The outdoors
Hunt, fish, paddle, hike — by the book.
The ways Michiganders get outside, with the seasons, licenses, rules, and where-to-go — each linked to the official source.
Explore the outdoors →
Michigan Porch
Pull up a chair. Michigan gets easier from here.
Guides, useful tools, and 1,538 local place pages — with the official source behind the answer.
Try Petoskey, marriage license, property tax, or deer season.
Choose a path
Start with the part of Michigan life that brought you here.
Home & money
The practical side of Michigan life.
Renting, marriage, records, moving, buying, owning, selling, taxes, cars, land and wells - with the right official handoff.
Open Home & Money →Places
Every Michigan city and township.
Local tax context, nearby stories, and the official routes that matter there — all 1,538 places, plus every county.
Find your town →Stories
The stories that make Michigan Michigan.
Name origins, lost towns, big ideas, small quirks — over a thousand short, true, sourced stories. No task required; come wander.
Browse Michigan stories →The calendar
Michigan dates coming up
A short look at the deadlines, bills, and season openers nearest to you now.
Next month — Winter tax bill due date (February 14)
Next month — Unpaid taxes become delinquent (March 1) · New DNR license year (March 1) · 1 more
March 1 · Homeowners
Unpaid taxes become delinquent
Last year's unpaid property taxes move to the county treasurer on March 1 and start collecting extra fees. Catching up early costs less.
Open the page →March 1 · The outdoors
New DNR license year
Michigan hunting and fishing licenses for the new year go on sale March 1. Last year's licenses run out at the end of March.
Open the page →March — your notice lists the dates · Homeowners
March Board of Review
Think the assessment on your home is too high? The March Board of Review is the first appeal stop for most homeowners, and the deadlines are short.
Open the page →Next month — New fishing rules year (April 1) · New ORV sticker year (April 1) · 1 more
April 1 · The outdoors
New fishing rules year
Michigan's fishing regulations year runs April 1 through March 31. New seasons, limits, and rules take effect today.
Open the page →April 1 · The outdoors
New ORV sticker year
ORV licenses and trail permits are good from April 1 through March 31 of the next year. A sticker bought in fall still expires this spring.
Open the page →The last Saturday in April · The outdoors
The trout opener
Type 1 trout streams open the last Saturday in April — the classic season your grandfather kept. They stay open through September 30.
Open the page →Next month — Morel season
Next month — PRE deadline for the summer bill (June 1) · Free Fishing Weekend
June 1 · Homebuyers
PRE deadline for the summer bill
File the Principal Residence Exemption with your local assessor on or before June 1 and it can lower this year's summer tax bill. Miss it, and November 1 is the backup.
Open the page →One weekend in June · The outdoors
Free Fishing Weekend
For one June weekend, everyone can fish without a license — and ORV trails and state-park entry are free too. All other rules still apply.
Open the page →Next month — Summer tax bills (July 1) · Tax Tribunal deadline (July 31)
July 1 · Homeowners
Summer tax bills
Summer property tax bills commonly go out around July 1. If you bought your home in the past year, this may be the first bill at your new, uncapped amount.
Open the page →July 31 · Homeowners
Tax Tribunal deadline
For residential property, July 31 is the state-law deadline to take a value appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Most homeowners protest at the March Board of Review first.
Open the page →Up next, in September — Trout stream season close (September 30)
Next month — Archery deer opener (October 1)
Next month — Archery deer opener (October 1)
Next month — PRE deadline for the winter bill (November 1) · Firearm deer opener (November 15)
November 1 · Homebuyers
PRE deadline for the winter bill
Missed the June 1 PRE deadline? File on or before November 1 and the exemption can still lower this year's winter tax bill.
Open the page →November 15 · The outdoors
Firearm deer opener
The regular firearm deer season opens November 15 and runs through November 30. Everyone in the deer woods wears hunter orange — bowhunters included.
Open the page →Next month — Winter tax bills (December 1)
From the porch
The small details that make a place make sense.
Short Michigan notes tied to real places — a lighthouse, a lake, a factory, a strange name, a festival, or a road you've driven past a hundred times.
Detroit · Food history
The Square Pizza Born in Auto-Parts Pans
Detroit's square pizza got its crispy, cheesy edges from blue-steel pans first made to hold parts in the auto plants.
Leelanau County · Outdoors
Sleeping Bear Dunes
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore protects Leelanau's dunes, Glen Lake gateways, trails, and scarce private property near the park.
Mackinac Island · Car rules
Mackinac Island, the island with no cars
Mackinac Island asks ordinary visitors to leave their cars on the mainland. Walking, bicycles, horses, and winter snowmobiles shape daily travel.
Prefer a list? Browse every topic, Michigan places, the state by region, or the A-Z index.
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