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Michigan Motorcycle Roads and Trips

If you're looking for motorcycle rides featuring lake scenery, Michigan (MI) may be your best bet! The Great Lakes State is wrapped in wonderful Great Lakes scenery as it lies nestled between four of the five American great lakes. This picturesque positioning results in Michigan boasting 3,288 miles of shoreline … more than both California and Florida and second in length only to Alaska! In between these shorelines motorcycle riders will find countless farms, mills, wineries, and other popular attractions. The topography of the state is generally level yet rises to about 1,600 ft in the lower peninsula and 1,800 ft in the upper peninsula.

Note: the motorcycle rides below have been divided into two general regions:
          - Northern Michigan (anything north of Grand Rapids)
          - Southern Michigan (anything south of Grand Rapids)

Northern Michigan Motorcycle Rides

Central Michigan Excursion - Grand Ledge to
N. Higgins Lake (US127 Alternate Route) (Feb 08)

... if you want to bypass US-127, here's a route to take. Very little traffic with some curves … south part of the route is mainly farm country … curves as it goes along the Pine River … north of Clare you will be going through forests and farm country until you reach scenic Lake Higgins

Scenery:
3 stars
Road Quality:
3 stars
Amenities:
3 stars

Copper Harbor Run (Keweenaw Peninsula) (Dec 07)

… riding the ridge of the Keweenaw Peninsula to view vast overlooks of Lake Superior … road travels some 500 feet above the Lake Superior shoreline … small restaurants scattered along the way, with a grand Lodge just outside of Copper Harbor!

Scenery:
5 stars
Road Quality:
4 stars
Amenities:
4 stars

Big Bay Road - County Road 550 (Oct 07)

… goes thru the foothills of the Huron Mountains and along Lake Superior in upper peninsula Michigan … road is very twisty-turny and

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
4 stars
Amenities:
2 stars

Manistee to Traverse City;Lake Michigan
Shore Tour (Feb 05)

… a very nice route which is mostly wooded and hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline for most of the trip … passes by the Grand Traverse lighthouse which you can tour … nice small towns on bays and inland lakes, farms, wineries, ski slopes … along the way you'll see and travel through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Pere Marquette State Forest

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
4 stars
Amenities:
3 stars

Tunnel of Trees Road (Nov 04)

… road hugs the western shoreline of Lake Michigan through a dense forest … a very narrow and twisty road … a must stop is at the “Legs Inn in Cross Village” - an old rustic cabin-style restaurant made of field stone, drift wood, and rustic logs

Scenery:
5 stars
Road Quality:
5 stars
Amenities:
4 stars

Michigan's "East Coast" Cruise (Aug 01)

… a great route that hugs the Lake Huron shore as it makes its way up the coast towards Upper Peninsula Michigan … see impressive Victorian style homes as well as a collection of mansions … in Tawas you can walk along a boardwalk that connects Tawas to East Tawas

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
2 stars
Amenities:
5 stars

Southern Michigan Motorcycle Rides

Southern Michigan Tour via Route 12 (May 08)

… nice rolling open country roads, some small towns, but not too many to kill the ride ... enough places to stop along the way for most anything ... is home to the Ford museum

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
3 stars
Amenities:
3 stars

Red Arrow Hwy / Blue Star Memorial Ride (May 08)

… Red Arrow Hwy is a great road, gradual turns, no twisties here. Blue Star Memorial Hwy is a bit old with the occasional pothole ... If you’re riding close to sunset, I would stop at the Kirby House and sit upstairs outside and watch the sunset and boats coming in - very romantic

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
3 stars
Amenities:
4 stars

From Coldwater to Hell (Jun 07)

… this ride takes you from Coldwater, MI to the interesting "Hell", MI … the roads in the Pinckney State Recreation Area are probably the best riding that Michigan has to offer!

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
4 stars
Amenities:
3 stars

Michigan's West Coast Winery Tour (Apr 04)

… through many small villages and townships ... lots of small town charm … flat & straight with some sweeping curves and reasonably smooth pavement

Scenery:
4 stars
Road Quality:
3 stars
Amenities:
4 stars

Key

Read this to understand our rating system.

All our motorcycle roads and trips are rated on three key categories:

  1. Scenery
  2. Road Quality
  3. Roadside Amenities
Read the description below for each of the categories to understand what qualities give a road a strong or weak rating in each of the categories.
Category
A 5 star rating indicates ...
 
A 1 star rating indicates ...

The scenery factor of each route is rated

Far above average scenery for that state. (Ex. mountain views, lakes, rivers, hills, or forests.)   Below average scenery for that state. (Ex. an area that simply is lacking in overall natural beauty.)

The road quality factor of each route is rated

Outstanding driving conditions.  Plenty of twists, turns & hills; well maintained roads with smooth pavement.   Straight roads over flat land or rough road conditions with
some potholes or driving
hazards such as gravel

A rating of what there is to do off the bike

Plenty of things to do when it's time to pull over.  (Ex. museums, restaurants, pull-outs, historical sites, entertainment etc.)    Little to nothing to do when it's time to pull over.  (Ex. lack of museums, restaurants, pull-outs, historical sites, entertainment etc.)