North of Detroit - Thumb or we talking Bay City or Mt. Pleasant - Heck the UP is north of Detroit grin

My favs are Manistee National Forest and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. I've done some hiking in Huron National Forest as well, but I kinda remember it being flat (it has been > 10 years.) But depending on how north of Detroit you are, both may be over 3 hours (well... depending on how fast you drive cool) (Side note, I miss Michigan drivers - they drive fast and they know how to merge (in general))