Southestern

Southeastern Michigan covers the Detroit metro and the surrounding country, the densely populated southeast corner of the state running from Lake Huron south to Toledo and west to Ann Arbor. The terrain shifts from the working harbor and dense urban core at Detroit through the rolling lake country of Oakland County (with hundreds of small inland lakes) to the agricultural Ann Arbor hinterland. The Great Lakes shoreline runs nearly 200 miles along the eastern edge from Port Huron south to the Ohio line. Seven counties cover the region. Wayne County holds Detroit, the largest city; Oakland holds Pontiac and Bloomfield Hills (with Cranbrook); Macomb holds Warren and Mount Clemens; Washtenaw holds Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan; Livingston holds Howell; Monroe holds Monroe; St. Clair holds Port Huron. The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Motown Museum, and the Cranbrook campus carry most cultural visits. Most trips here split between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Detroit handles the urban-cultural itinerary — the DIA, Eastern Market, Belle Isle, the Motown Museum, the riverfront walk, the redeveloped downtown core; Ann Arbor runs the college-town and food itinerary; Frankenmuth and the Thumb pull weekend traffic north.