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Air quality, you'll need to do what the rest of us do and check the current warnings. Some days, it looks hazy or like it's going to storm and some are fine.
For inexpensive activities, parks and beaches are likely your best bet. There's a non-resident Recreation Passport for either $39 for the whole year or $11 for a day that'll let you park at state parks.
I just spent the weekend in Saugutuck (near Holland) and the AQI was less than 10! We’ve been going for a few years now so I’m biased. We stay in the town and then to get to the beach there’s a ferry for $3 and a 20 minute hike through a forested area.
Air quality this year has been abysmal but not as bad as some areas. Because of the fires in mid-Michigan and Canada, there is just nothing to compare it to, we're just not near anything normal. That said, other places in the country are getting hit worse than us. How bad we do or do not have it is just massively dependent on weather patterns. I'm in SE Michigan and today the air quality is fine. On Sunday is was iffy.
All that being said, traveling in Michigan is the best from Summer through the Fall. July through October is prime time.
The nasty air has been blowing through periodically all summer. Not sure you can really predict it. The prevailing winds get a boost from Lake Michigan so the filth moved off to the south and east pretty quickly this week. Hopefully we get another few weeks of clear air.
The whole west coast is nice and all the places you mentioned have lovely spots and a lot of tourist services. It will be pretty busy this time of year and it’s always a bit expensive but heading up to traverse and getting out to sleeping bear is very worth the effort. Especially if you like to hike.
