Looking for a beach in MI/WI/IL/OH for long weekend in mid-August
 

Hi, FT friends:). GF and I are looking for a chill weekend spot before her school starts up again. The only requirements are: swimmable body of water with a decent beach and drivable/Amtrakable distance from Metro Detroit (so something like Lake Geneva, WI is just on the cusp of acceptable). Would also prefer to not have a bunch of screaming kids around (so places like Cedar Point are out). Would be a plus if I could use my various frequent traveler points (IHG, Marriott, Carlson, Chase, Amex).

Thanks!!

My first thought is somewhere on Lake Michigan, but many of the smaller resort towns don't have large chain properties. Those that do include Traverse City, Petoskey, and Holland.

In Traverse City, the bay is warm enough for swimming and if you want to really get away from the crowds go to Sleeping Bear. Saugatuck would probably have fewer families, but accomodations are small motels or B&Bs. The Lake Huron side is less touristy. Lake Erie beaches just don't compare to Michigan or Huron.


PS: Don't be surprised if this gets moved to the midwest forum.

My suggestion is to use awardmapper to find properties in your preferred chains near a beach. A quick search by me shows many possibilities along Lake Michigan.

There are lots of lakes in northern MI which are really nice. I don't know about chain hotels tho. Traverse City and Petoskey on Traverse Bay are nice, too. Again, I don't know about chain hotels.

Looks like I'm friggin' blind:D. I kept LOOKING for a MidWest forum and somehow didn't see one existed. In fact, I'll alert the mods so that they can do just that.

Thanks for the suggestions!

*writes down* Awardmapper is a new one to me. Thanks for the tip!

We ended up deciding on Chicago for the weekend in August (now need to find acceptable accommodations) but we are also going to Traverse City for the July 4th weekend. Sleeping Bear was what put TC over the top, compared to other locations.

Not much award night availability, unfortunately (serves us right to wait until two weeks before traveling on a major holiday weekend), so I had to bite the bullet and book the Holiday Inn Acme/Traverse City for 35K/night.

Also the start of Cherry Festival week, so probably not many open rooms at all in TC.

Still beats paying actual money:).

I was going to suggest Holland since it's only 2.5 hr drive from DTW area. Great beaches, cute/quaint downtown, fun farmer's market, concerts, fireworks over the 4th, biking, etc. It doesn't have Sleeping Bear, though. Has IHG, Marriott, Carlson, Hilton, so points might not be quite as high as TC (no idea).

Since this type of question comes up (where for weekend in the summer), I'll throw out some stuff re: Holland for those who also have similar question.

Holland is a 2-3 hour drive from Detroit (depending where you're starting at in Detroit) & same from Chicago.

Holland (pop: 40,000) is nestled along the shore of Lake Michigan, and also has a large inland lake (Lake Macatawa) which leads out to Lake MI. Holland State Park is large, lot of sand/beach, overlooks "Big Red" (famous lighthouse).

Holland has a cute, quaint downtown area. They deliberately kept the focus on that, so all the 'big box' stores are out on US31 on the outskirts of town. Holland has 'snowmelt' in the downtown area, so in the winter there's no snow on the streets or on the sidewalks (obviously snowmelt not an issue in the summer).

One of the things I think Holland does well is draw people to downtown/stay local with a variety of activities. For example, during the summer on Thursday evenings they have a 'street performer' series, with different types of street performers ranging from mimes to juggling to singing to playing guitar, etc.

There's the Tulip Time Festival in May. There's a big event the weekend before Thanksgiving in downtown Holland, with carolers and yes, even chestnuts roasting on an open fire (now I won't be able to get that song out of my head!). There's an ice sculpting competition in January. In December they have the Sinterklaas (Dutch Santa) parade, as well as a regular Santa parade. There's the Tulipanes Festival in September. There's the Groove Walk (music, drinks & trolleys) in the spring & autumn. You get the idea - they really have lots of things going downtown year-round.

There are some museums in Holland such as the Holland Art Museum, Capon House, Holland Arts Council, etc. There's also Windmill Island (with yes, a working windmill from the Netherlands) and the Dutch Village.

Kollen Park is next to Lake Macatawa, and there are events there, such as (free) Friday night concerts and other happenings.

The county fair is held in Holland at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds. On the 4th Sunday of the month from May-September, there is a huge antique fair in Allegan (20-30 minutes away).

Holland has woods north/south. Lot of folk walk/hike. And there are a LOT of folk who bicycle. Not quite as many as the Netherlands, but definitely a lot of folk bike.

Holland has a fabulous farmer's market on Wed & Sat, which opens mid-May. Between Thanksgiving & 2nd week of Dec, it becomes an open air Christmas market.

Hope College (small, private liberal arts college) is a couple of blocks from downtown Holland, and has events year-round for public as well as students.

Both Holland and Saugatuck (village 10 minutes away) have marinas and yacht clubs. Both also have yacht builders. There are some sailing clubs as well.

The closest restaurant in Holland I've found to one like I'd find in LA or Chicago is Butch's, which has a good menu & a Wine Spectator Award for several years. Also does a lot of wine tasting events w/ vintners from Italy, etc. FTers who have been to Holland also like the New Holland Brewing Co (but they're big on beer; me, I'm more a wine gal). Actually there are now 3 breweries next to each other on the main street, so I've nicknamed that one block Brewery Row.

Here are other food recommendations for Holland:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19959746-post86.html

Holland has one 'boutique' hotel called City Flats. One of the few certified 'green' hotels in the US; sister hotel in GR. People who have stayed there say it's a bit like ALoft or W (much smaller scale; 70 rooms). All the major hotel chains are in Holland except for Starwood & Hyatt.

Just north of Holland by 20-30 minutes is Grand Haven/Spring Lake, also on Lake Michigan, with beaches, etc. Just south of Holland by 10-15 minutes is Saugatuck, a charming village with a lot of art galleries, fun shops, etc, again right on the water. Just south of Holland 20 minutes is Fennville, which has orchards & families go apple picking, etc, in the autumn.

I think if you picked Holland it's a good base, with a lot of things itself, and then to go north or south (or east to GR) depending on what other trips you'd like to do.

If you decide to visit Grand Rapids (pop: 500,000), it has some good restaurants downtown, museums, a lot of festivals, a zoo, Meijer Gardens, Van Andel Arena (concerts; sports), minor league baseball team. The downtown GR Assn does a pretty good job of activities/things to draw people to downtown GR. Downtown GR is probably the closest you'll get to something like Chicago, and whether you go to Holland or Grand Haven for the beaches, both are only 30-40 minutes away.

There are golf courses in the Holland/Saugatuck/GR areas.

Hope the above info helps anyone looking to Southwest Michigan for location to visit.

* No, I do not work for the chamber of commerce LOL.

Cheers.

Ended up calling West Bay Beach Holiday Inn Resort and asking them to open up point availability (helps being Platinum, I guess), so looks like we'll be staying there instead of the HI Acme.

Holland is going to happen on the way back from Chicago in mid-August (Country Inn/Suites had a decent Cat.3).

Helpful. Thanks. ^

I noticed this property doesn't include breakfast. Would you mind posting your thoughts on this property after you return. We're considering a trip to TC and points north.

Dan

Although the "beaches" can be a bit rocky, I highly recommend a long weekend in Little Traverse Bay. It's a hidden gem in the Midwest, and lacks some (but not all) of the kitch factor of Traverse Bay (though there are still fudge shops and putt putt). Just the right mix of bucolic waterside town and vacation destination. Great restaurants, golf courses, sailing, and bike paths, plus a lot of local festivals. You can do day trips to the UP and Mackinac Island, the wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula, and the Boyne Mountain indoor water park. Skiing and snowmobiling in the winter months. Great people watching, including the occasional celeb. A lot of smaller inns and B&Bs (Staffords is one of the local hotel and restaurant groups), plus the Inn at Bay Harbor, which is a Renaissance property.

HIs typically don't while HIEs do, so I traded breakfast (which, most of the time, I generally don't care for at HIE, plus I like to sleep in and often miss it anyways) for beachfront. Will be happy to report once we return.

I wonder if it would be worth a day trip if we somehow get bored in TC:).