Pictured rocks (west side of UP) is beautiful and there's a couple towns close by if you're not into camping. There are some really nice short hikes and beaches there too. My fam has a cabin on the east side of the UP, but honestly I probably wouldn't purposely vacation there if we didn't have someplace to stay already. However, when we're there, we go see the bears at Oswald's Ranch, this time of year they will probably have a cub that you can hold. Traverse city is also really nice, good beaches, some nice kayaking/canoeing too.