Trip around Lake Michigan: stops?

[Thundershill]

Hi all! We've been camping with our AS FC 27' in primitive areas and one short trip to Memphis. (We're in Illinois, south of Chicago.) Now we're planning our first extended trip in the AS. We'll have our 13-year-old niece with us. Any suggestions for fun outings as we make our way around? We'll be stopping for extended days in Saugutuck and Mackinaw MI, Door County and Milwaukee WI. I love doing out-of-way quirky stuff and my niece and hubby are always up for anything.
Also, any amazing restaurants we can't miss in any of those areas? I saw the Swedish restaurant in Door County on a previous post. We plan on posting lots of pics and getting active in this forum!

[Heckler56]

The UP has some great spots. It gets busy in the summer so camping could be tight.

Eastern UP to west: Sault St Marie there is a campground in town on the channel to watch freighters go through the locks from Lake Superior. Newberry- Tahquamenon Falls and then Oswalds bear ranch (rescued bears). Pictured Rocks Nat’l Lakeshore. Head south towards Lake Michigan and off of US 2 is Katch-A-Kipi (hot springs with a raft you can view the bottoms/fish). In between Munising and Marquette, Lakenland (a boilermaker has made a sculpture park) .

[Daquenzer]

I lived in Door County for 10 years and these are the things you want to go to with a 13 year old.
1) Northern Sky Theater production in Peninsula Park. This is fun family friendly humor. Need to get tickets in advance. Often sold out.
2) If you like Pizza, Wild Tomato in Sister Bay. Your 13 year old niece will probably like this more than Al Johnson’s.
3) Al Johnson’s is OK. Nothing special in my opinion. But you can check it out because the big draw are the goats on the grass roof.
4) The cherries are ripe, so you will want to go to some of the Farmer’s Markets. Seaquists Market north of Sister Bay is probably the biggest. Lots of stuff cherry! Great bakery
5) If your niece likes crafts our family (older children and grandchildren) really like Hands On in Egg Harbor. They set you all up for doing all kinds of stuff. And you get to take your own creation with you.
6) If you want to bike, Peninsula State Park has nice trails. And you want to go to the Look Out Tower.

Not sure how long you will be there, but that will get you started.

[Thundershill]

These are great stops! Heckler 56, we are staying at a KOA in St. Ignace. I wish I'd known about the other campground. I booked these a while back, worried we'd get shut out!
Definitely visiting the locks, and I love the bear rescue ranch and rafting option. Thanks so much.
Daquenzer, thanks for the heads up on the pizza. And my niece LOVES crafts so we will definitely head to Egg Harbor. Hubby loves cherry wine so we're hoping to stock up on this trip.

[Heckler56]

Originally Posted by Thundershill

These are great stops! Heckler 56, we are staying at a KOA in St. Ignace. I wish I'd known about the other campground. I booked these a while back, worried we'd get shut out!
Definitely visiting the locks, and I love the bear rescue ranch and rafting option. Thanks so much.
Daquenzer, thanks for the heads up on the pizza. And my niece LOVES crafts so we will definitely head to Egg Harbor. Hubby loves cherry wine so we're hoping to stock up on this trip.

The downtown park is small and booked by winter anyway. The Sault is maybe 1 to 1 1/2hrs drive from Ignace. Walk the locks, take in the museum and drive back to camp. Then consider Paradise MI.. Ship museum, light house, sandy beach, then a short hop to Tfalls then over to Oswalds.