A springtime conversation with a recent Detroit transplant got me thinking about how we do summers in Michigan. “I hear everyone goes to northern Michigan — what you call Up North,” he said, seeking confirmation. “Well, many people do,” I replied, explaining that I was going up to Charlevoix for Memorial Day weekend.
The day after Memorial Day, I got a text: “How was the U.P.?” Strange, I never told him I was going to the U.P., but my son and I did take a rare day trip to Tahquamenon Falls. Was I being tracked? Then I realized, “Oh, he thinks Up North is the U.P.” Silly!
There are a lot of things we take for granted here in Michigan: that people know the difference between the U.P. and Up North, that they’ll understand when we point to a location on our hand, and that we have one of the most beautiful places to vacation not too far away.
This conversation made me wonder: Is Michigan a rarity? Do people in other states have second homes in a lakefront community or spend their vacation money near a lake?
So I did some research and found a 2024 article by the National Association of Home Builders that said half of the nation’s second homes are concentrated in only eight states. Not only is Michigan one of them, but our 1st Congressional District (basically the top third of the Mitten and all of the U.P.) has the highest share of second homes of any U.S. district, with 24.5% of dwellings qualifying as second homes.
And as far as tourism goes, Pure Michigan’s data from 2023 shows that most counties had growth in visitor spending year over year. Of the “Up North” counties, Roscommon County (home to Houghton Lake) had the highest positive rate of change in tourist spending at 16.8% between 2022 and 2023. Menominee County in the U.P. had the second highest at 11.8%, and Grand Traverse County took in the most dollars with $630.8 million, an 8% increase.
All of this is great news, but if you’re looking for more-colorful information on our lake towns, I invite you to read this month’s lake towns feature story, where Hour Detroit contributor and Michigan Blue Editor Megan Swoyer provides a guide to 28 fantastic waterfront destinations. It’s the perfect beach read (or pre-beach research).
This story originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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