This State Is Your Unexpected Caribbean Dupe, No Passport Required

You don’t need a passport for a beach escape that feels downright tropical. And with 71 percent of Americans opting for stateside stays this summer, more people are looking to access paradise without currency exchanges.

Enter: Michigan.

I get it. You’re skeptical. But that just means you’ve never stood on the blinding-white sands of Northern Michigan’s west coast, staring out at topaz waves. As a scuba diving travel writer who’s logged plenty of time in tropical locales and spent 26 of my 30 years in the Great Lakes State—I’m here to tell you: Michigan can absolutely hold its own.

We’ve got sugar-soft beaches, teal bays you can sail, and freshwater so clear it hurts to look at. No sharks, no salt, no passport. Just miles of dune hikes with island-caliber views, paddleboarding in turquoise bays, and the kind of geology that turns Midwestern lakes into Caribbean lookalikes.

This is your no-passport tropical dupe that’s hiding in plain sight.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore stretches 35 miles along Lake Michigan in Northern Michigan, with over 71,000 acres of dunes, forests, inland lakes, and historic sites—including the Manitou Islands, old farmsteads, lifesaving stations, and an 1871 lighthouse. At its heart: some of the tallest freshwater dunes on Earth, earning it the title of the “Most Beautiful Place in America” from Good Morning America in 2011.

Fortunately for me, my parents own a vacation condo in this overlooked part of the National Parks system. The Homestead, a resort with over a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline, is known as America’s Freshwater Resort. Amenities include shoreline tennis courts and Spa Amira, which has panoramic lake views. No surprise, you’ll find me at the Homestead multiple times a year.

You have no shortage of options for incredible sugar-sand beaches in Sleeping Bear. For swimming, sunbathing, or tubing into Lake Michigan, Platte River Point Beach is a local favorite with calm river shallows on one side and dramatic surf on the other. Good Harbor Bay offers soft sands and Caribbean-clear water—ideal for sunset bonfires. North Bar Lake near Empire is shallow, warm, and perfect for kids, with a quick hop over the dune to the big lake. D.H. Day Campground Beach delivers wide views of the Manitou Islands, while Glen Haven Beach is a peaceful spot with historic charm. For a quieter afternoon, Esch Road Beach has soft sand, easy parking, and a creek that’s fun to wade.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is also a hiker’s paradise with about 100 miles of trails weaving through dunes, forests, and coastline. No visit is complete without attempting the Dune Climb itself, a rite of passage for Michigan visitors and children alike. This is the steep wall of sand near Glen Arbor that kids (and fit adults) love to charge up. It’s roughly 110 feet tall to the first ridge, but feels higher because every step up slides you half a step back. Many families make a morning of it—racing up before rolling or running back down.

You can also keep walking from the top on the Dunes Trail, a 3.5-mile roundtrip from the Dune Climb, down to Lake Michigan’s shore best done barefoot or in flip-flops. It’s strenuous – you’re hiking up and down steep sand hills with zero shade. (Bring more water than you think you’ll need.) But the payoff is worth it when you reach the 473-foot Mother Bear Dune at the end towering over the endless expanse of Lake Michigan. It’s the same view that inspired the Ojibwe legend of the Sleeping Bear that gave the park its name: A mother bear and her cubs jumped into the water to escape a forest fire, but the cubs tragically slipped beneath the waves when nearing shore. The two cubs became the Manitou Islands, and the protective mother became the solitary dune overlooking them in the lake.

Sprinting down the Mother Bear dune into the crisp waters of Lake Michigan at her feet after the long hike is one of the most refreshing experiences of all. But be sure you can make it back up if you sprint down. Rescue fees for stranded climbers who can’t make it back up themselves can run $3,000. And pro tip if you plan on hanging out at the beach: Be careful as you keep an eye on the time. At the shore, your phone might start picking up Chicago cell towers and fall back an hour from Eastern to Central.

Hiking the Mother Bear Dune is a favorite childhood memory of mine. My younger brother and I tackled it when I was about 10 years old. After sprinting down at a breakneck pace, it took 45 minutes to climb back up—the sand sends you back three steps for every two you take, I swear. But that night, after our victorious crest, my parents let me order from the adult menu for the first time ever. (I got the chicken nachos.)

For an easy hike with stunning views, hit up Empire Bluff Trail, a simple out-and-back that leads to a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan and the expansive Sleeping Bear Bay. This spot is particularly special to me: it’s where my husband proposed, dropping to one knee with endless blue water and the Manitou Islands on the horizon. Other great paths in the area include Pyramid Point (2.6 miles), Alligator Hill (9 looping miles in total), and Sleeping Bear Point (2.8 miles). Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (4.25 miles) is the park’s only paved biking trail. It connects the Dune Climb with several campgrounds, as well as the town of Glen Haven and Glen Arbor, making it a great thoroughfare.

Torch Lake

Legitimately nicknamed the “Caribbean of the North,” 19-mile-long Torch Lake stuns visitors with unreal clarity and color. Michigan’s longest inland lake reaches 310 feet deep, and owes its tropical hues to glacial history: minimal organic runoff and calcium-rich marl on the lakebed make the water incredibly transparent blue-green. In other words, Torch’s geology filters the water to an almost unnatural clarity.

I spent many childhood summers boating on Torch since my grandparents lived just a few miles from shore. In the lake’s southern shallows, a wide sand shelf forms a sandbar that hosts a natural pool-party scene each summer, boaters knee-deep to socialize. By midday on a summer weekend, it’s a flotilla of pontoon boats and inflatable tubes, music echoing over the turquoise expanse. (Three event promoters were put on a court-ordered hiatus from 2016 to 2020 after a 10,000-person 4th of July party got out of hand.) My family likes to joke that Craig Morgan’s song “Redneck Yacht Club” was inspired by a day at the Torch sandbar. The man selling hamburgers every day off the back of his pontoon from a portable grill is one of my core childhood memories.

If you want to toss anchor and the sandbar (or spend the day zooming around) Dockside Water Sports rents tritoons ($520+) and jet skis ($199+) while Torch Lake Pontoon Rentals offers—you guessed it—pontoons, with kneeboards and tubes available for add-on. Kayaking fans can contact Clear Bottom Kayak Rentals for single and tandem rentals ($35+). Anglers can book full and half day trips with Charters North to fish for salmon, trout, walleye, porch, and more ($495+). Scuba divers can work with Scuba North for gear rentals and site selection, with plenty of shipwrecks to choose from. When hunger strikes, boat to Dockside near Torch River, where slips await and pints are poured. There’s nothing like tying your boat to the restaurant’s dock for lunch—a classic Up North experience.

Grand Traverse Bay

Grand Traverse Bay is a 32-mile Lake Michigan inlet that cuts in to the east of the Leelanau Peninsula. Ranging between seven to 10 miles wide, it bottoms out at 620 feet. Traverse City, the region’s largest city, sits along the southern shores.

Every Fourth of July, I find myself on Old Mission Peninsula, which bifurcates Grand Traverse Bay, watching the sunset from the deck of my husband’s grandparents’ waterfront home. The distant hills—striped in the vineyards of world-class wine country—glow in the late sun. By day, the bay transforms into an adventure playground for paddling, boating, hiking, and lazy beachgoing, all within view of those spectacular vistas.

For a paddling adventure, you can take a day trip to Power Island, a 200-acre uninhabited island park once owned by Henry Ford. It’s a 15-mile kayak journey from Traverse City or 3 miles from Bowers Harbor. Paddle TC rents single and double kayaks ($30+) and paddleboards ($30+) from Clinch Park on West Bay (they also deliver within a 30-minute radius). If you prefer horsepower, rental companies like TC Watersports make it easy to gear up, offering everything from jet skis ($75/hour) to speedboats ($140/hour).

In Traverse City, Clinch Park Beach and the adjacent West End Beach offer soft sand and remarkably clear water for swimming. The bay’s gentle, sand-bottomed shallows are kid-friendly and sparkle a Caribbean hue under the midday sun.

Three-masted schooners are a distinct way to experience Grand Traverse Bay. Traverse Tall Ship Company operates the Schooner Manitou—Michigan’s 114-ft largest schooner. Public 2‑hour sails include options like the Evening Sail (~$73), Brunch Cruise (~$88), Ice‑Cream Sail (~$61), and Wine‑Tasting Sail (~$70–85) per person. The Inland Seas Education Association operates two schooners: the 77-ft Inland Seas and the 105-ft, three‑masted Alliance, both home-ported in Suttons Bay (a bay within Grand Traverse Bay). Public sails range from $45–$75 per person, with options like the Great Lakes Discovery Sail (3 hours of hands-on science and sailing), Fishes of Lake Michigan, and Steady the Ship! (2-hour eco-sails featuring net pulls, fish handling, and sail-raising). Specialty trips include stargazing sails and fall color cruises, all departing from Suttons Bay.

For lodging, Sutton’s Bay has a charming choice is the Vineyard Inn, a 12-room boutique hotel on a sandy stretch just north of downtown that has a complimentary dock for those who boat in.

Big & Little Glen Lakes

Tucked beside Sleeping Bear Dunes, Big Glen Lake and Little Glen Lake are a startlingly blue pair. Stop #2 on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive—a 7.4 mile loop with 12 recommended vistas of Lake Michigan, the Glen Lakes, and the dunes—presents a postcard view of these interconnected twins framed by verdant hills, their bright blue waters stealing the show.

Little Glen (the smaller western part) is especially shallow and warm. On summer afternoons, it feels like a giant natural swimming pool. Big Glen, meanwhile, reaches about 130 feet deep and stays a bit cooler, but its drop-offs create gorgeous color gradients from aqua to deep blue. There’s nothing like floating in Big Glen’s clear, teal water with the massive Sleeping Bear dunes looming just beyond.

These lakes are perfect for paddling and boating. You can rent a boat or jetskis from the Glen Craft Marina or On the Narrows Marina. Crystal River Outfitters, in Glen Arbor, will deliver SUPs and kayaks to local lakes ($68+), including the Glens. Anchor off the sandy shore of Glen Lake’s tiny islands for a swim, or paddle a kayak along the forested shoreline. The water is usually bathtub-calm, ideal for stand-up paddleboarding even if you’re a beginner. For boat or beach snacks, swing by Anderson’s Glen Arbor Market a few minutes away.

So this summer, skip the customs line. Michigan’s freshwater paradise is ready when you are.

Sure, it’s not palm trees and coconuts—but it is sugar sand, Caribbean hues, and adventure-packed days on the water. You’ll hike dune ridgelines that feel like island peaks, paddle through teal coves that rival the tropics, and end your nights with sunset bonfires or schooner sails. It’s wild, it’s beautiful, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than flying south.

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Growing up in the Great Lakes state gave Alexandra Gillespie a lifelong love of being in, on, or anywhere near the water. After cementing her adoration with a scuba certification, she worked as digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine, where travel assignments took her all around the world. Now a freelancer for Outside, she continues to cover water and travel. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic, Afar, NPR, and other national outlets. 

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Alexandra Gillespie is a freelance journalist who covers scuba diving, underwater wildlife, and travel. Her work has appeared in media outlets including Outside, National Geographic, Scuba Diving, and NPR. She previously worked with the research team at “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” as well as on the production of “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” and “The Opposition with Jordan Klepper.”