As a prolific automaking state whose biggest metro is nicknamed The Motor City, Michigan may seem like the antithesis of walkable. Yet the “center of the US automotive industry” has many towns where you do not need motors. Shoes suffice to survey their beaches, parks, shops, restaurants, breweries, museums, festivals, waterfalls, lighthouses, and historic homes. Discover seven of the best Michigan communities to visit in the most anti-Michigan way.
Grand Haven
True to its name, Grand Haven is a grand haven on Lake Michigan. Approximately 11,000 residents and many thousands of tourists walk the beautiful beaches, parks, and historic districts of this Eastern Shore city. Grand Haven City Beach is a large sandy spectacle below Grand Haven State Park at the confluence of Lake Michigan and the Grand River. Behind the park and beach are the Duncan Woods, a 40ish-acre forest right in the middle of town. And above the woods are the Riverfront District and Northwest Neighborhood District, both of which offer self-guided walking tours.
You can do more than just walk around Grand Haven. Stop for dips in the lake, bites at The Toasted Pickle, and drinks at The Paisley Pig.
Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest city in Michigan. For this reason, it has a wealth of historic haunts that make tourists culturally and physically richer. You can learn about fur traders, missionaries, Native Americans, and sailors while walking to and from such sites as the John Johnston House, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s Indian Agency Office, Bishop Frederic Baraga House, and Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Museum.
All are part of the “half mile of history” tour down Water Street, which straddles St. Mary’s River on the Canadian border. You can walk internationally (with a passport) in Sault Ste. Marie. An annual event called the International Bridge Walk allows Americans and Canadians to start from their respective Sault Ste. Maries and come together for mutual merriment over international waters. This year’s trans-patriotic pedestrian party falls on June 29.
Allegan
Allegan is another riverside Michigan city with an iconic bridge. One can walk across the Old Iron Bridge (Second Street Bridge) over the Kalamazoo River on the way to Allegan’s array of attractions. These include the Tantrick Brewing Co., Mugshots Coffeehouse, Regent Theatre, Tardys Underground Comics & Collectibles, and Tilt, which is a new restaurant with a full service bar and arcade. Allegan explodes with even more walkable attractions in June for Bridgefest and in September for the Allegan County Fair.
Moreover, Allegan is about 20 miles from Holland, which deserves a mention for its walkable, tulip-lined streets that might make you feel you are in the other Holland.
Mackinac Island
Although Mackinac Island is a few years younger than Sault Ste. Marie, it has Michigan’s oldest surviving buildings. This island community began in earnest as a military fort in 1780, the officers’ quarters of which are still standing. They compete with the McGulpin House and Biddle House as Mackinac’s—and therefore the state’s—most ancient abodes. Chad’s Wonderful Walking Tours are among several options to see such historic sites combined with fudge shops and other modern marvels that serve this storybook-esque city.
Along with being walkable by design, Mackinac Island is walkable by necessity. Motor vehicles have been banned since 1898, with exceptions being emergency vehicles, service vehicles, golf carts, snowmobiles, and the filming of the 1979 movie Somewhere in Time. Aside from feet, the main mode of Mackinac transportation is horse-drawn carriage. If Detroit is The Motor City, Mackinac Island is The Motorless City.
Marshall
Stepping into Marshall is like stepping into a time machine—with an emphasis on stepping. This inland Michigan community offers a bevy of walking tours to explore its 19th- and early-20th-century buildings, which number in the hundreds and are part of the Marshall National Historic Landmark District. Six of those sites are picked for the Marshall Historic Home Tour, a September spectacle dubbed the longest-running home tour in the Midwest.
Three months later, historic homes are decorated for Christmas and are toured via the Candlelight Walk. Last year’s selections were the Dave and Kim Byrens Home (Bungalow c. 1925), Mary and John Gehrig Home (Gothic Revival c. 1860), Duane Dupee and Kevin Daus Home (Italianate c. 1869), Laurel and Patrick Piotrowski Home (Cape Cod c. 1931), and two 1920s-era condos around the famous Fountain Circle. Marshall also offers self-guided tours of everything from Federal architecture to historic markers to distinctive trees. The Influencer/Selfie Walk urges pedestrians to post their photos on social media with the hashtag #choosemarshall.
Munising
Munising sits on Lake Superior but it is hard to sit in Munising. This Upper Michigan municipality is stuffed with strollable sites like Miners Pasties and IceCream, Pictured Rocks Pizza, Earl E. Byrds, ByGeorge Brewing Co., Binsfeld Bayshore Park & Bayshore Marina, Pictured Rocks Interpretive Center, Falling Rock Cafe & Bookstore, and the Munising Front Range Lighthouse.
Best of all, the 2,000ish-person “city” is within walking distance of several spectacular waterfalls, including Tannery Falls, Munising Falls, and Wagner Falls. Do go chasing waterfalls in Munising—especially during winter when they turn into ice sculptures.
Manistee
Yet another M-mazing city, Manistee straddles Lake Michigan in Northern Michigan and has tons of walk-worthy wonders. They are covered by eight different self-guided tours: Museums of Manistee County, Churches Historic Tour, West Homes Historic Tour, Destination Sites Historic Tour, East Homes Historic Tour, Downtown/Commercial District Historic Tour, Riverwalk, and Industrial.
Highlights of these diverse excursions are the Manistee North Pier Lighthouse, which stands 38 feet tall and was built in 1927; Vogue Theatre, which was constructed in Art Deco style in 1938; and Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church/Old Kirke Museum, which, having been built in 1868, is considered the “oldest existing Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” In between strolls, tourists can refuel at The Daily BakeHouse and rehydrate at North Channel Brewing Co. Both businesses are housed in heritage buildings.
Despites its automaking legacy, Michigan has communities where cars are more a burden than benefit. On Mackinac Island, cars are not even allowed. Visit that island paradise as well as Grand Haven, Sault Ste. Marie, Allegan, Marshall, Munising, and Manistee if you want to experience Michigan sans motor. Just make sure to pack the requisite footwear for all their commercial, historic, and natural wonders.
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