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25 Coolest Midwest Lake Vacation Spots

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Cool retro chic: East Tawas and Tawas City, Michigan

Spending a weekend in this pair of Lake Huron beach towns feels a little like dropping into the 1950s. Several generations of Detroiters, many of them autoworkers, have come to the cottage resorts along these sugar-sand shores for affordable, close-to-home family vacations -- and they still do.

In Tawas Point State Park, kids build sand castles and splash in jade-color shallows. Sandy Hook Nature Trail winds past meadows of wildflowers and marshes teeming with birds. The Tawas Point Lighthouse stands over a 200-site campground.

A bike path connects the park to nearby East Tawas and Tawas City (180 miles north of Detroit). The lineup in East Tawas is simple but fun: souvenir and gift shops, a 60-year-old ice cream parlor and the 1910 Family Theater, which still shows flicks. Put away your cell phone, squint a little, and the decades just melt away.

Pictured: Kids clamber on retro-style playground equipment at the Gateway Park in Tawas City.

Tawas Bay Tourist and Convention Bureau >>

Comments

Comments (7)

beakuchta691019 wrote:

Edinboro Lake, 3 miles from Edinboro Univ. in NW PA is absolutely wonderful. It is in a small lakeside community and has much to offer: Visits to the Buffalo farm, Campbell's Pottery, and Goodell Gardens are all FREE, and Charley's Pub and Pizza and Edinboro Lake Resort boat and cabin rentals are more than family friendly. Every year they sponsor soccer tournaments at the University (3 miles away). It is a great place to relax and do nothing or to swim, boat, ski, bike, etc/

8/29/2010 01:41:56 PM Report Abuse

flowerchild914 wrote:

Our family enjoys the Erie lakeshores. We prefer to vacation there.

7/17/2010 08:40:38 AM Report Abuse

lynnkm wrote:

Fair Hills is wonderful! we spent 10 summers visiting the resort with our family and we loved it.

5/3/2010 10:07:37 AM Report Abuse

mggshot wrote:

You forgot the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck. Great party, interesting venues to see movies. Pure Michigan.

4/24/2010 10:17:35 AM Report Abuse

charlotteguy39 wrote:

South Haven MI is a must. We come all the way up from Charlotte, NC to stay at the Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast ( http://yeltonmanor.com/ ). There's really no place like it.

4/22/2010 10:04:17 AM Report Abuse

michelle_r_parker111245 wrote:

course I guess "Midwest" doesn't include the south, does it? sorry....brain freeze

4/21/2010 11:20:28 AM Report Abuse

michelle_r_parker111245 wrote:

You guys couldn't find any lakes in the south?

4/21/2010 11:19:17 AM Report Abuse