If you didn't mind an hour or so drive Manistee is a great place to spend the night and do a little shopping in the shops downtown or go to lake michigan, or even walk the river walk the evening you spend in Manistee.
It is about a 35 min to 40 min drive to the dunes. I am not sure since you are a native of Michigan if you have been here or not but it is a great little town and very relaxing. My name is Liz and I live in Flat Rock in the winters and in the summer I manage a motel in Manistee, Michigan.
