About Me!
Detroit roots. Central Wisconsin home. A dog named Rocco. Stability poles on every trail I walk.
Welcome
I’m Mary, and I started Wandering Michigan Wisconsin because I kept finding the same gap between what travel sites said about a destination and what was actually there. The hours were wrong. The accessibility information was missing. The pet policy was buried three clicks deep or not mentioned at all. I decided to fix that — at least for the places I go.
This site covers Great Lakes travel with a focus on Michigan and Wisconsin — including the full Lake Michigan circle tour through Illinois and Indiana — for the people who need honest pre-trip information before they commit to a drive. That means seniors planning a road trip, families loading up the car with a dog, and anyone traveling with a mobility consideration who is tired of calling attractions to ask questions that should already be on their website. If that sounds like you, you are in the right place.
My Roots
I grew up in Detroit — a city that gets misread by people who have never been there. Growing up there taught me how to look past the surface of a place and find what makes it worth knowing. Our family drove north every summer, past the edges of the city and into the pine forests of northern Michigan, and something about that journey settled into me for good. The Great Lakes are in my bones.
I now live in central Wisconsin with my husband and our dog, Rocco. I have spent years learning this region the way you can when you slow down and pay attention — the supper clubs, the county parks nobody writes about, the limestone bluffs above the Mississippi that most road-trippers drive past without stopping. I write about all of it.
Why I Write About Accessibility
I use stability poles on trails. I include that detail not to earn sympathy but because it is the reason my accessibility coverage is different from what you will find on most travel sites. I have had falls on trails. I know what it feels like to stand at the top of a sandy dune path and calculate whether the terrain is worth the risk.
I know the difference between ‘accessible’ on a brochure and accessible in practice — the gap between a paved path to an overlook and a paved path that ends in twelve inches of sand before the view you came to see. I document that gap without softening it, and I tell you what to expect before you arrive.
Every accessibility review on this site covers four categories. Mobility and vision get the most attention, with hearing and sensory considerations covered at every stop. When I cannot verify access in person, I call ahead and tell you to do the same. I do not publish access claims I have not confirmed.
Who Travels With Me
My husband travels with me on most trips. Our dog, Rocco, comes on the ones where the stops allow it — which is why every article on this site includes a pet policy section. I have been turned away at attractions with a dog in the car more than once because the website said nothing about their policy. That does not happen to my readers.
My Editorial Standard
Every article on this site is held to a standard that starts with one question: is this true? Not close enough, not good enough — true. From there the standard builds: is it honest about what is good and what falls short? Is it worthy of the reader’s time and trust? Before anything goes on this site I ask whether the hours are verified, whether the admission price is current, and whether the accessibility claim reflects what is on the ground rather than what the attraction would like you to believe.
All admission prices and operating hours are verified against official sources before publication and updated when I find they have changed. When I cannot verify something, I say so and tell you how to confirm it yourself. I do not accept payment to recommend destinations.
About This Site
Wandering Michigan Wisconsin launched in 2023 and covers travel across the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan and the length of Wisconsin, with a focus on Lake Michigan destinations, accessible trails, pet-friendly stops, and the kind of honest destination reviews that help you decide whether a place is worth your time before you drive three hours to find out.
When out-of-state friends came to visit me in Wisconsin, they arrived with a page printed off in their AAA office — my article on Wild Rose, Wisconsin. An AAA agent had pulled my content from the web and printed it for their members to use as a trip planning reference. That moment told me the work was reaching the right people.
Accessibility travel consulting is something I hope to offer in the future — working with travelers who need someone to evaluate destinations with clear eyes before they commit to a trip. If that is something you would find valuable, I would love to hear from you at hello@wanderingmichiganwisconsin.com.
Get in Touch
If you have a question about a destination, an accessibility concern I have not covered, or a tip about somewhere I should visit — I want to hear from you. Reach me at hello@wanderingmichiganwisconsin.com. I read every message.
