As a longtime resident of west Michigan, I’m accustomed to staying up late to catch a brilliant Great Lakes sunset. Getting up early to catch a Great Lakes sunrise? That was something new to me.
Yet that was precisely what I found myself doing on a clear morning last September — heading out the door at 7 a.m. to see the sun poke its first rays above the glassy surface of Lake Huron at Bay City State Park. I had every reason to believe the experience would be worth the early wake-up call, imagining a magical pairing of the reds, violets, and oranges of sunrise with a similar palette of autumn foliage. I was right.
Northeast Michigan’s shore from Bay City north is called the “Sunrise Side” for obvious reasons. This corner of the Great Lakes State is also called Michigan’s “Quiet Side.” There are no serious traffic jams to contend with, no four-lane expressway whisking travelers from the Thumb to the Mackinac Bridge, no straight shot from Bay City to the Straits of Mackinac.
And that’s precisely why you should visit.
Your main route and the back roads around the region follow the twists and turns of the Lake Huron shoreline. U.S. 23 winds its way from one state park to the next, slowing as it passes through small towns, and tempting you to stop at farmers markets and beaches that alternate between golden sand and colorful pebbles. If you visit in fall, you’ll be drawn in by spectacular Instagram-worthy images of colorful hardwood trees reflected in the deep blue water.
The relaxed pace of a fall road trip on the Sunrise Side of Michigan offers plenty of rewards. Slowly soaking in fall’s colors is truly the best way to absorb them.
Bayside Birding
Within the Lake Huron Bay City State Park’s Tobico Marsh, clusters of shoulder-high cattails bob in the breeze, their ripe brown flowers split open to release tufts of fluffy white seeds. The marsh’s 900-acre Tobico Lagoon attracts area mammals — sit still long enough and you’re likely to spot the telltale trail of a muskrat swimming across the water’s surface or see a deer sipping at the lagoon’s shore — and stands of brown- and gold-hued hardwoods rim the marsh’s edges.
The chief draw at Tobico Marsh is its abundant migratory bird population, which attracts avid birders every spring and fall. Encompassing 1,848 acres (more than 2.88 square miles), the marsh offers a welcome respite to hundreds of thousands of migrating birds of more than 200 species each fall, beginning in mid-September and lasting through October.
Birdwatchers can expect to spot wading birds such as herons and sandhill cranes, and ducks like to linger near the lagoon. Wood warblers and flycatchers, buntings, and multiple varieties of woodpeckers flit among the marsh’s trees, resting up and refueling before continuing their journey south.
More than 5 miles of footpaths and boardwalks lead through the marsh, and two observation towers offer a treetop view of the landscape, whether your preference is to spy birds with binoculars or cameras.
Lights & Shipwrecks
Follow M-13 and U.S. 23 north from Bay City and you’ll be treated to miles of expansive Lake Huron shoreline. On the northern reaches of Saginaw Bay, Tawas Point State Park sits on a sandy peninsula, criss-crossed by hiking trails and crowned by a towering white lighthouse and its red-roofed keeper’s house —
a sharp contrast to the surrounding low dunes. After more than a year of work, renovations on the lighthouse are complete and the tower has reopened for seasonal tours.
Harrisville State Park, one of the first in Michigan, offers broad sandy beaches, two miles of nature trails through fragrant white pine and cedar forest, and campsites that are located right on the beautiful Lake Huron beach. It’s a Petoskey stone-hunters paradise!
The nearby Sturgeon Point Lighthouse and Museum stands watch just 5 miles north, its brilliant white tower and keeper’s building adorned with cherry-red shutters. A long sandy spit leading to a 1.5-mile reef into the lake and a pebble-strewn beach glisten in shades of cream, orange, and brown, washed by the Lake Huron surf and glimmering in the autumn sunshine. The 1870-era lighthouse and museum are open seasonally for tours and tower climbs, and the isolated grounds with historic markers telling the stories of its life-saving station days are open all year.
Overlooking the protected waters of Thunder Bay, Alpena is a place that sailors have long sought out — and still do — as a safe retreat from the wide-open expanse of Lake Huron. Visitors also seek out the quiet solitude and hospitality of Alpena, where they enjoy magnificent lake vistas, visit local farm markets, explore downtown, and soak up the rich maritime history of Thunder Bay. Plus, the New and Old Presque Isle lighthouses just north of town are worth visiting.
Nearly 100 shipwrecks lie protected within the waters of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the nation’s first freshwater sanctuary. The ships’ stories are told in dramatic detail through artifacts, interactive displays, and a shipwreck simulator at the sanctuary’s Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.
Visitors also can head directly to the bay to enjoy the bold fall colors and temperate fall waters of Thunder Bay. There, glass-bottom boat tours take visitors across the waters for a downward peek and a sense of proximity to Shipwreck Alley and its storied ships, from summer into early October.
Along the Sunrise Trail
A thick stand of densely packed hardwood trees might be the last thing you’d expect of a plot of land once owned by a lumber baron. But that’s precisely the history of Hoeft State Park. Lumberman Paul Hoeft donated this 340-acre tract to the state in 1922 to create one of Michigan’s original 14 state parks. A stately picnic pavilion of fieldstone and local timbers stands on the property. The building, which was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s, exudes history.
Hoeft State Park’s maple, beech, and oak trees glow with color in the fall. It’s an ideal time to walk the park’s mile of Lake Huron shore or hike its 4 miles of forested hiking trails.
Better yet, linger in this colorful corner of Michigan and follow the Huron Sunrise Trail from the seat of a bike. Stretching 8 miles along the Lake Huron shore, and cutting through Hoeft State Park and nearby Rogers City, the trail wends its way beneath a canopy of red- and yellow-hued leaves, past wide-open beaches, through low dunes, along the banks of the Trout River, and through meadows dotted with fall wildflowers like purple asters and black-eyed Susans. There are scores of places to stop, swim, or enjoy a picnic with a great view.
Fall is fleeting in Michigan, so get outdoors to explore these and the Sunrise Side’s other fantastic state parks, such as the delightfully isolated Negwegon, the boater’s safety of Thompson’s Harbor, or Cheboygan, which is celebrating its 100th birthday. The parks offer plenty of reasons to slow down and enjoy the annual color show. If you’re lucky, you might even spot a bald eagle or two.
Plan It!
Michigan State Parks
michigan.gov/dnr/places/state-parks
Heritage Route 23
us23heritageroute.org
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