Like an Ontario lake town, on the Michigan side
Lexington: 48-Hour Escape from Detroit
A Lake Huron village in the thumb, with a beach at the end of the main street and a lighthouse up the shore.
Lexington: A Lake Huron village in the thumb, with a beach at the end of the main street and a lighthouse up the shore.
At a glance
Lexington, Michigan is a 1 hr 25 min drive from Detroit, best visited June-August, September. Like an Ontario lake town, on the Michigan side. Top things to do: Lexington village beach and harbor, Port Sanilac Lighthouse and the Sanilac County historic village, The drive north to Port Austin and Turnip Rock. Where to eat: The Cadillac House Tavern, Lexington's main street ice cream and coffee, Port Sanilac waterfront dining. Stay at Cadillac House Inn and Tavern or Lexington lakefront cottages.
69
of 100
Escape score
A solid 48 hours
A good day and a half, with an evening to spare.
- Drive
- 1 hr 25 min from Detroit
- Best window
- June-August, September
- Typical stay
- ~$185/night
Escape score: what there is to do and eat (40%), typical weekend lodging cost (30%), drive time (25%), rounding (5%). Computed from our own guide data, never from paid placement.
Why here
Lexington sits on the Lake Huron shore in Michigan's thumb, a village of a few hundred houses laid out in the 1830s around a harbor that shipped lumber when the forests here were still standing. The lumber went, the railroad came and mostly went, and the town settled into being a summer place. The main street runs downhill to a small beach and a state harbor, and the water on this side is clear, cold, and shallow for a long way out.
The buildings are the surprise. The Cadillac House, an 1860s hotel at the top of the street, has been restored and runs again as an inn and tavern, and the blocks around it hold a handful of 1800s storefronts, a wooden general store, and churches with white steeples. Ten minutes north, the Port Sanilac lighthouse has been flashing since 1886 and the county historical society keeps a village of moved buildings next to it, including a log cabin and a one-room school.
A weekend here is a beach weekend with very little on the schedule. Swim in the morning, walk the village in the afternoon, drive up the shore to the lighthouse, and eat dinner on a deck. September is the best month, when the lake is still warm, the crowds are gone, and the light turns. Two nights is right, and three is easy in July.
The plan
48 hours in Lexington
Same town, two different weekends. Pick the arrival that matches your Friday.
Friday, on arrival
Check inCadillac House Inn and Tavern
From ~$185/night
An 1860s hotel at the top of the main street, restored with period rooms, a tavern downstairs, and a porch that looks down toward the water. The villa...
Leave Detroit after work: the 1 hr 25 min drive lands you here in the evening.
Friday night
Dinner, then the main streetThe Cadillac House Tavern
The inn's tavern, with a long bar, lake fish, burgers, and a porch for waiting, the busiest room in the village on a summer night.
Eat first and walk it off after. Most small-town kitchens stop seating by 9.
Saturday morning
First stopLexington village beach and harbor
Free. A small sand beach at the foot of the main street, a state harbor with a pier to walk, and water shallow enough for small children. Parking is f...
Saturday midday
LunchLexington's main street ice cream and coffee
A couple of small counters at the bottom of the street serving hard ice cream and coffee, which is where the whole village ends up after dinner.
Saturday afternoon
Second stopPort Sanilac Lighthouse and the Sanilac County historic village
Lighthouse tours ~$5 in season. A light station in service since 1886, with a keeper's house, and a museum village of moved buildings including a log...
Saturday night
DinnerPort Sanilac waterfront dining
A diner and a couple of seasonal rooms on the shore road north, with perch, whitefish, and a view of the lake through the windows.
Sunday morning
Last stop, then homeThe drive north to Port Austin and Turnip Rock
Free, kayak rental ~$60. Forty minutes up the shore, with a village harbor, a farmers market, and the kayak route out to Turnip Rock, a rock formation...
1 hr 25 min back to Detroit still leaves you the afternoon.
Timings are a suggestion, not a schedule. Shift the whole plan by how late you leave.
The Basecamp
Where to stay in Lexington
Cadillac House Inn and Tavern
An 1860s hotel at the top of the main street, restored with period rooms, a tavern downstairs, and a porch that looks down toward the water. The village stay.
Lexington lakefront cottages
Cottages and houses along the shore and behind the beach, most rented by the week in summer and by the night in the shoulder seasons. The family pick.
Port Sanilac inns and cottages
A handful of inns and rentals ten minutes north, quieter, with the lighthouse at the end of the street. The quiet pick.
What to do
Lexington village beach and harbor
Free. A small sand beach at the foot of the main street, a state harbor with a pier to walk, and water shallow enough for small children. Parking is free.
Port Sanilac Lighthouse and the Sanilac County historic village
Lighthouse tours ~$5 in season. A light station in service since 1886, with a keeper's house, and a museum village of moved buildings including a log cabin and a school.
The drive north to Port Austin and Turnip Rock
Free, kayak rental ~$60. Forty minutes up the shore, with a village harbor, a farmers market, and the kayak route out to Turnip Rock, a rock formation in the water off Pointe Aux Barques.
Pack for Lexington
Beach & coast kit
Curated for sand, surf, and slow tide-pool afternoons in Lexington.
Portable beach umbrella
Real shade that survives a Gulf breeze.
See price on Amazon →Low-sand beach chairs
The four-leg kind that do not slowly sink out from under you.
See price on Amazon →Waterproof dry bag
Keeps phones and keys dry from the car to the sand and back.
See price on Amazon →Reef-safe sunscreen
Mineral-based, reef-friendly, and reef-town appropriate.
See price on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, book2escape earns from qualifying purchases.
Where to eat
The Cadillac House Tavern
The inn's tavern, with a long bar, lake fish, burgers, and a porch for waiting, the busiest room in the village on a summer night.
Lexington's main street ice cream and coffee
A couple of small counters at the bottom of the street serving hard ice cream and coffee, which is where the whole village ends up after dinner.
Port Sanilac waterfront dining
A diner and a couple of seasonal rooms on the shore road north, with perch, whitefish, and a view of the lake through the windows.
Most reviewed on Yelp
The most-reviewed restaurants in Lexington. A solid indicator of where locals actually eat.
The Windjammer Bar and Grill
Seafood
Water Tower Sports Pub
Pizza
Steis’s Village Inn
Bars
Review counts and ratings are curated from Yelp and may change over time.
Getting there
Drive logistics
From Detroit, take I-94 east to M-25 north along the lake, about 80 miles and roughly 1 hour 25 minutes. Main Street is one block from the water and parking is free along it; the beach and the state harbor are at the bottom of the hill. The shore road north to Port Sanilac and Port Austin is the scenic route and adds little time.
Drive time
1 hr 25 min
Best time
June-August, September
Questions & Answers
Lexington weekend FAQ
Lexington is about 80 miles northeast of Detroit, roughly 1 hour 25 minutes via I-94 and M-25 along the lake.
Yes. The village beach is at the foot of the main street with shallow, calm water and no surf, plus a pier and a harbor to walk.
September, when Lake Huron is still warm and the summer crowds have gone, or June through August for full beach weather.
Yes. It is close enough for a day trip and better as two nights: a beach morning, a village walk, the lighthouse up the shore, and dinner on a deck.
Turnip Rock is about forty minutes north near Port Austin, and the paddle out from there takes a couple of hours round trip. Rentals are in Port Austin.
The Cadillac House inn in the village, lakefront cottages along the shore, or smaller inns ten minutes north in Port Sanilac.
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