Michigan's Nautical City

When I'm up at Camp Yuc-Yuc, one of the "must-do's" on my list is taking a drive with the kids over to Rogers City. Rogers City is a quaint town, nestled on the northeastern shore of Lake Huron. Besides having everything a small town needs like grocery stores, banks, and hardware stores, Rogers City's prime attractions are the 100 slip Marina and Lakeside Park.

Lakeside Park has beautifully landscaped grounds and a wonderful playground for children. The parking is off-street and free. There are picnic tables and grills to use, and the most enchanting aspect is that it's right next to the beach, so if you want to swim and frolic in Lake Huron's surf this is a great place to do it. There's also volleyball nets and a boardwalk, in case you're in the mood for something more relaxing. While you're enjoying the beach you can also enjoy the view of boats coming and going at the Marina, which is located to the north. And, if you're lucky you might have the chance like I did to see a freighter cruising by on the deep waters of the lake en route to the limestone quarry, which can be viewed to the south of the beach. The quarry, owned by the Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company, is the largest limestone quarry in the world with the world's largest limestone processing plant. Pretty cool! If all this excitement and activity makes you hungry, you can walk over to The Pavilion Grille (at the north side of the park) and have some delicious ice cream. But ice cream's not their only attraction, they also have a full menu of beachside eats, which includes my personal favorite deep fried pickles.

Rogers City offers many other things to do from hiking on scenic trails to camping at state parks, and biking and other outdoor recreation (click here for a link to the Presque Isle County Tourism website). There are lighthouses to tour and lots of other interesting places to see like the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum. While I didn't have time to take advantage of all that Rogers City has to offer while I was visiting, I'm going to make plans to next summer. Besides the tranquility and the small town charm, the best thing about Rogers City is the people who live there. No matter where I went everyone I talked to was very friendly and down-to-earth and they made me feel right at home. Rogers City is a great place to visit and return to, year after year.