Michigan

Michigan is a state of the United States. It is a vastly varied state for hitching with individual townships, villages, and municipalities having the legal authority to embrace, or outright ban the activity. The people in Michigan are also varied, but this Midwest winter wonderland has definite 'old country' appeal in most areas.

Detroit (Motown) makes it interesting.

Avoid Jackson and Ionia, they are prison towns. If you try hitching a ride in either town, there is a good chance people will suspect you of being an escaped convict on the run.

The Upper Peninsula has quite a decent reputation.

Law

32.11* Pedestrians soliciting rides or business: No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment or business from the occupant of any vehicle. Michigan Vehicle Code Definitions: 257.55 “Roadway” defined. Sec. 55. “Roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.

Due to the exclusion of the term shoulder from the definition of roadway, it is advisable that one stays off the paved portion of the road completely and hitches from the grass or dirt.

Experiences

"Tried our luck hitching in Auburn Hills, a city thirty minutes north of Detroit, and were told by a police officer that "all forms of hitchhiking are illegal in the entire state of Michigan". Upon later investigation, we found that the exact law varies from township to township to the extent that you may be picked up quite legally in one town, to be dropped off twenty minutes later in an area where hitching is expressly forbidden by local ordinances. This of course makes Michigan a great state to hitchhike through, but trying to bounce from place to place is not advised; a shame considering Michigan's natural beauty and much more receptive northern neighbors."

"I hitched 75S from Detroit at a local gas station off the interstate. Took about 2 hours, but I got a ride from a trucker... nice fellow. I-75 Rest Areas: I had great luck at 2 rest areas (just bathrooms/info) on I-75 between Bay City and the Mackinac Bridge. I'd imagine all rest areas are good, but I it took me about 5-10 minutes to pick up a several hour ride at each one. Summer would be easier even, but I was there in October 2008." - Anonymous hitchhiker.

"The Upper Peninsula is pretty easy to hitch around, with the exception of the section of I-75 around Kinross. There are several prisons in the area and many signs posted that say not to pick up hitchhikers. The west side has some of the friendliest people I've ever meet. A good place to head west from I-75 is on US-2 (better than going west from US-26) as it has the most traffic westbound." -Yooper hitchhiker

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