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Michigan Attractions

A growing collection of Michigan's outdoor attractions, cornerstone destinations, state parks, ghost towns, bridges, cemeteries, and animal attractions.

Benny the Beard Fisher, a 30-foot wooden troll sculpture with a long braided beard, seated in the woods along the Manistique River in Germfask, MichiganAttractions

Benny the Beard Fisher

Germfask, Schoolcraft County

A 30-foot wooden troll by artist Thomas Dambo, sitting on the Manistique River inside a Germfask campground. $10 per car, a short flat walk, no climbing.

$10 per vehicle, paid at the Northland Outfitters camp store

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse's white tower and red-roofed keeper's house on a rocky point above Lake SuperiorLighthouses

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse

Eagle Harbor, Keweenaw County

An 1871 lighthouse, small museums and a shipwreck full of Chryslers at the tip of the Keweenaw. $8 for adults, kids under 16 free, about an hour well spent.

$8 for the entire four-museum complex as of our research; children under 16 and Keweenaw County Historical Society members are free — confirm current pricing before visiting

The covered observation raft on the turquoise water of Kitch-iti-kipi, framed by evergreens and fall color at Palms Book State ParkTrails & Parks

Kitch-iti-kipi

Manistique, Schoolcraft County

Michigan's largest spring: 10,000+ gallons a minute, 45 degrees, and clear enough to count trout from a free hand-cranked raft near Manistique.

The raft is free, but a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry. Out-of-state vehicles: $12 daily or $42 annual (2026). Michigan-registered vehicles can only buy the annual pass, usually at license plate renewal — no daily option for residents

Two black bears resting under fall-colored trees in a large wooded habitat at Oswald's Bear Ranch near Newberry, MichiganAnimal Attractions

Oswald's Bear Ranch

Newberry, Luce County

About 40 rescued black bears in huge wooded habitats near Newberry. Twenty years of our visits, plus apple feeding, cub photos, prices and hours.

$30 per vehicle, $15 for a single visitor arriving alone, $10 per person for vans carrying more than six people; bear apples and the cub photo experience cost extra — confirm current pricing on the ranch's website before visiting

A tour boat inside one of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, with construction cranes and the historic administration building beyondAttractions

Soo Locks

Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa County

My kids said no to the Soo Locks. Then they watched freighters rise and sink 21 feet for 90 minutes. Free, a little nerdy and genuinely amazing.

Free for Soo Locks Park, the observation platform and the visitor center — no Recreation Passport needed