The overall route is set, but that’s a far cry from having the whole trip planned. There are roads to select, sights and sites to choose, and so on. So I’ve been doing some work on that.
MotorcycleRoads.US is a nice source of tips for specific roads to ride. Last year the site tipped me off to the “Tunnel of Trees” on M-119 along the lakeshore between Little Traverse Bay and Mackinac, which I might have missed otherwise, because on a map it looks like just taking the long way.
The relevant recommendations for this year’s part of the state are more general, basically endorsing the entire lakeshore route from Mackinac to Lake St Clair. 🙂 (It also suggests a route that could be great for one of my future rides, thru inland northern Michigan.)
My initial thoughts for how to spend my full day camped at Cheboygan State Park revolved around revisiting places I’d been before: re-riding the Tunnel of Trees in the other direction, or spending more time on Mackinac Island. But I’ve decided to focus instead on Bois Blanc Island (“Boblo” to the locals), the larger neighbor of Mackinac. It’s less developed and touristic, but it does allow motor vehicles, so I could spend a day there. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like it has a road along the entire shoreline, which would’ve allowed for a straightforward “ride around the island” excursion, but I’ll figure something out.
I’ll have a similar situation at the other end of the coastline, where I’ll be camping two consecutive nights pretty close together (about 60 miles). That gives me most of a day for a trip into Ontario and back. On the shore of Lake Erie, there’s Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park, both popular birdwatching sites, which means they’re probably good spots for a photo expedition. I’ll probably have to pick one or the other, however.