Things to Do in Irish Hills Michigan

Lakes, wineries, and zero traffic.

If you’re looking for things to do in Irish Hills Michigan, you’re looking at one of the most underrated day trip zones in the state. Rolling green hills, a string of all-sports lakes, a winery run by an airline pilot, a gravity-defying roadside attraction from the 1950s, and enough state park land to keep you busy all summer.

The Irish Hills sit about 30 minutes south of Tecumseh and roughly an hour from Ann Arbor. No freeways, no chain-restaurant sprawl – just two-lane roads winding through lake country. Here’s everything worth your time.

Cambridge Junction Historic State Park – Where the Stagecoaches Stopped

Before there were interstates, there was the Chicago Road. And before there was the Chicago Road, there was Sylvester Walker’s farmhouse tavern – a rest stop for stagecoach travelers in the 1840s heading between Detroit and Chicago.

Cambridge Junction Historic State Park preserves that tavern and the 80 acres surrounding it. You can tour three historic buildings: the original Walker Tavern, a reconstructed 1840s barn with exhibits about frontier work and travel, and the 1929 Hewitt House Visitors Center, which covers the golden age of auto tourism and the roadside attractions that made the Irish Hills famous.

The park runs craft activities – candle making, tin punch, even a “high tea” experience – on select dates throughout the summer. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., May through October. You’ll need a Michigan Recreation Passport for entry.

Also inside the park: the Walker Tavern Complex, which hosts vintage baseball games and a seasonal farmers market. Check the state park calendar for event dates.

Clark Lake – The All-Sports Lake Everyone Comes Back To

Clark Lake covers about 600 acres and sits roughly 10 miles south of Jackson. It’s an all-sports lake, which means pontoon boats, jet skis, water skiing, kayaking, fishing, and swimming are all fair game.

Clark Lake County Park has a public swimming beach on the south shore, plus a boat launch. There’s a second launch on W. Shore Road if the first one’s packed on a summer Saturday.

The real draw beyond the water: the Clark Lake Spirit Trail. It’s a 7.3-mile path that circles the entire lake – flat enough for walking, running, or biking, with views of the water, quiet neighborhoods, and wooded stretches the whole way. You won’t find a better casual loop trail in Lenawee County.

Fishing is solid here too. Largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill are the main catches. Bring your own gear or rent from one of the nearby marinas.

Chateau Aeronautique Winery – Wine, Beer, and a Runway

This is the kind of place that only exists in Michigan. An international airline pilot named Lorenzo Lizarralde started making wine in his airplane hangar in 2008. By 2017, he’d moved the whole operation to a 26-acre property on Pentecost Highway in Onsted with an 8,000-square-foot production facility.

Chateau Aeronautique Winery now includes three operations under one roof: the winery, Blue Skies Brewery, and Mile High Distillery. The 6,000-square-foot outdoor seating area overlooks the property, and the 5,500-square-foot Biergarten doubles as a concert venue with a proper outdoor stage.

They planted their own vineyard – Laurent Vineyard – in 2021, and started producing bubbly wines in 2023. The aviation theme runs through everything, from the branding to the tasting room decor.

Open year-round. Check their events page for live music nights – they book acts regularly through the summer and fall.

Wamplers Lake and Hayes State Park – Camping, Swimming, and Sunsets

Wamplers Lake is a 796-acre all-sports lake surrounded by the kind of rolling countryside the Irish Hills are known for. W.J. Hayes State Park sits right on the lake and Round Lake next door, covering 654 acres of campgrounds, swimming beaches, boat launches, fishing piers, trails, and picnic areas.

The campground has good midweek availability if you’re flexible – weekends fill up in summer. The swimming beach is sandy and well-maintained, and there are two boating access sites so you’re not fighting for a launch spot.

Pontoon cruising is the vibe here. The lake maxes out around 27 feet deep – shallow enough to stay warm, deep enough for skiing and tubing. Evenings on the water are the real reward. Pack a cooler, put the pontoon in neutral, and watch the sun drop behind the hills.

R&R Rentals – Get On the Water Without Owning a Boat

Don’t have your own boat? No problem. R&R Rentals delivers pontoon boats, speed boats, jet skis, fishing boats, and kayaks directly to lakes across the Irish Hills – including Vineyard Lake, Wamplers Lake, and others.

This is the move if you’re visiting for the day or the weekend and want lake time without trailering your own rig. Book ahead during peak summer weekends – rental inventory goes fast once school’s out.

Mystery Hill – The 1950s Roadside Attraction That’s Still Standing

Water runs uphill. A ball won’t roll downhill. A pendulum only swings south. Welcome to Mystery Hill, established in 1952 and still confusing people seven decades later.

Located at 7611 US Hwy 12 in Onsted – directly across from Hayes State Park – Mystery Hill is one of the original gravity-defying roadside attractions that popped up along major highways in the 1950s and ’60s. Most of them are gone. This one is not.

They’ve also opened an “Oddities & Curiosities” exhibit featuring sideshow artifacts from the 1940s that traveled the country in the ’60s and ’70s before disappearing into storage for decades. It’s weird. It’s fun. Kids love it.

Is it actual supernatural gravity? No. Is it worth the stop? Absolutely.

Devils Lake Inn – Stay the Night in the Hills

If one day isn’t enough – and it usually isn’t – the Devils Lake Inn in Manitou Beach is the Irish Hills’ only themed guest house. Each suite has its own vibe, and the whole place is set up with high-end amenities and lake-town charm.

Manitou Beach itself is a small waterfront village on Devils Lake worth exploring on foot. A handful of local restaurants and shops line the main drag, and the lake is walkable from most of the village.

How to Plan Your Irish Hills Day Trip

The Irish Hills are spread across a 20-mile stretch of US-12 and the surrounding back roads, so you’ll want a car. Here’s a sample route from Tecumseh:

Morning: Drive south to Cambridge Junction Historic State Park. Tour Walker Tavern, check out the barn exhibits, walk the grounds. Budget 60-90 minutes.

Midday: Head to Clark Lake for swimming or a walk on the Spirit Trail. Grab lunch at one of the lake-adjacent spots.

Afternoon: Hit Chateau Aeronautique Winery for a tasting flight and some time on the Biergarten patio. If you’re into roadside weirdness, Mystery Hill is a 10-minute detour.

Evening: Wamplers Lake for a sunset pontoon cruise, or head back to Tecumseh for dinner downtown.

The full list of things to do in Irish Hills Michigan – plus hours, maps, and seasonal event schedules – is at mitecumseh.com. We keep everything current so you don’t have to guess what’s open.