Hotels in Northern Lower Peninsula

Dip your toes in the impossibly blue waters of Torch Lake, often mistaken for Caribbean seas. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore offers sand mountains that dare you to climb them, with Lake Michigan spreading beyond. Petoskey and Charlevoix welcome with independent bookshops and cafes where locals debate the best sunset spots. Hartwick Pines State Park preserves old-growth forest that escaped the lumberjack's saw, while Boyne Mountain transforms from summer hiking paradise to winter ski wonderland. Wine trails wind through countryside where vineyards somehow thrive despite the northern latitude. Don't miss fresh-caught whitefish in waterfront restaurants where servers can tell you which boat brought in today's catch.