins. We highly recommend you consider doing the same!
Distance from Traverse City Michigan: 4h 48m.
Road Trip Add On’s From Here: Isle Royale National Park, Copper Harbor Michigan.

Indiana Dunes National and State Parks, Indiana.

This newer addition to the US National Parks system boasts hiking trails, bird watching, biking along Lake Michigan (with spots to take a swim), campgrounds, and a 3 Dune Hiking Challenge in its state park.
With glimpses of Chicago from the trails, Gary IN just around the corner, and a weave through neighborhoods you will be surprised how quickly you feel “off the beaten path” and into nature while being so close to largely populated regions.
We love camping at the Dunewood for access to restaurants, Lake Michigan, and hiking trails.
It’s an often overlooked gem of the Southern Lake Michigan waterfront!
Distance from Traverse City Michigan: 4h 6m.
Road Trip Add On’s From Here: Grand Haven State Park, South Haven Michigan.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.

Ohio’s Only National Park need not be slept on. From epic waterfalls to a scenic railway to biking trails to a beaver marsh there’s a bit of everything for the outdoor explorer to do in Cuyahoga Valley!
Brandywine Falls is towering and the closer to late spring you come the more the falls will be rushing and its most powerful form.
Blue Hen Falls and The Ledges hikes and even a half or full Marathon on the Ohio Erie Towpath rails to trails path can be in your long weekend plans for any avid adventurer.
Distance from Traverse City Michigan: 6h 0m.
Road Trip Add On’s From Here: Kelleys Island, Lake Erie, Ohio. Rock and Roll HOF, Cleveland, Ohio.

A trail market on the North Country Trail.

Huron-Manistee National Forest, Michigan.

Did you know there is a National Scenic Trail called the North Country Trail that runs all the way from Vermont to North Dakota (or vice versa) and traverses through 8 states and 4,800 plus miles?!
Pretty wild I think. Even wilder is the small amount of people that have Thru-Hiked it. This isn’t exactly like the AT or the PCT. A big chunk of the North Country Trail runs through Michigan.
We caught miles on it near Marquette Michigan in the UP but also heading South to the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
It was my dog’s first hike with a bear bell on and he didn’t seem to be bothered by the ringing on his neck.
This National Forest takes up a HUGE amount of space in between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron basically after you get past Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids and before you get near Traverse City.
There are day hikes everywhere (the Manistee River Trail was our favorite) off the grid primitive camping, and a true “North Woods” scene that reminds me more of Minnesota or Alaska than of the Great Lakes State of Michigan.
Distance from Traverse City Michigan: 0h 52m.
Road Trip Add On’s From Here: Croton Dam, Michigan. Cadillac, Michigan.

Photo by Photo Fuzz on Unsplash.

Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan and/or Ontario Canada.

No type above in the destination listing. There are two Sault Ste Marie’s. One located in the UP of Michigan and one located across the lake in Ontario Canada.
For this rendition we’ll take our passports though to explore Ontario’s only wilderness National Park (Pukawska.) Pukawska sports moose, bears, eagles, and those mild spicy temps we love in Northern Michigan in the summer.
Plus we’ll go explore the Sault Sainte Marie Canal National Historic Site…say that fast three times…I dare you!
From fun and funky towns littering the coastal lines to hiking trails to campfire chats it doesn’t matter if you wind up on the Michigan or the Ontario side of Sault Sainte Marie…you are in for an outdoor adventure you won’t soon forget.
Distance from Traverse City Michigan: 3h 2m.
Road Trip Add On’s From Here: Algonquin Park, Ontario. Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron.

While Traverse City is famous for cherries, craft breweries, and the Traverse Bay I hope this article shows you that you are within hours of epic Outdoor Adventures in every direction.
Sleeping Bear Dunes is around the corner but there is much more than just the drowsy grizzly’s in the Great Lakes Region should you want to explore deeper in the summer.
(Surf Season is in the winter here anyways so what else ya doing in the summer?!)

Thanks for reading and comment below with your favorite Great Lakes Outdoor Adventures.

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R