Virtual Michigan

In a departure from my previous two “virtual” posts, this time we are going to explore online a state I have not visited yet. If there’s a place here you’d like to include, please add it to the comments below.

Last summer (2019), I had reservations at several places near Lake Huron and had also booked a week at a KOA in a town that has an annual German festival. I was very excited because I’d been wanting to see the thumb of Michigan for about 20 years. Circumstances didn’t cooperate though and I ended up spending the summer in Oklahoma City recovering from minor surgery.

2020 didn’t cooperate either so needless to say, Michigan is still on my bucket list. Here are some links so you can explore while waiting to travel.

I was able to gather much of my tourist information about Michigan from this site Pure Michigan, which is the official travel site for the state. If you click on the “places to stay” tab, you will even find RV parks and camping listed, making your trip planning super easy.

For 360 degree views of the many regions of Michigan, check out the Pure Michigan YouTube channel here.

Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska. One of the virtual tours by the National Park Service of the many wild and scenic places you can visit is called Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

If you are a camper or RVer at heart, you might be in the habit of avoiding large cities, but you can still travel the museums and sites virtually. Detroit is the largest city in Michigan, home of Motown and more than 10 museums. While currently closed to the public, the Michigan Science Center has links and interactive content for educators and homeschoolers.

At the Thunder Bay National Maritime Sanctuary you will find the Great Lakes Heritage Center, with free admission. This museum features 9,000 square feet of immersive exhibits. In the meantime, plan your trip online by exploring the website. If you are into science and archeology, check out the distance learning page on the Thunder Bay NOAA website.

When googling Michigan virtual trips, I was excited to find a resource by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. With school children home for the rest of the year, the DNR has provided education resources for home with many activities including virtual field trips, online tours and videos, experiments, projects, and ways to engage with nature.

You could spend a lifetime exploring the Great Lakes state of Michigan, with its two peninsulas (the Thumb and the UP or Upper Peninsula). It boasts 78 state parks and 6 state forests. Start with the above links and plan that trip.