Mackinac Island downtown and harbor along Lake Huron.

Great Lakes state

Michigan

Four Great Lakes and more shoreline than any other state.

Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

Mackinac Island July 2010 02 (downtown from harbor).JPG by Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Meet the coast

About the Michigan Great Lakes coast

Michigan's two peninsulas reach Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie.

CountryUnited States
Great Lakes shoreline Lake Superior Lake Michigan Lake Huron Lake Erie
In this guide23 places to explore

Live · Michigan

What's going on right now.

Weather, alerts, the water, the sky and local headlines, gathered from official sources as you read.

Gathering the latest conditions…

National Weather Service Environment Canada NOAA buoy observations Aurora forecast

Live data from the U.S. National Weather Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and Space Weather Prediction Center; headlines link to the publishers. Sun and moon times are calculated. Conditions change quickly—check official forecasts before going on the water. Not for navigation.

Highlights

Four Great Lakes, two peninsulas and more freshwater coast than any other state.

Whitefish Point

The shipwreck museum and light at the edge of the lake's graveyard coast.

Explore the place

Plan your time

Settle in, eat well, travel smart.

A taste of the region.

  • Upper Peninsula pasties
  • Traverse City cherries and pies
  • Mackinac Island fudge
  • Smoked whitefish

Know before you go.

  • A Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry to state parks; residents can add it to their vehicle registration.
  • Motor vehicles aren't allowed on Mackinac Island. Ferries leave from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace.
  • The Mackinac Bridge is about five miles long; high winds can bring escorts or temporary restrictions.
Pure Michigan Michigan Recreation Passport

Get your bearings

Explore this coast.

Loading the map. The links and itinerary below are always available.

Towns Lighthouses Parks Grouped pins expand when selected.

11 of 23 places mapped. 12 remain in the list without a map pin. Unverified locations and precise shipwreck sites are not plotted. Pins are representative locations, not verified entrances.

Black-and-white basemap by OpenStreetMap. Great Lakes highlighted in color. Hold Ctrl (or Command) while scrolling to zoom. Use two fingers on touch screens.

Lake outlines: Natural Earth (public domain). Town centers: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Not for navigation.

Along the shore

Places to visit in Michigan.

All places
Coastal town Michigan · Lake Huron Alpena Thunder Bay's waterfront city and a gateway to Great Lakes shipwreck history. Explore place
Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States · CC BY 2.0

Alpena City Hall (53882685763) (cropped).jpg by Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Big Sable Point Lighthouse A black-and-white tower beyond the dunes north of Ludington. Explore place
Photo: Bailiwick Studios · CC BY-SA 2.0

Big Sable (29688853832).jpg by Bailiwick Studios · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Cornelia B. Windiate A grain schooner whose loss illustrates the hazards of late-season lake travel. Explore place
Photo: NOAA / Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Public domain

Ship's wheel of Cornelia B. Windiate by NOAA / Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Huron Fort Gratiot Light Station A Port Huron beacon near the outlet of Lake Huron. Explore place
Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Fort Gratiot Lighthouse Park 2025e.jpg by Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Holland Harbor Lighthouse Michigan's familiar 'Big Red' lighthouse at the entrance to Holland's harbor. Explore place
Photo: Rodney Campbell · CC BY 2.0

Holland Harbor Lighthouse 2.jpg by Rodney Campbell · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Ironton A schooner barge lost in a Lake Huron collision and later documented by sanctuary researchers. Explore place
Photo: NOAA · Public domain

Ironton wreck.jpg by NOAA · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Ludington A ferry port framed by Lake Michigan beaches, dunes and lighthouse trails. Explore place
Photo: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ludington light at sunset (21099533911).jpg by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Huron Mackinac Island A car-free island where Lake Huron meets the Straits of Mackinac. Explore place
Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

Mackinac Island July 2010 02 (downtown from harbor).JPG by Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Superior Marquette A northern Michigan city with sandstone shoreline, trails and a historic ore harbor. Explore place
Photo: ThiloG · CC BY-SA 2.0

Marquette Lower Harbor Ore Dock, 2013.jpg by ThiloG · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Monohansett A steamer whose remains form part of Thunder Bay's protected maritime collection. Explore place
Photo: NOAA / Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Public domain

Stern and propeller of Monohansett by NOAA / Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Superior Munising The harbor gateway to Pictured Rocks and a coastline of cliffs and waterfalls. Explore place
Photo: Notorious4life · CC0

Munising, Michigan (02 August 2016).jpg by Notorious4life · CC0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan New Buffalo A compact southwest Michigan harbor with a beach-town pace. Explore place
Photo: BigBear_in_IN · CC BY-SA 3.0

New Buffalo Harbor, MI - panoramio.jpg by BigBear_in_IN · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Nordmeer A twentieth-century freighter in a sanctuary collection spanning generations of ship design. Explore place
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain

TBNMS - Nordmeer (27699704940).jpg by National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Ohio The grain-carrying freighter involved in the same collision that sank Ironton. Explore place
Photo: Michigan Technological University / NOAA · Public domain

SS Ohio sonar image by Michigan Technological University / NOAA · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Petoskey Little Traverse Bay views and a historic downtown in northern Michigan. Explore place
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0

2009-0619-Petoskey-marina.JPG by Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Huron Pewabic A Thunder Bay steamer lost in a collision during the Great Lakes shipping era. Explore place
Photo: J.E. Keast · Public domain

Pewabic.jpg by J.E. Keast · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

National Lakeshore Michigan · Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Sandstone cliffs, beaches and waterfalls along Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Explore place
Photo: National Park Service · Public domain

Pictured Rocks Bridalveil Falls.jpg by National Park Service · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Point Betsie Lighthouse A landmark white tower on the Lake Michigan shore. Explore place
Photo: Belle montano-zygmunt · CC BY 2.0

Pt Betsie lighthouse Frankfort Michigan.jpg by Belle montano-zygmunt · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Huron Port Austin A small harbor at the tip of Michigan's Thumb. Explore place
Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domain

Port Austin Michigan aerial view.jpg by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

National Lakeshore Michigan · Lake Michigan Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Expansive dunes, forest and long beaches on Lake Michigan. Explore place
Photo: en:User:Grod028 · Public domain

Sleeping Bear Dunes.jpg by en:User:Grod028 · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Shipwreck story Michigan · Lake Superior SS Edmund Fitzgerald The Great Lakes' best-known shipwreck and a lasting story of Lake Superior. Explore place
Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain

Edmund Fitzgerald-USACE.jpg by Unknown photographer · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Traverse City A northern Michigan favorite between bays and rolling countryside. Explore place
Photo: Phoenix-Five · CC0

Downtown Traverse City from Wayne Hill.jpg by Phoenix-Five · CC0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Superior Whitefish Point Light Station A Lake Superior light station at a shoreline known for shipping and shipwreck stories. Explore place
Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0

Whitefish Point Light 2026.jpg by TCP04 · CC BY 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.