6 Picturesque Towns in the Great Lakes for a Weekend Retreat

A Great Lakes weekend is a lighthouse at the end of a pier, a beach by noon, and a dinner over the water before dark. Superior has rough water and black rock below the art town at Grand Marais. Lake Michigan brings the two red lights on the Grand Haven pier and the cherry orchards thick around Traverse City. Huron bends around the tip of the Thumb at Port Austin, one harbor catching both the sunrise and the sunset. Erie and Ontario bookend it, the 1822 light at Marblehead and the waterfront village at Sackets Harbor.

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Grand Marais wraps its harbor around a working dock and a small lighthouse, up on Lake Superior's North Shore. The Grand Marais Art Colony dates to 1947, the oldest in Minnesota, and still teaches classes downtown. Artist's Point has the big view. The Breakwater Trail follows the basalt out into Lake Superior's surf.

The Gunflint Trail starts right in town and stretches 57 miles back into the Boundary Waters. The Pincushion Mountain Overlook climbs to a view of the harbor. Dinner is whitefish at the Angry Trout Cafe, probably caught that morning. Voyageur Brewing pours the beer after.

Ashland, Wisconsin

Ashland fronts Chequamegon Bay at the bottom of Lake Superior, up in northern Wisconsin. Boats pack the marina in summer. Kreher Park has RV sites and showers right by the water. Copper Falls State Park is a little outside town, 17 miles of trail past the falls and Loon Lake. Bring boots.

The town was built on iron ore and shipping, and the Ashland Historical Museum tells that story. The Chequamegon Theatre Association puts on a few shows a season, and it's the longest-running nonprofit community theater in Wisconsin. Finish the night at South Shore Brewery over a flight and a pretzel.

Grand Haven, Michigan

Start at the pier. That red light at the far end has been there since 1905, and the walk out to it is what people come to Grand Haven for. The Grand River boardwalk leads from the pier back into downtown on the Michigan side of the lake, past the Musical Fountain and the Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium.

The beach is right there too. Grand Haven State Park lines the south side of the channel, sand and a fishing pier for a full beach day. Downtown, the Kirby House does dinner and Odd Side Ales does the drinks.

Arcadia, Michigan

About 300 people live in Arcadia, right on the Lake Michigan shore up in Manistee County. The beach is wide and the water clean enough to wade into. A little to the south, the Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve is one of the last Great Lakes coastal marshes left, and the boardwalk through it is good for spotting birds.

Come in July and the town's awake for Arcadia Daze over at Finch Park. There's music, food, and a parade that finishes on a fire-engine wave. The rest of the year it's pretty sleepy. The Arcadia Area Historical Society covers the old lumber days, and the Pleasant Valley Resort Motel is right there for the night.

Traverse City, Michigan

Cherry orchards ring Traverse City at the bottom of Grand Traverse Bay, a town of around 15,500. The Mission Point Lighthouse, first lit in 1870, is about half an hour out the Old Mission Peninsula. Closer to downtown, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons used to be a state hospital that opened in 1885. It's shops and restaurants and condos now. Wander the old brick buildings and the tunnels, shopping or not.

Front Street pulls the whole town together. The Traverse Bay Cafe does breakfast, Sunset Park Beach the walk after. The bay goes pink to the west most evenings. The Delamar is right on the water, rooms there going fast around the National Cherry Festival in July.

Port Austin, Michigan

Port Austin caps the very tip of Michigan's Thumb, a village of about 600. One harbor there catches both the sunrise and the sunset. A long breakwall reaches out into Lake Huron, a first walk for a lot of weekends. Saturday mornings bring one of the biggest farmers markets in the Thumb to the streets downtown, fifty-some vendors deep. On July 3, the fireworks go up over the water before the rest of the state gets to it.

The paddle everyone comes for is Turnip Rock, a tree-topped sea stack 3.5 miles up the shore that takes a kayak and a calm day to reach. Port Austin Kayak rents the boats and reads the lake before sending anyone out. Farther off the point, the Port Austin Reef Light has warned ships off the reef since 1878, reachable now by boat tour. Five miles southwest, Port Crescent State Park lines up three miles of dunes and a dark-sky preserve along the Michigan shore, dark enough at night to pull out the stars.

Marblehead, Ohio

Marblehead's lighthouse has been lit every night since 1822, the oldest one still in service on the American side of the Great Lakes. It rises straight off the Lake Erie shore. The old keeper's house next door is a little museum now, the original lens and some shipwreck pieces inside. Walk the rocks along the water. Kelleys Island and South Bass Island are a short ferry hop out on the lake.

East Harbor State Park has a long swimming beach and ten miles of trails just up the peninsula. Its campground is the biggest in Ohio's state park system. Come in May and the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve has rare yellow daisies blooming in the limestone. The Bay Point Yacht Club is the spot for a sunset drink.

Sackets Harbor, New York

Sackets Harbor packs a whole weekend onto a walkable Main Street above Lake Ontario. The village of about 1,400 wraps around Black River Bay, its shops, restaurants, and waterfront dining a short walk apart. Right at the village edge, the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site preserves a War of 1812 naval base. A restored 1850s shipyard, costumed interpreters, and a visitor center share the grounds. On summer Sundays, the Memorial Grove hosts free concerts down by the water.

Down on the bay, the 1815 stone rows of Madison Barracks have outlasted the Army, the old post now a marina and inn. Boats head out from the docks for sailing, fishing, and sunset cruises on the open lake. Off the harbor mouth, the Horse Island Light has stood on its little island since 1831. A few miles south, Westcott Beach State Park has a swimming beach and campground on the New York shore of Lake Ontario.

Five Lakes, One Shoreline Weekend

The pick comes down to the water that fits the weekend. Superior is the cold, quiet end, all basalt and pine around Grand Marais and Ashland. Lake Michigan is the sandy, easy stretch down the Arcadia and Grand Haven shore. Huron narrows to a point at Port Austin, the paddle out to Turnip Rock. Erie turns warm and shallow under the Marblehead light. Ontario goes historic along the Sackets Harbor waterfront. Begin on the closest shoreline.