Family Friendly Lake Michigan Destinations

psubill78

psubill78

Member
Jul 20, 2011
624
Lake Michigan (IL/WI border, Southport Marina E Do
Boat Info
'05 Meridian 368 MY, '11 Baltik BA95 Dinghy. Still a Sea Ray lover at heart!
Engines
8.1L HO Mercruiser (840 horse), 10kw Kohler Genset, Torqueedo 1003 for Dinghy
So this is the summer for trips for us. We just upgraded to a bigger boat, and are ready to really start exploring the Lake.

Our little family is my wife & I - along with our 8 year old daughter. We are not interested in little stores and shopping. Looking for fun marinas, maybe a nice beach. Our home port is Southport Marina (Kenosha, WI) so are aren't against crossing, or working up and down the west side of the Lake.

I've heard some marinas are near water parks? Or some marina's have great pool/beach facilities.

Other than word of mouth, how do you guys find cool places to hit up?
 
psubill78 said:
So this is the summer for trips for us. We just upgraded to a bigger boat, and are ready to really start exploring the Lake.

Our little family is my wife & I - along with our 8 year old daughter. We are not interested in little stores and shopping. Looking for fun marinas, maybe a nice beach. Our home port is Southport Marina (Kenosha, WI) so are aren't against crossing, or working up and down the west side of the Lake.

I've heard some marinas are near water parks? Or some marina's have great pool/beach facilities.

Other than word of mouth, how do you guys find cool places to hit up?
Click to expand...

Hope you get a lot of responses about this as I would love to learn more about the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan in paticular.

The more pics the better.
 
Get the "Lake Michigan Cruising Guide" put out by Lakeland Boating Magazine. Most marinas, West Marine and other boating stores carry it. You can also order it.

On another note. We have been boating on the big lake for 30 years and our kids grew up on the lake. Haven't found a marina I wouldn't take kids to.

Gary
 
Gary Hill said:
Get the "Lake Michigan Cruising Guide" put out by Lakeland Boating Magazine. Most marinas, West Marine and other boating stores carry it. You can also order it.

On another note. We have been boating on the big lake for 30 years and our kids grew up on the lake. Haven't found a marina I wouldn't take kids to.

Gary
Click to expand...

+1 on that. I have also been documenting our lake Michigan family vacations on our blog. One that was not documented was Chicago. We went there on our 24 over the fourth years ago. IMO the only way to go there is by boat. It is great to arrive in Chicago and not deal with traffic. There are other great resources and blogs to read too all over the Internet.
 
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Well, there is a reason they call NorthWest Michigan the "Gold Coast"...anywere bascially north of Muskegon along the lake is beautiful, with many family friendly ports. My family is from Wisconsin, and no offense, but the Western Shore of L M can't compare to the sandunes and vistas of the "Sunset Side" of the lake. If you are willing to cross, my favorite "must sees" would be Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leland, Lake Charlevoix/Harbor Springs and on to the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge view. There are so many ports, many with inlets to get off the big lake and so many easy towns to get around by foot within walking distance of the lake, that your shouldn't have any issues wherever you go. As far as water parks....the only one that I am aware of would be in Mackinaw City. But there are other towns you could go by cab for things like zip lining, horseback riding, winery tours, etc.

Good Luck!
 
Just read True North's comment and thought of Sheboygan blue Harbor resort. http://blueharborresort2-px.trvlclick.com/waterpark/ Great Marina and nice town. Spent some time there last year but did not use the water park. Could not agree MORE about the sunsets and Gold coast. That is why we attempt to cross every year!
 
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I agree about boating into Chicago. There's the new marina at 31st st with 1000 slips. Great way to visit the city. We have a slip in East Chicago and it's nice. Just watch out for weekend Warriors/Capts. There are wonderful beaches at the South end of the Lake and nice towns. We are looking to start doing long w weekend trips eventuality. Our boat is new to us 1982 31' vanguard and I want to make sure all systems are in top shape. So i am doff a lot of shake down cruise to Learn her behaviors and feel confidante I can still handle a larger boat. It has been a long time since I crewed a charter boat.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
As a shake down cruise, try out Racine Reefpoint Marina - with a pool and hottub, nearby sand beaches, quality restaurants (great food), live music every weekend night and CSR folks here to catch your dock lines!
 
techmitch said:
Hope you get a lot of responses about this as I would love to learn more about the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan in paticular.

The more pics the better.
Click to expand...

We've been to about every marina from Ludington to Mackinac Island on the NW Michigan coast. I blogged our adventure last year to Petoskey and Little Traverse Bay. The July and August 2012 archive has those photos and narrative. It was a 14 day vacation and about 10 days on the trip I guess.
http://pdboating.blogspot.com/2012/07/day-3-awoke-this-morning-to-view-flag.html

Here's a link to a slide show of the entire 2012 season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8SVVbqowuc

and a trip to Mackinac Island in 2010. (video quality isn't the best on this one).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wucvgs82wYQ
 
I looked high and low. Can't find that book.

We are thinking of hitting up Sheboygan then Sturgeon Bay, and depending on weather/etc, over to the Manitou islands...
 
LOL. Too funny. Checked amazon, and all the various places I buy books. Didn't even try their store. Thanks Rxflyer. Sometimes the most simple answer is right in front of you. Ordered.
 
psubill78 said:
I looked high and low. Can't find that book.

We are thinking of hitting up Sheboygan then Sturgeon Bay, and depending on weather/etc, over to the Manitou islands...
Click to expand...

When will you be taking the cruise to Sheboygan and Sturgeon Bay? We are in Sheboygan until Aug. 9th then heading up to Sturgeon Bay for a few weeks.
 
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