Those who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Northern Michigan will have a hard time appreciating all that the area has to offer. Any trip further north than Ann Arbor weaves through small towns, dense forests, countless lakes and yes, more than one roadside dive bar. This patchwork of villages each with its own collection of local diner, local pub, local ice cream shop is well worth exploring.

For those lucky enough, those travels can sometimes wander by a place like Pinehurst Inn Bar & Grill, a faded, peeling, massive structure that houses maybe the best drinking experience in the region. The bar’s riverside location and ancient, sprawling interior are matched only by Pinehurst’s entertainment in the form of Alvis, the bar’s owner and local Elvis impersonator.

Northern Michigan has a tendency to funnel toward Mackinaw City and Keyhole Bar & Grill is the city’s best dive bar offering thanks to a relentless commitment to the lock & key theme. Keys can be found hanging above the bar, embedded in the counter and littered throughout the Mackinaw City dive bar’s walls, creating a much-needed divey oasis from what can otherwise feel like a very tourist-focused string of t-shirt vendors and taffy shops.

Introduce a dive bar or two into an exploration of Northern Michigan’s outdoor adventure options and beautiful natural scenery certainly seems sensible as a means of balancing out all that fresh air with a domestic beer or two. The options below provide excellent opportunities to casually “bump into” a beer (especially helpful on a family vacation).