1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (59 page)

The Boardman, considered a secret jewel by locals, twists gently through Grand Traverse County before melting into the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay.

Ernest Hemingway knew a thing or two about fishing, and he favored streams like the Jordan, which flows north through Antrim and Charlevoix counties, Papa’s childhood vacation home. Framed by weeping willows and grassy banks, it’s considered to have some of the purest and coldest spring-fed water of any Lower Peninsula river, the perfect habitat for brown trout.

In contrast to the Jordan, the Manistee flows wide and lazy on its run to Lake Michigan. With its heavily wooded banks, a drift boat is the best way to work this river, renowned for enormous lake-run brown trout.

Canoeing—with or without fly rods in hand—is also a popular way to navigate many northwestern Michigan rivers and some areas (especially the Au Sable near Grayling) can get downright raucous with river traffic on summer weekends. But with hundreds of river miles, it’s still pretty easy to avoid the crowds and find your own private moment somewhere in Michigan’s golden triangle.

W
HERE
: Grayling is 200 miles northwest of Detroit.
Visitor info:
Tel 800–937-8837 or 989–348-4945;
www.grayling-mi.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: late May–early July for dry-fly trout fishing. Anglers may want to avoid the last weekend in July, which is ultra-busy with canoeists for the Au Sable River Festival.

A Captivating Blend of Culture and Horticulture

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Undulating hills, green meadows, wooded alcoves, mirror-like ponds, and meandering pathways provide an exceptional natural stage for art at this 30-acre sculpture park, the anchor of a superb and superbly
comprehensive 125-acre botanical center. The largest collection of outdoor sculpture in the Midwest, it includes more than 120 pieces, including works by such noted artists as Auguste Rodin, Louise Bourgeois, and Henry Moore. The settings greatly enhance the beauty: The land becomes a backdrop—even an integral part—of each piece.
The American Horse,
the 24-foot-high Nina Akuma bronze inspired by an unfinished Leonardo da Vinci sculpture, exudes even greater grandeur against the starkness of a grassy knoll.

The wow factor is high throughout this Edenesque complex. The Lena Meijer Conservatory, five stories of striking glass architecture, houses orchids, bromeliads, cacti, and other succulents. Its much-awaited annual “Butterflies are Blooming” exhibit lets
loose 6,000 tropical butterflies to flutter amid the 15,000-square-foot indoor tropical forest. The Children’s Garden is one of the nation’s largest, where kids can play in a treehouse village and learn about Michigan rocks and minerals in the Quarry. The Michigan Farm Garden re-creates a 1930 farmstead replete with vintage barn and farmhouse, and heirloom vegetable crops. An 1,800-person outdoor amphitheater hosts an ambitious summer concert series, with national acts that have included smooth jazz artist George Benson and blues guitarist Johnny Lang.

The massive sculpture
The American Horse
weighs 15 tons.

The complex is named in honor of businessman Frederik Meijer (cofounder with his father of a grocery/retail chain) and his wife, who collected sculpture and liked the idea of sharing it with the public. They donated 125 acres, their entire sculpture collection, and considerable financial resources to developing this regional treasure. It opened in 1995 and has been expanding since.

W
HERE
: 149 miles west of Detroit; 1000 E. Beltline Ave. Tel 888–957-1580 or 616–957-1580;
www.meijergardens.org
.
B
EST TIMES
: Mar–Apr for the butterfly exhibit; 1st full weekend in June for Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts (
www.festivalofthearts.org
) and blooming gardens; mid-June–mid-Sept for Meijer’s summer concert series.

A Little Bit of Europe on the Shore of Lake Michigan

Holland, Michigan

In the melting pot of the U.S., this western Michigan town was long an anomaly—after its founding by Dutch religious separatists in the 1840s, it remained more than 90 percent Dutch for over a century. Its ethnic makeup
has diversified in recent decades, but residents of this tidy community of 35,000 still know it’s the Dutch touch that is its biggest draw.

De Zwaan is a 240-year-old working Dutch windmill.

Holland rolls out the
welkommen
mat with a variety of Dutch attractions, but none can top the spectacle of endless fields of blooming tulips bobbing in the breeze come late April. The city has designated 6 miles of signed “tulip lanes” that lead visitors down tulip-lined streets and past brimming tulip beds around town. The best view of blooms is at Veldheer Tulip Gardens, the nationally known bulb producer. Don’t miss the drive-by view of its 30 acres of tulips, where more than 5 million bulbs in a rainbow of colors burst forth each spring. Adjacent to the gardens, the DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delft Factory remains the only working delftware factory in the U.S. Visitors can watch craftspeople carefully hand-paint the delicate blue-and-white patterns on earthenware using true delft glaze, and carve out authentic
klompen
(wooden shoes) on well-worn Dutch machinery.

The city’s treasure is De Zwaan (“the swan”), built in 1761 and the last authentic windmill the Dutch government allowed to
leave the Netherlands. It presides over Windmill Island municipal park, which is also home to other reconstructed Dutch structures, such as the 14th-century Posthouse and a Dutch carousel.

Dutch Village re-creates an entire 19th-century Dutch scenario, complete with canals, brick buildings with tile roofs, a farmhouse, and flowering gardens. The atmosphere is kept lively with music, craft demonstrations, and regular performances by high-kicking
klompen
dancers.

The Dutch factor gets cranked into high gear during Holland’s Tulip Time Festival, a 10-day extravaganza often touted as the “Best Small Town Festival in America.” Holland goes all out for the event, with 1,700 costumed Dutch dancers, food (think smoked wurstel and spiced windmill cookies), three parades (one alone has 40 marching bands), and townsfolk wearing meticulously researched costumes passed from generation to proud generation.

W
HERE
: 172 miles west of Detroit.
Visitor info:
Tel 616–392-2389;
www.holland.org
.
V
ELDHEER
T
ULIP
G
ARDENS AND
D
EKLOMP
FACTORY
: Tel 616–399-1900;
www.veldheers.com
.
D
UTCH
V
ILLAGE
: Tel 800–822-2770 or 616–396-1475;
www.dutchvillage.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: late Apr–May when acres of tulips are in bloom; early May for the Tulip Time Festival (
www.tuliptime.com
).

Splendid Island Wilderness Afloat in Lake Superior

Michigan

Bordered only by the vast waters of Lake Superior, Isle Royale (pronounced ROY-al) National Park is a model of what we imagine a national park to be: wild, rugged, roadless, and isolated from anything that resembles the
developed world. The park occupies an entire 45-by-6-mile island along with a surrounding archipelago of nearly 400 smaller islands and outcroppings. Rock Harbor and Windigo, two harbor areas that receive park guests by ferry, seaplane, and private boat, are the only dots of development that impinge on this watery wilderness. The rest of the 850-square-mile park is wild backcountry, home to wildlife and precious little else.

Isolation is a large part of Isle Royale’s appeal and uniqueness. It serves as a living laboratory for scientists, who study the predator/prey relationship of wolves and moose, for example, uncompromised by the effects of outside intruders. Isle Royale’s isolation also contributes to its light visitation; more visitors pass through Yosemite’s gates in an average summer day than visit Isle Royale in an entire year.

The majority of visitors arrive by ferry from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Rock Harbor on the island’s southeast shore. The Rock Harbor Lodge near the ferry dock provides the island’s only lodging. It’s a simple affair, but its basic motel-style rooms sidle right up against the rocky shoreline with
glorious views of nearby islands and the open waters of Lake Superior. It’s a fine base for noncampers who want to enjoy a taste of the park. You can set out on several day hikes and sign up for boat trips to attractions like a restored fishing camp, a lighthouse, and an old copper mine—and still enjoy a hot shower at the end of the day.

Isle Royale National Park is a sanctuary for an abundant moose population.

With 165 miles of foot trails threading across the island and linking a network of 36 campgrounds, Isle Royale is a backpacker’s dream. The 42-mile Greenstone Trail traverses the island across its high basalt backbone, intersecting most of the park’s other trails. Paddlers can portage canoes inland to explore dozens of interior lakes, where fishing and moose sightings are unmatched. Experienced sea kayakers can tackle the ragged Superior shoreline, a maze of rocky islands and secluded coves. No matter how you explore it, this unique national park offers a quintessential Great Lakes wilderness experience.

W
HERE
: 185 miles north of Green Bay, WI. Tel 906–482-0984;
www.nps.gov/isro
.
When:
mid-Apr–Oct.
H
OW
: Several ferries and seaplane services run to Isle Royale (
www.nps.gov/isro
).
R
OCK
H
ARBOR
L
ODGE
: Tel 906–337-4993 (May–Sept), 270–773-2191 (Oct–Apr);
www.isleroyaleresort.com
.
Cost:
from $170 without meals (off-peak), from $276, includes meals (peak).
When:
late May–mid-Sept.
B
EST TIMES
: late June–mid-Sept.

America’s Forgotten Mineral Rush

Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan

Most North Americans are familiar with the California Gold Rush of 1849. But history books largely overlook the copper rush that occurred at the same time, when vast deposits of copper—a mineral highly
coveted in the 19th century—were discovered in the remote wilds of Michigan’s Keweenaw (KEY-win-aw) Peninsula. The Keweenaw National Historical Park, established in 1992, now tells the tale, encompassing heritage sites that range from an opulent opera house to a mine tour that carries you deep under the earth.