Canadian and Minnesotan wildfire smoke is blanketing Michigan skies for the fourth straight day Saturday, July 18, putting a damper on summer tourism for some communities during the peak travel season.
“I think there is a little bit of a downturn,” said Vicki Morgan, an administrative support specialist with the Indian River Resort Region Chamber of Commerce, a business advocacy organization supporting tourism in the area around Burt Lake and Mullett Lake in Cheboygan County.
Health experts generally recommend avoiding outdoor activity, especially for prolonged periods, when air quality stretches into hazardous conditions. That means Michigan summer staples, from boating to hiking to camping and more, carries a risk in this weather, especially for those susceptible to breathing issues.
Morgan said there was an uptick in mask usage from tourists and employees alike around Indian River. The community dealt with significant flooding in April, and now the smoke-filled skies presented another challenge for the region.
“Northern Michigan folks are pretty hearty,” she said, adding the region would still welcome those traveling through despite the smoke. “Neighbors take care of each other.”
Organizers were mixed in their efforts to move forward with events amid the hazy skies. Hank Williams Jr. rescheduled shows at Pine Knob in Clarkston and the Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids slated for the weekend due to the air quality. Holland’s Macatawa Water Festival was postponed. But Yacht Rock Detroit is slated to carry on Friday and Saturday, and the Bayview Mackinac Race that stretches from the Port Huron area to Mackinac Island also plans to move forward.
Other outdoor businesses saw a slowdown in weekend traffic, although some still chose to brave the conditions. Mark Veenstra, the pro shop manager at the Links at Rolling Meadows golf course in Holland, estimated maybe 30-40% of scheduled tee times had been canceled Thursday and Friday. Adverse weather isn’t anything unusual for a golf course, Veenstra noted, but the smoke was a less-common deterrent.
“People just don’t want to be outside,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it happens during a summer weekend.”
Across Michigan, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources offered refunds for campsite reservation cancelations at state parks due to the smoke. Additionally, the agency said it would hold reservations for those who wanted to delay their arrival until 3 p.m. on Sunday. A DNR spokesperson didn’t immediately return a message left Friday afternoon.
On Mackinac Island, Mission Point Resort closed its outdoor restaurants, golf course and bike rentals on Wednesday and Thursday due to the air quality, co-owner Liz Ware said. The outdoor activities reopened Friday as air quality began improving, though the area was still at an AQI over 180 as of Friday evening.
Ware said the closings and air quality not only impacted the family-owned business and its employees who couldn’t work, but also the guests, both the ones who came but had less options with the closures, and the many who canceled due to the poor air quality.
“They saved up their money and vacation time and all of this, and they’re impacted for something we have no control over. It’s just sad all around,” Ware said.
Ware, who is also the chair of the Michigan Travel Commission, said the awareness of wildfire smoke in Michigan could potentially impact the way out-of-state travelers think about planning vacations in Michigan.
“Anything that has a negative perception on the state of Michigan can impact the state tourism and impact our visitor economy,” she said. “This is an event we cannot control, but it is an event that we can say this is a temporary thing and this isn’t a long-term thing.”
Campaigns like Pure Michigan can combat negative perceptions through promoting travel in all four of Michigan’s seasons, Ware said. Pure Michigan will see significant budget cuts this year, going from a $17,000,000 budget in FY2026 to $9,000,000 one in FY2027.
“When something like this (smoke) happens and it affects tourism around the state, we need to make sure that we have a strong Pure Michigan to recover,” Ware said. “And to get people who are from out of state to get people to know about the product that we have here in Michigan.”
You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Canadian wildfire smoke hits Michigan in peak tourism season
Reporting by Arpan Lobo and Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Arpan Lobo and Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
