October honeymoon in Michigan

Ohh Traverse City and Mackinac Island are always good choices. They will be gorgeous that time of year too.

Here's my comment from CF post:

you should start a new thread about this. But I highly suggest the Traverse City area....the west coast of Michigan is gorgeous (near Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes) and has what you're looking at. Look at The Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor is gorgeous and romantic....and October being off season should have some good deals.

ETA: Homestead Link

http://www.thehomesteadresort.com/

Especially with you coming up from Chicago that drive wont be bad at all. Saugatauck is also a great area on the West Coast...honestly you really can't go wrong with anywhere on that side of the state, but Traverse City should be your top spot

Yep everything Maltese said.

I also commented in CF, but here's a recap:

We did northern Michigan for our honeymoon and took a day trip to Traverse City--I LOVE it up there. Also check out Sleeping Bear Dunes and Mackinac Island. Lake Charlevoix is also beautiful.

Lori and Maletese: With Traverse City or Sleeping Bear Dunes, are there any B&B's or hotels that are literally right next to a lighthouse? I know that is super specific but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

ETA: Just wondering if you know of any off the top of your head.. I'm researching right now since I'm on my lunch break.

Thats super specific...there are some on the Leelanau Pennisula (where I'm suggesting you go) but I don't think there is lodging adjacent

If you'll be here in October you definitely have to take the drive up M-119 just north of Harbor Springs. It's called The Tunnel Of Trees and it is on the Michigan Scenic Tour for a reason. It's absolutely gorgeous. I would drive up along the coast of Lake Michigan and make stop in Traverse City for a night. Then continue north through Charlevoix and Petoskey, both are gorgeous and will have very little tourism left so you can find some great deals. You might even look into taking the Mackinaw Trails Wine tour if you like that kind of thing. Take that drive, you will be sorry if you came up to northern Michigan and missed that. @Shauna is correct that Mackinac Island is gorgeous but be warned you have to take the ferry and then either rent bikes or hire a horse carriage (or walk) as there are no cars allowed on the island. If you like beer make sure to check out some of the breweries along the way. The Bridge Street Tap Room in Charlevoix being a personal favorite of mine. You can look for cabins to rent along Lake Michigan, and feel totally secluded with private beach access and still be close enough to great restaurants and attractions. You can't go wrong with Northern Michigan especially that time of year. Have fun planning things! =)

@Ashlee...this is why I suggested you start a new thread ;-)

Good call Maltese! Definitely! I just saw all the MI posters and I was like.. "Hey, here are posters who know this area-- maybe I could ask and they'd know a lot more than I do!" Now that I think about it, I wonder if there are even hotels that are within walking distance to beaches/lighthouses. That'd even be good enough. I googled Sleeping Bear Dunes and the first one that came up had a bunch of beautiful places to stay. Any that you'd specifically recommend?

The best thing about visiting that area of the state is that there are so many adorable small tourist towns to visit.

I don't know of any immediately adjacent to a lighthouse. I would look up lighthouses and then look for hotels/accommodations nearby. Have you ever used airbnb or VRBO? They're websites where people list their private homes for vacation rentals. I would think that would be really popular for northern Michigan, so you might want to check those out.

Also, if you're beer drinkers Traverse City has some phenomenal breweries.

I still standby my first suggestion....The Homestead Resort. Its a resort (not all inclusive though) with everything from hotel rentals to condos to 6 bedroom homes, has a small store and restaurant/bar on property.

Holy crapola that is a very nice looking place!

If you're coming as North as Mackinaw Island you should venture across the bridge if you've got extra time the Keeweenaw peninsula is gorgeous that time of year. The colors are stunning and there is a place called Brockway Mountain where you can see for miles. If you've ever heard of KBC beer (Keeweenaw brewing company) that's where they're located. Bonus: there is a road sign that tells you how many miles to Miami since highway 41 will take you there. Just a cool place in general.

West Michigan is gorgeous - try Holland, South Haven, Grand Haven, or even Grand Rapids for a day or two (lots of breweries and fun things to do, but more city life)!

@Ashlee...its awesome. We were up there for a long weekend two summers ago. I highly recommend it!

What Maltese said- my aunt had a lake house by the sand dunes and that was one of the highlight of my childhood - riding round in the buggies on those sand dunes

traverse city is beautiful.

It looks absolutely gorgeous. I emailed them for info since they have a honeymoon package. It is truly beautiful! It looks like that'd be about 5 hours from our current location so that's really not all that bad. We were considering just staying the night at the b&b venue and then heading to our honeymoon destination the following day. So that wouldn't be that bad for travel.

Petoskey is beautiful as well. But I will always suggest the UP for a honeymoon. Waterfalls, painted rocks, etc. just absolutely stunning up there.