The west side of the state--all to ourselves
Published in The News-Gazette , page F-6, Sunday, March 24, 2013, as a reader-submitted travel article. A view of White Lake near Montague, Mich., last fall. Mid-October might not be everyone’s choice for a trip to the lake shore, but for us it was ideal. Montague, Michigan is only five hours north of Champaign, in an area known as West Michigan, not Western Michigan. The timing was slightly past fall peak, but colors were still abundant. The crowds were not. For three mid-week days, we had the area largely to ourselves. Our base was the Weathervane Inn in Montague. The Inn overlooked beautiful White Lake, an inlet from Lake Michigan, home to migratory egrets, herons, and even wild swans. Our daughter found a great discount coupon to make already affordable accommodations a sweet deal. The Weathervane Inn in Montague overlooking White Lake. After exploring the town, we headed to dinner at the Old Channel Inn, jus...