Central

Central Michigan covers the broad agricultural-and-industrial belt across the middle of the state, the country running from the Saginaw Bay west through the rolling till plain past Mount Pleasant. The terrain is mostly flat to gently rolling — the result of repeated glaciation that left the Saginaw Valley as one of the most fertile farming regions in the Great Lakes. The Saginaw River and its tributaries (the Tittabawassee, Cass, Flint, and Shiawassee) all converge near Saginaw and Bay City. Thirteen counties cover the region. Saginaw holds Saginaw and Frankenmuth (Michigan’s Little Bavaria); Bay holds Bay City; Genesee holds Flint; Midland holds Midland and the Dow Gardens; Isabella holds Mount Pleasant and Central Michigan University; Huron holds Bad Axe and the Thumb area; Tuscola, Sanilac, and Lapeer hold the Thumb’s farmland and harbor towns. Frankenmuth’s Bavarian Inn and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland (the world’s largest Christmas store) draw most of the regional visitor weight. Most trips here run small-town and food-themed. Frankenmuth handles family-day traffic year-round; the Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest in Midland anchor a quieter cultural visit; the Thumb’s Lake Huron coastline and the Pointe aux Barques lighthouses fill summer driving days; Bay City’s restored riverfront runs an evening dinner-and-stroll itinerary.