2025's Most Underrated Towns In Michigan
Michigan is home to many well-known travel destinations, but some of its most rewarding experiences are often found off the beaten path. If you want to venture through the Wolverine State this year and want to see something a little more novel than Detroit, Saginaw, or any of its other bigger cities, read on to discover 8 hidden gems that you ought to check out instead.
From the shores of the Great Lakes to its forested wildernesses and most historic settlements, let's commence our journey through Michigan's most underrated towns to visit 2025!
Charlevoix
Charlevoix is an incredible lakeside destination, being sandwiched on a narrow bridge of land between Lake Charlevoix and the mighty Lake Michigan. There is even a small lake located in the center of town, Round Lake, giving it several different waterfronts for you to appreciate during your visit.
The downtown area is also home to a wide selection of restaurants, hotels, shops, and the historic Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse, making it a great place to stay for a weekend escape in 2025. Looking for somewhere truly memorable to stay the night in Charlevoix? A key attraction in town is the Mushroom Houses, which are a collection of stone cottages with fairytale-like, almost organic, designs that have to be seen to be believed!
When you get the chance, be sure to explore the area's natural wonders at locales like Fisherman’s Island State Park, which offers walking trails and a quiet stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline that will help you avoid the crowds this summer. In autumn, the town’s location along the Breezeway Scenic Route makes it an excellent stop for fall color viewing, while in winter, nearby Mt. McSauba Recreation Area is the local spot for skiing, snowshoeing, and one of the most scenic sledding hills in the state, making Charlevoix an excellent year-round destination.
This northern Michigan community is also known for the Charlevoix Venetian Festival, which will be taking place in July this year. The event brings concerts, boat parades, and fireworks together for an experience the entire family will enjoy.
Frankfort
Frankfort is another small town overlooking Lake Michigan that remains underappreciated despite its idyllic setting and plethora of fun and unique draws. Located just south of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, this quaint community also provides easy access to one of the most impressive and iconic landscapes in the state.
Frankfort's single-street downtown core lines both Lake Michigan and Betsie Lake, where a selection of marinas make it a good place to park your boat. After landing on shore, nearby, you will find the Frankfort Beach and the Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse, both of which offer an ideal place to soak in some sun and maybe even catch a nice sunset in the evening. Be sure to also grab a cold one at Stormcloud Brewing Company, renowned for its locally made Belgian-style ales, and its patio just steps from the waterfront.
A short drive away sits another beautiful body of water. Crystal Lake’s calm surface is ideal for kayaking and swimming, as well as sport fishing. Its shores are lined mainly with residential buildings and cottages, yet features a number of public access points, quiet beaches, and parks like Railroad Point Natural Area. The nearby Betsie Valley Trail is also popular with outdoor enthusiasts, with its decommissioned rail line extending from Frankfort to Thompsonville, providing you with miles of cycling or hiking through pristine forests and wetlands.
In the colder months, Frankfort becomes even more of a quiet retreat, with cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails abundant in the nearby woods. Its location along M-22 makes it a prime stop for autumn leaf peeping too.
Munising
Munising can be easy to miss, as it rests on the northern side of Michigan's sparsely populated Upper Peninsula. Its location along Lake Superior, however, and proximity to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore make it one of 2025's most remarkable destinations. The wildlands around this town are full of many lesser-known yet equally amazing natural sights too, including towering cliffs, waterfalls, and dense forests filled with wildlife.
Boat tours from Munising Harbor provide the best views of nearby Pictured Rocks, showcasing formations like Chapel Rock and Miner’s Castle. Kayakers can also paddle beneath the cliffs and explore sea caves along the shoreline for a more intimate experience. And if you want to explore the more interior landscapes here, Munising Falls, Wagner Falls, and Alger Falls are all within a short hike from downtown.
Downtown Munising has its own charms, with breweries, cafes, and other amenities catering to visitors without losing its small-town feel. The community also has its fair share of history to be explored as well. Start at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which highlights the region’s historic links with Lake Superior, while Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tours, commencing from one of the downtown harbors, offer a look at sunken vessels beneath the lake's incredibly clear, yet sometimes treacherous, waters.
Manistee
Manistee is another gorgeous town set between two lakes, Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake. These two bodies of water are actually connected by a short river, where many of the area's marinas can be found, allowing you to conveniently park your vessel in the dowtown area.
Besides being a top-tier vacation town, history is clearly woven into Manistee's identity. Experience this for yourself at locales like the Vogue Theatre, which has been playing movies since 1938 and still has its original neon sign, or the S.S. City of Milwaukee, a historic railroad car ferry that will be open for tours in May of 2025. Be sure to also walk along River Street, where landmarks like the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, a restored 1903 opera house can still be enjoyed to this day.
Take an extended stroll and see the Manistee Riverwalk, a scenic boardwalk stretching 1.5 miles along the river that offers an easy way to explore Manistee and access its best beaches. First Street Beach and Fifth Avenue Beach are both local favorites and provide lengthy stretches of sand along Lake Michigan with scenic dunes looming behind them.
Just north of town, you can get a more unique view at Orchard Beach State Park, which sits on a tall bluff high above the area. This park contains a network of trails and a number of unobstructed viewpoints that are also ideal to visit during a sunset.
Frankenmuth
Frankenmuth stands out for its distinct Bavarian style, a bit like other themed towns in the United States such as Leavenworth in Washington. While many come to see Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store, Frankenmuth offers so much more, all just an hour and a half north of Detroit.
Downtown Frankenmuth is home to a collection of German-inspired buildings, many of which house attractions like the iconic Zehnder’s and the Bavarian Inn restaurants, known for their family-style chicken dinners and other delicious German dishes. The Cass River also runs through town, with boat tours available on the Bavarian Belle paddlewheel that passes under a picturesque wooden covered bridge, a cool landmark that was built using traditional German techniques.
Throughout the year, local festivals are another big draw for visitors, including Zehnder’s Snowfest in winter and the Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival in summer.
The Frankenmuth Historical Museum is the place to go if you want to learn more about this region's longstanding German heritage and its earliest settlers. Frankenmuth is also home to the Michigan Heroes Museum, which highlights Michigan's veterans in all branches of the military, and the state's contributions to advances in space exploration.
The area offers a number of fun outdoor activities on top of everything else, including kayaking on the Cass River and exploring the trails at the Frankenmuth Nature Center. Frankenmuth's location along M-83 makes it an easy stop for travelers exploring Michigan’s Thumb region, which also includes worthwhile towns and cities like Port Huron, Owosso, and many others.
St. Joseph
In the southwest corner of the state near the Indiana border, St. Joseph is a highly underrated beach town, especially when compared to other coastal destinations in Michigan.
With places like Silver Beach, arguably the town’s main attraction, this community is an idyllic weekend escape for you to discover this year. Along its lakefront, you may also run into a historic carousel from 1910, an eye-grabbing Whirlpool Compass Fountain, and several other notable landmarks. The nearby St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse, accessible via a concrete walkway, is one such scenic stop, while the Krasl Art Center, located closer to downtown, hosts rotating exhibitions and outdoor sculptures that add to St. Jospeh’s visual appeal.
Events such as the annual Chalk the Block festival bring more colorful street art to the waterfront, and the St. Joseph Farmers Market and Antiques on the Bluff will surely attract those looking to pick up some local goods for a deal this summer of 2025.
In terms of the town's natural scenery, the St. Joseph River appropriately cuts through the heart of St. Joseph, giving paddlers and other boaters alike a route to explore further inland. If you want to adventure around on foot, a short trip north sits the Sarett Nature Center, which sits on the Paw Paw River and protects a swathe of the area's verdant wetlands and forest. Here, a network of boardwalks and dirt paths make it easy to navigate the park on foot.
Calumet
When travelers go to the Upper Peninsula, they usually opt for a lakeside experience, whether it's on Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, or Lake Superior. Its enormous coastline makes an outing by the water very easy to find. Calumet, however, does not rest right on the edge of any important lake, giving you a chance to spend some time in this region's underappreciated interior wildernesses.
Located in the resource-rich Keweenaw Peninsula, it was once the center of the state’s copper mining industry. Today, its well-preserved 19th-century downtown area, and convenient access to outdoor recreation, make it a compelling destination for history enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.
Calumet serves as a home base in Keweenaw’s remote and gorgeous landscapes, an area you should make some time to explore. Check out the Swedetown Trails, which offer miles of space for hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing, while in the winter, Calumet becomes a major hub for snowmobiling and other winter activities, as it receives some of the highest snowfall totals in the Midwest, with over 207 inches annually!
Downtown Calumet is part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, where you can visit landmarks like the Calumet Theatre, a venue dating back to the year 1900 that is still in use, and the Coppertown Mining Museum, which details the region’s once bustling industrial past. Nearby, the Quincy Mine offers underground tours, giving you an up-close window into the challenges and conditions the local miners once faced.
Northville
Northville is an overlooked gem with a welcoming downtown core filled and numerous things to see and do within it. Located between Detroit and Ann Arbor, Northville retains an old-timey charm while providing modern amenities and an easy-to-access escape from big city life too.
This suburb is home to several historic but well-maintained buildings, some dating back to the Victorian era. Here, you will find an array of highly rated eateries, like Exchange Bar and Grill Nearby or Rebecca's Family Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor, and other draws, including the Mill Race Historical Village, a destination that recreates a typical 19th-century Michigan settlement, replete with restored structures, gardens, and even a working blacksmith shop.
A few parks and local nature trails add a touch of nature to this urban community. Explore the Northville Maybury State Park, located just outside town, for hiking, biking, and horseback riding across wooded terrain. Moreover, Ford Field Park, not to be confused with Detroit’s stadium, provides a central green space, and the area around it is a main gathering place for some of Northville's festivals and events, such as the Northville Heritage Festival and the Christmas Parade.
Explore All of Michigan this Year
From the historic streets of remote Calumet to the extensive Lake Michigan shoreline that is home to many of the towns on this list, these destinations offer a wonderful mix of history, outdoor recreation, and local culture that you can enjoy without overwhelming crowds. If you're seeking something beyond this state's usual tourist spots, you will find that these underrated communities deliver a truly memorable experience, making them very much worth visiting in 2025.
