Wendy and I have been so excited in planning this trip to Michigan! After all… the planning and anticipation is half the fun!
Our itinerary from Alabama included stops in, Shephardstown, KY, Nappanee, IN, Manistee, MI and finally Petoskey, MI before heading home.
At our first stop we overnighted at Grandma’s RV park in Shepardstown. The park was right off of I-65, which made it very convenient for continuing to head north. It’s a simple park with friendly staff. We recommend this park because of the location, it’s easy, just off the interstate, and has full hookups with packed gravel sites most of which were pull through. It also offered a good rate at $47 for the night.
As with any RV there is always something that needs serviced. Our next stop was Nappanee, which is where our motorhome was built and the home of the manufacturer: Newmar. They have a nice RV park adjacent to the service center to stay in while you’re being serviced. There is a large Amish community in Nappanee. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful farms and the many horse and buggies.
While in northern Indiana we took a day trip to Elkhart. It’s considered the RV capital of the world as 85% of all RV’s are manufactured there. There is a large RV & Motorhome museum that we had the opportunity to see. It was very interesting as it had displays of RVs from wagon drawn all the way up to the 1990’s. We especially enjoyed seeing the “Keep Your Daydream” Blue Bird conversion bus with the Route 66 theme. We follow Mark and Tricia Leach on their YouTube channel. They have loan this unique bus, that they called home when they traversed Route 66 RV, to the museum.
Our next stop was Manistee, Michigan. We stayed at The Bluffs on Manistee RV park. It was a fairly new park with many amenities including a swimming pool, pickleball courts and a nice clubhouse. It is a 55 and older park with very friendly patrons. We recommend several activities if you plan a trip to Manistee. The 1.75 Manistee Riverwalk, 5th Avenue Beach, pier and Lighthouse, Arcadia Marsh Boardwalk, Point Betsie Lighthouse, Manistee Vessel Traffic through downtown and last but certainly not least Arcadia Scenic Overlook which had spectacular views of Lake Michigan!!
And now, in our opinion the best stop for last. Petoskey, Michigan is picturesque!
We stayed at and highly recommend Petoskey Bay Harbor Resort. There are many amenities and the nicest clubhouse we have seen at an RV park. If you go in the shoulder season (May or September) you can usually get a pretty good rate.
There are several biking trails that surround the harbor with great views. East Point park is a must-see if you go to Petoskey… you will not be disappointed! Nearby Charlevoix also has a beautiful harbor. And while you are there be sure and visit the mushroom houses. If you have a sweet tooth, Cherry Republic has chocolate covered cherries!
This was one of our favorite RV trips! We recommend traveling in May or September because it wasn’t as crowded as summer, RV park pricing is better and the weather is very comfortable. We experienced daytime highs in the 70’s while nighttime lows were in the 50’s.
We will see you again soon!!