There are many places to visit and vacation throughout the U.S. With Summer on its way, you can explore anything from scenic areas to heading away to catch a sports game. But what is the best state to vacation this Summer?
Recently, the research team Gambling.com revealed the top U.S. states to vacation this summer. They analyzed five different data points which include accommodation availability, accommodation affordability, crime rates, average sunshine, and number of attractions.
Where did Michigan rank?
Michigan is the 18th best state to vacation in this summer. Overall, its Summer Vacation Score out of 100 is 55.1. When it comes to the average sunshine score, the mitten falls low at 28.5. Seeing that the winters are long and often cloudy, it makes sense. The state ranked below Mississippi and above Kansas.
The Great Lakes State offers an abundance of recreational activities, such as fishing, hiking, camping, and other activities. It also has plenty of historical sites and scenic views.
Who made number one?
When all the different factors are considered, Virginia is the best state to vacation in this summer.
In any of the categories analyzed, it performed well across all five. Particularly in terms of crime rate, accommodation availability, and number of attractions. This all culminated in a Summer Vacation Score of 68.6 out of 100.
See where other states ranked by checking out the full list here.
Michigan: Our 1 Mile Freeway + More Fun Facts About Our Roads
Michigan's shortest freeway is 1.1 miles long.
Currently, Michigan has one of the nation’s shortest signed interstates. The shortest freeway in Michigan is only 1.1 miles long. Though not signed, New York has a 0.70 miles freeway, which is even smaller than Michigan’s smallest.
Michigan has the longest remaining camelback bridge.
The three-span US-12 camelback bridge in Mottville is Michigan’s longest remaining bridge of this type. Constructed in 1922, these bridges are found primarily in Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
Michigan has a bridge with towers almost as tall as the Washington Monument.
The towers on the Mackinac Bridge or “Mighty Mac” (552 feet high) are almost as tall as the Washington Monument (555 feet high). The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world.
Michigan's first road map only had 3 roads on it.
The first Michigan road map, with only three roads on it, was published by the United States Congress in 1826. As a matter of fact, the first surveyed road in Michigan was Pontiac Road (now called M-1 or Woodward Avenue) connecting Detroit and Pontiac in 1819.
Michigan has the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned.
M-185 on Mackinac Island is the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned. Motorized vehicles have been prohibited on Mackinac Island since 1896 because the horses were disturbed by the noisy engines of some of the island’s first cars. Furthermore, carriage drivers formed an association, convincing islanders to ban automobiles.
The longest highway in Michigan passes through six different states.
The longest highway in Michigan is I-75, which runs 395 miles from the Ohio border to the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie. I-75 also passes through six different states. At its north end, it starts on the Canada/U.S. border at the top of Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie. Then it heads south to Naples in Florida, where it bends east and runs across to Miami.
Michigan has a total of 120,256 miles of paved roadway.
MDOT says that there is enough pavement on Michigan roadways to build a one-lane road from the Earth to the moon. Michigan has a total of 120,256 miles of paved roadway. This includes 9,669 route miles of state trunkline, 89,444 route miles of county roads, and 21,198 route miles of city and village streets. However, according to NASA, the Moon us an average of 238,855 miles away from Earth.
Several Michigan highways began as Native American trails.
Eight Michigan highways began as Native American trails, US-2 (from Sault Ste. Marie to Green Bay); I-75 (from Detroit to Saginaw), I-94 (from Detroit to St. Joseph; I-96 (from Detroit to Grand Rapids), I-94 (from Detroit to Port Huron), US-41 (from L’Anse to Marquette), and US-12 (from Ypsilanti to Chicago). Michigan’s three largest tribes are the Ojibwe (also called Chippewa), the Odawa (also called Ottowa) and the Potawatomi (also called the Bode’wadmi). Michigan also federally recognizes these tribes and others in the state.
