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Places to stay/things to do in Ann Arbor?

M

MrsScrew

All-League
Sep 27, 2006
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My
husband and I are planning to drive to Madison for the game vs Rutgers on 10/31 and spend the week out in the area before heading to Ann
Arbor the following weekend for the Rutgers game vs Michigan on 11/7.

any
suggestions on hotels? things to do between the 2 cities for
the week? I've heard that the upper peninsula is beautiful but have no specific suggestions as to what to do there.

any suggestions are
welcome...we've got a week to fill!

thanks in advance.
 
Bring your arrogance, wine, blankets and ascot with you. You'll need them to fit in with all the snotty uppity Michigan alum/fan base. Also, don't expect much, other than a bunch of liberals.
Ann Arbor is a boring town.
Don't get too excited about going, cause you'll be disappointed if you do.
 
Regarding the week between games

I would suggest spending it in West Michigan instead of going up to the Upper Peninsula. West Michigan would be broadly that tier of counties to the immediate east of Lake Michigan, stretching from South Haven all the way up to Traverse City.

Few thoughts:

(1) The UP is a beautiful place, but it will be early November. Snow in the Upper Peninsula is not uncommon that early. Stay further south. West Michigan also benefits "warmth-wise" by a few degrees in early November because of the lake's modifying influence. Lake Michigan is still "relatively" mild temperature-wise in early November: the water temperature doesn't peak until mid-August.

(2) Lots and lots of sand dunes and pretty beach towns along the entire stretch. My favorite towns, from south to north, would be South Haven, Ludington, the Onekama/Arcadia/Frankfort "corridor" (definitely do the M-22 drive!), and Harbor Springs.

(3) The fall color season may still be on-going at that time. Doubtful, but a chance. For the season to extend into early November, Michigan needs to have a summer with at least normal moisture, then a dry and cool September & October with few storms.

(4) West Michigan is a pretty expensive --- and pretty crowded place --- from Memorial Day to mid-September. But you'll definitely be in the cheap season.

(5) LOTS of great golf in West Michigan and Northern Michigan (the Gaylord/Grayling areas) if that is your thing, but it will be very borderline on whether they are still open. Depends on the weather. If they are open, you could get rates that are literally one-third of the summer rates!
This post was edited on 2/15 11:06 PM by michnittlion
 
Upper Peninsula....

This is definitely not the optimal time to visit, but if you are planning on visiting, check out Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior is the top attraction, very pretty. Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Newberry is also excellent. Porcupine Mountains State Park near the Wiscy border on Lake Superior has great hiking. Driving over the Mackinac Bridge is awesome as well.
 
If you're going to be in Wisconsin before coming to Michigan, just head over to Milwaukee and take the ferry over to Muskegon. It's roughly $100 for you to bring your car. That will put you right in the heart of a popular vacation destination. It's probably not the best time to visit the UP, so if you do decide to alter your plans, western Michigan has a lot to offer.
 
This is precisely what Buckeye fans do, so this makes sense. Not many have traveled outside of Columbus much, which is good for everyone else as they're generally pretty terrible people.
 
I like your name. I'm sure you and your hubby will find lots of fun stuff

to do!

Downtown Chicago is awesome if you haven't been, you could spend two or three days there and not come close to running out of cool things to do. The whole west coast of Michigan is awesome. Great beaches, sand dunes ... cool coastal towns, lots and lots of wineries and craft breweries to visit and enjoy. St. Joe, South Haven, Saugatuck (my wife's favorite), Holland, and Grand Haven are all cool places to visit ... and all in the southern half of the state. Agree with others comments, the weather (and possibility of some fall color remaining) would likely be better in the southern half of the state.

Lots to see and do in Ann Arbor too ... so leave some time for that.
 
Thank you to the Michigan fans for the info, it's much appreciated. We realize it's not the best time to see some of the sights but we're hoping to make the most of the week between the 2 games.

we have been to Chicago before but it is on the list of possibilities to head back to.

any thoughts on Hotels in Ann Arbor? I hear that will be the worst part of planning for this trip.
 
AA has a pretty great kids science musium downtown.

There are a few casinos within a couple hours.

Cananda is less than a few hours away, Along with Detroit.

Ikea is close

There is a Trader Joe's in AA.

I'm sure Groupon has some stuff to do.
 
Rutgers is not homecoming for us so I don't know that it's going to have a massive demand, however it is Harbaugh's first season so we'll see. Hotels are not impossible to find, but I'd book early as they will all likely fill up. If you're not adamant about staying in AA, there are plenty of hotels in the area (Milan, Plymouth, Brighton, and Ypsilanti are all pretty close). How much are you looking to spend? Hotels in AA will be pricey on home game weekends.
 
Aww look at the little baby Ohio fan. You want to talk about a dump and boring place? Look at the ENTIRE state of ohio!!! When going to come-blow-us, remember to wear your protective gear so you don't get peed on by all of the ohio inbreds. Widely regarded as the WORST state in the country
laugh.r191677.gif
 
Originally posted by PharmD Blue:
Aww look at the little baby Ohio fan. You want to talk about a dump and boring place? Look at the ENTIRE state of ohio!!! When going to come-blow-us, remember to wear your protective gear so you don't get peed on by all of the ohio inbreds. Widely regarded as the WORST state in the country
laugh.r191677.gif
Click to expand...
Is it true that Michigan holds the only father-son duos to be caught uriating in public and for public drunkeness?
 
Nah. This ohio fan can maybe better explain the situation…

http://deadspin.com/176349/the-most-brilliant-thing-youll-see-all-day

roll.r191677.gif
 
Originally posted by goblue31602:
Rutgers is not homecoming for us so I don't know that it's going to have a massive demand, however it is Harbaugh's first season so we'll see. Hotels are not impossible to find, but I'd book early as they will all likely fill up. If you're not adamant about staying in AA, there are plenty of hotels in the area (Milan, Plymouth, Brighton, and Ypsilanti are all pretty close). How much are you looking to spend? Hotels in AA will be pricey on home game weekends.
Click to expand...
Ideally we'd like to not have to drive on game day if at all possible, but what is parking/getting out of the lot situation like if we decided to stay out of AA? Any idea where the visiting team usually stays?

We travel for away games every year so we know that game day hotels are, unfortunately, not cheap. I've already booked our Wisconsin hotel at $250/night for gameday weekend so we'd expect to pay that much for Michigan as well I would guess (and probably spend the week in between sleeping in the back of the car because those 4 nights will blow the hotel budget...ha)
 
If you're willing to spend $250 a night you can stay just about anywhere you want in Ann Arbor, that's right around what most charge. A few of the hotels have shuttles that take you over to the game, and they're building a Residence Inn in downtown Ann Arbor that is scheduled to be done by September. If you're interested in booking there, you may want to try calling corporate to see when they will start booking. There aren't really many walkable options, Candlewood Suites, Bell Tower, and Campus Inn are all in the vicinity of 1-1.5 miles, so it's not a short walk.

As far as traffic on gamedays, if you're staying out of town, I'd HIGHLY suggest you park either in Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (massive tailgating lot opposite the southwest corner of the stadium) or in Ann Arbor Golf and Outing on the west side of the course (directly south of the stadium). Basically anywhere that allows you to exit right onto Ann Arbor Saline Road is your best bet. They close the road for traffic coming the opposite way and all 5 lanes lead south directly to I-94. Considering how many people are at games, it is extremely efficient and positively the fastest way out of AA after the game. I got in my car about 20 minutes after the last Notre Dame game (where we had 115k+) and was on the highway in no more than 5-6 minutes.

I have linked a site that will have game shuttle info for next season.

Game Shuttles
 
GoBlue...thanks much. I'd rather NOT spend $250/night on a hotel but that seems to be the going rate on the B1G circuit. I will look into the other options you and the other Michigan fans have suggested. Your insight and help is much appreciated. Mr.Screw and I are looking forward to a great trip & game.
 
Originally posted by goblue31602:
If you're willing to spend $250 a night you can stay just about anywhere you want in Ann Arbor, that's right around what most charge. A few of the hotels have shuttles that take you over to the game, and they're building a Residence Inn in downtown Ann Arbor that is scheduled to be done by September. If you're interested in booking there, you may want to try calling corporate to see when they will start booking. There aren't really many walkable options, Candlewood Suites, Bell Tower, and Campus Inn are all in the vicinity of 1-1.5 miles, so it's not a short walk.

As far as traffic on gamedays, if you're staying out of town, I'd HIGHLY suggest you park either in Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (massive tailgating lot opposite the southwest corner of the stadium) or in Ann Arbor Golf and Outing on the west side of the course (directly south of the stadium). Basically anywhere that allows you to exit right onto Ann Arbor Saline Road is your best bet. They close the road for traffic coming the opposite way and all 5 lanes lead south directly to I-94. Considering how many people are at games, it is extremely efficient and positively the fastest way out of AA after the game. I got in my car about 20 minutes after the last Notre Dame game (where we had 115k+) and was on the highway in no more than 5-6 minutes.

I have linked a site that will have game shuttle info for next season.
Click to expand...

Two fifty a night for what? Bedbug and cockraoach bites?
 
Originally posted by Beezzz:

Originally posted by goblue31602:
If you're willing to spend $250 a night you can stay just about anywhere you want in Ann Arbor, that's right around what most charge. A few of the hotels have shuttles that take you over to the game, and they're building a Residence Inn in downtown Ann Arbor that is scheduled to be done by September. If you're interested in booking there, you may want to try calling corporate to see when they will start booking. There aren't really many walkable options, Candlewood Suites, Bell Tower, and Campus Inn are all in the vicinity of 1-1.5 miles, so it's not a short walk.

As far as traffic on gamedays, if you're staying out of town, I'd HIGHLY suggest you park either in Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (massive tailgating lot opposite the southwest corner of the stadium) or in Ann Arbor Golf and Outing on the west side of the course (directly south of the stadium). Basically anywhere that allows you to exit right onto Ann Arbor Saline Road is your best bet. They close the road for traffic coming the opposite way and all 5 lanes lead south directly to I-94. Considering how many people are at games, it is extremely efficient and positively the fastest way out of AA after the game. I got in my car about 20 minutes after the last Notre Dame game (where we had 115k+) and was on the highway in no more than 5-6 minutes.

I have linked a site that will have game shuttle info for next season.
Click to expand...

Two fifty a night for what? Bedbug and cockraoach bites?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how much Columbus hotels charge, if that's what you're asking.
 
GoBlue...what is the pre-game situation in AA? At Rutgers it's all about the Tailgate as we have lots surrounding the stadium. Our group starts about 4-6 hours before kickoff.....even earlier for bigger games (Michigan and ttfp were 8 hour tailgates this past year) .
 
Tailgating is HUGE at Michigan. The Ann Arbor Pioneer lot and Ann Arbor Golf and Outing are going to be absolutely packed with tailgaters. For a noon game, Pioneer opens at 6am and the golf course opens later (7 maybe? not sure). They open at the same time for 3:30 games. Pioneer is a high school lot, but people bring alcohol. Grills are fine, tents are fine. Most of the parking is on a grass field, but some paved spots might be available. If I were you I'd assume and prepare for a grass parking spot. If it is raining hard, they may close the grass lot (the official Michigan website mgoblue.com has updated info the night before and morning of games). People are very friendly, I know friends from quite a few rival schools who really enjoy themselves tailgating in Ann Arbor.

Here is a photo of part of Pioneer, but there is much more to it. The stadium is on the right side in the background. Most of the stadium is build into the ground, hence why it doesn't look like much from this pic.
13750374-mmmain.jpg
 
One caveat with the golf-course parking

I'd try to enter the golf course off of Ann Arbor-Saline Road or Main Street, and park fairly close to those streets. Don't enter the golf course via State Street.


I did that last year for the Penn State game and was basically forced to exit unto southbound State Street. That was a complete disaster: 90+ minutes just to reach I-94.
 
Given that we are traveling around for a week before the game I don't expect to be setting up our own tailgate for the game. I was hoping that your set up would be much like we experienced in Arkansas where we can just wander and socialize with different tailgaters. My tailgate crew is very friendly that way....no bad words for anyone and always an open welcome to all...except for ttfp. they will never, ever be welcome.

I'm glad to hear it's a tailgate scene and not a bar scene pre-game. as much as I like bars I prefer tailgates for football games.
 
Re: One caveat with the golf-course parking

Agreed. I usually stick to Pioneer as it's easier to get in and out. I have fun every time I go to the golf course, but if I'm driving, I don't like the hassle of the course. Typically you have more room at the course, but you could also end up being assigned a spot on the side of a hill which makes grilling a pain in the ass.
 
I will try to be kind. 1st-are you serious? I think you are--have you ever been there???? It is not a "city/metro" area---eg Columbus, OH
You have a game day golf course with RV's. End of story. Have fun-seriously---try to.
 
You might be one of the dumbest posters on this site, and that's saying a lot. You've clearly never been there, and Columbus tailgating sucks, it's not even comparable. I have friends who are OSU fans who say the same thing.

There are 3 massive lots with a TON of tailgating, not a bunch of crap concrete parking lots all over the place like in Columbus.
 
I love visiting the Michigan football board. It's like taking a time machine back to middle school.
 
Or you can spend a few days in Columbus on the drive over. Can spend hours looking at the slums.
 
Originally posted by tkirschner:
Originally posted by klemman:
I love visiting the Michigan football board. It's like taking a time machine back to middle school.
Click to expand...
I have the very same thought every time I come across one of your posts. Those sure were the days.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Click to expand...
Really? Give me an example. If you look,at my posts I don't personally insult anyone and don't say anything negative about Michigan, the University, Ann Arbor, or Harbaugh. If anything I've been complimentary and if it is an actual football discussion I will give the discussion the respect it deserves.

However, I do challenge negative statements made by posters and I will make fun of the pissing contests that occur on this or any other board.
 
this thread was doing well until 2 'tard TUOS fans jumped in

with idiotic comments. But being TUOS fans I guess it's expected.
 
higher IQ tha 99.9% of your home board posters-summa cum laude MBA & mensa--there ya go--now for enteraintment---you repeated exactly what I stated--lots of grass, golf courses and RV's--nothing else---no short north, city of 1.5 million, Easton-the largest outdoor shopping area in the world (not nation--world) #1 rated children's museum, top restaurants, and my fave----23 blocks of bars and restaurants straight up High - Lane Ave to 5th---THEN....12 BLOCKS of brick streets arched area called the short north--you HAVE NOT BEEN THERE--THE POSTER WAS not asking about 2 hours prior to kickoff entertainment---I am talking a 2-4 day stay---NO comparison. You have about 5 campus bars--there are 70+ on High St --take a nice rest and do not pretend. I have been to the AA grass fields 20 times and lived in the center of the NCAA athletic universe for 40 yrs. No, I am not the dumbest poster here. Sorry, I give you that belt son. (concrete or grass for tailgates??? are we excersing and sprinting or sitting in chairs having fun??? (with a Natl champ team and the best band in the land) Uh, no brainer. I have seen the grass and RV's many times--no thrills there--I hang at Eddie Georges's restaurant and bar then hit a few more campus bars b4 lunch and a fine short north restaurant like Rigsby's. Uh-----that is 10 blocks from the stadium, and there is NO a single restaurant with the rating of Rigsby's and it is just close to campus! How about Mitchell's steakhouse??? LOL. There are nice, and I mean very nice hot dogs on the AA golf course---seriously, nicely charred and tasty. Have fun. We will see ya in November. LOL again,
 
ps--btw- do you not realize it was the laughing stock of the nation the "big house" sold a cup of coke to each fan to try to fill that stadium? free ticket if buy a coke---r u kidding me?? THE SHOE has been sold out every game since 1900---I will never go back to that hole in the ground where you walk 50 rows up to hit the head--never seen anything like it---the shoe is a classic--loved and famous--well---and home of the National Champs and the OSU which has the largest athletic dept budget in the entire nation and most sports teams of any school. we love it here---I can sit on grass in a lawn chair anytime I want to--cant hit the VC, Papa Joes, Eddie George's, and 10 4 star restaurants in a 9 block area--all walking----10 minutes in and out with live music starting at 8 am for a noon kickoff---uh----did not see that on the golf course---must have missed it
 
I don't think you have a higher IQ "tha" anyone on here.

But your stupidity provides great "enteraintment". Thanks for playing, 'tard.


This post was edited on 2/22 12:13 AM by ChicagoBlueFan
 
Big cities aren't good college towns....

and Columbus isn't even a nice big city. There's absolutely no comparison between and Ann Arbor and Columbus in terms of which is the better college environment. Ann Arbor blows Columbus out of the water. As an aside-Ohio Stadium looks like a federal penitentiary.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
 
Re: Big cities aren't good college towns....

Yeah? Well my dad can beat up your dad.
 
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