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.
Personal 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."
"In relation to the above, our 'further investigation' lead us to a local police office, where we were presented by the clerk with (and I kid you not) a print off of the Michigan laws documented at: http://www.digihitch.com/usa341.html. Digihitch.com, a completely independently run, unofficial website "disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site."[1]
"While digihitch is a very excellent resource and a helpful website, the fact that even a fraction of Michigan's law enforcement officers are basing their entire treatment of hitchhikers around information found on a third party website that has no legal standing says a great deal about this state's interest in providing a just and fair interpretation of the law; hitchhiking unfortunately remaining a huge gray area. In an opposite light, the same clerk offered to personally drive us to the city limit, showing just how confusing and scatter-shot hitchhiking in Michigan can be, even for law enforcement. All considered I would suggest trying your luck, checking local ordinances where possible, and shooting for long distance rides to avoid the hassle. Happy thumbing!" -The TKL Hitchers
"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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