Things to See and Do

Holland State Park is one of the most well-known beaches in Holland, Michigan attracting crowds during the summer months. The beach is very long and has room for everyone to stretch out, bring a blanket, beach chairs, a beach umbrella, and a cooler and enjoy a day on the sand and in the water. There is plenty of parking at the state park, you will need a recreation pass or pay the daily entrance fee to access the park and beach. There is a pier at teh beach where visitors can take a short walk and take in the spectacular views of the Holland Harbor Lighthouse, called Big Red by the locals. There are plenty of modern amenities that make this a popular beach to visit, restrooms, concession stands, and a small gift shop are on site. There are also volleyball courts nearby and water sprayers to clean off your feet. There are plenty of vacation rental spots available near the beach, as well as camping accommodations.

Tunnel Park is located in Holland Michigan, a 22-acre park and beach area, one of the best beaches in Holland, perfect for families. The park features a play area and a large grassy park, crossing through the concrete tunnel built into the sand dunes that leads visitors to the sandy beach and gorgeous lake views. There is parking readily available with a minimum fee, there are picnic tables, volleyball courts, modern restrooms, and a few benches. The beach here is wide and great for swimming, there are sand dunes and grassy areas close to the beach, and it's great to swim in the waters of Lake Michigan and enjoy water sports and other fun activities.

The Holland Farmers Market is located along West Eighth Street in Holland featuring rows of tents with over 50 vendors. The market features everything from fresh produce from the surrounding farms, local homemade goods, lively street music, flower stands, and more. The market operates twice a week every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm.

The Tulip Time Festival is held every year in May in Holland for eight days, the city if famous for its Tulips with millions of colorful blooms lining the city streets. Tulips are everywhere at this time of year and the festival is a time that Holland residents live for each year and visitors come in drawls to see the flowers. The community parades through the city and the downtown area of Holland lights up with a contagious energy. Windmill Ialand Garden is one of the many beautiful tulip parks in Holland, featuring a 251-year-old quaint Dutch windmill De Zwaan that overlooks the fields of tulips. Located on Lincoln Avenue in Holland, the windmill here is the only authentic and still functioning Dutch windmill in the US. There are five stories to the windmill with spectacular views from the top of the 36 acres of green fields, dikes, and canals. Windmill Island Gardens is one of the best places to experience the city’s Dutch Heritage, talk a walk through the gardens where you’ll be greeted by guides dressed in Dutch costumes. There is a magical hand-painted Dutch carousel on site and the mill is still fully functioning and is open for tours, the mill still grinds grain into flour.

The Big Spring known as Kitch-iti-kipi has many meanings in the Chippewa language; Mirror of Heaven, The Great Water, The Blue Sky I See, The Roaring, Big Cold Water, and Bubbling Springs. This famous freshwater spring is located on the southern side of the Upper Peninsula at Palms Book State Park. It is known as The Big Spring as it pumps out over 10,000 gallons of water a minute from fissures under the limestone at 45F!!

Nelis’ Dutch Village is a theme park founded by Harry Nelis’ when he emigrated to America in 1910, he and his family made their way to Holland where they opened a tulip farm. At the village historic traditions are kept alive and visitors can enjoy traditional Dutch food, kids' roller coasters, and a petting zoo where there are goats and alpacas to pet. Step back in time and hit the red brick streets of this historic theme park and discover a historically accurate village with restaurants, souvenir shops, and other fun activities such as wooden shoe carving and Dutch Dancing. There are a staggering six million tulips exploding with color throughout the village which bloom each year in the Veldheer Tulip Garden. Vern Veldheer started the Tulip Garden in 1947 with just 100 red tulips and 300 white, it is one of the most colorful places in the country. There are other blossoms that include daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus, in the summer there are Dutch lilies, daylilies, and peonies. The village takes visitors back to the 1800s in the Netherlands and immerses them in Dutch culture and sees what life was like in the Netherlands.

Mackinac Island State Park covers over 80% of the island’s 3,75 square miles and encompasses most of the island’s historic and natural sights that offer a plethora of things to see and do. It was the second established National Park before it became Michigan’s first State Park. There are a great variety of historic and natural resources that provide something of interest for every visitor. The park features historic landmarks, breathtaking vistas, spectacular rock formations, quiet forests, and inspiring nature trails. The sites in the park are accessible by foot, bike, rented horse, buggy, or sightseeing horse-drawn carriage rides. Arch Rock is one of the most impressive natural features in the park, a natural limestone formation that sits on the shore at 146 feet above sea level. Sugar Loaf is a major natural landmark, a 75-foot stack of breccia limestone that formed as the surrounding stone eroded. Skull Cave is a natural cave carved by the waters of Lake Huron, and Dwightwood Springs is one of the island's many freshwater springs where visitors can relax in the pergola.

Historic Downtown Mackinac is home to several historic homes and businesses, this charming district offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of those who lived here at the height of the fur trade era of the 1820s and 30s. There are many places to visit in the downtown area including The Biddle House which has been fully restored to its state as an 1820s merchant class home, The McGuplin House is set in the same era and focuses on architecture and restoration process used to return the building to its original condition. The American Fur Company Retail Store Downtown is another popular spot where tourists can see what Mackinac’s original general store looked like, the Dr. Beaumont Museum contains exhibits about Dr. William Beaumont’s discoveries related to the digestive system, initiated by a gunshot wound sustained in the store by a customer. The Benjamin Blacksmith House provides visitors a first-hand look at another local business, this time focusing on the 1950s, you can watch the interpreters make various steel creations, and even try it yourself. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours are one of the most popular and unique ways to tour the island, in a horsedrawn carriage with the ability to hop on and hop off to experience some of the great sights along the way which include; Fort Mackinac, the Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory, and a brief stop at Arch Rock. The tour also includes admission to the Surry Hills Museum, which provides a look at the history of the island’s horse-powered vehicles. An evening carriage ride through the downtown area is particularly charming and romantic.

Fort Mackinac is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. It was the main military post on the island and housed the soldiers and their families, the fort has been fully restored, and costumed living history interpreters provide visitors with a look at what life was like when the fort was active. There is 14 building total that houses a variety of exhibits, each focusing on a different aspect of the fort’s history, function, and operations, along with a look at the island's history and its strategic importance. Exploring Fort Mackinac gives visitors a memorable Mackinac Island experience, the fort sits atop the bluffs of Mackinac Island. Visitors can tour the grounds and soak in the views of the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The fort closed in 1895 and has been adapted as a museum and sits on the grounds of Mackinac Island State Park. Each day at Fort Mackinac begins with cannon fire from the Gun Platform 150 feet above Marquette Park and the Mackinac Island Harbor, its a great experience for all ages to watch and hear. Visitors aged 13 years and older can sign up to fire the cannon themselves.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a treasure and one of the few places in the world where visitors can see perched dunes. The dunes hover over 400 feet above the vibrant Lake Michigan baby blues, the lakeshore is a treasure and was named the National Lakeshore the Most Beautiful Place in America a few years back by Good Morning America. The lakeshore’s towering dune stretch for 35 miles along Michigan’s eastern coast where glaciers formed, the slopes left behind by the glaciers turned into dunes as a result of Lake Michigan’s tide pushing sand up onto the shore over time. This unique phenomenon garnered the park National Lakeshore status in 1970. The park receives over a million visitors per year, who come to experience the dunes and enjoy the beautiful stretch of lakeshore with vibrantly colored waters, hiking through trails in the verdant forests, beautiful beaches, and a bevy of outdoor activities.

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is a 7.5-mile drive that leads travelers through verdant forested landscapes and along the famous sand dunes to various overlook points. The Lake Michigan Overlook is one of the most stunning on the drive, with an unforgettable, unmatched iconic view. There are tours available, and trails for hiking, biking, and snowshoes in the winter. On the scenic drive, there are over 100 miles of trails that range from easy to difficult, the Empire Bluff trail is a 1.5-mile round trip hike that leads hikers to the very edge of the dunes. The infamous Dune Climb is a strenuous hike, the Pyramid Point Trail is more moderate with hills, and the 9-mile Alligator Hill trail takes hikers away from the dunes and higher up to provide spectacular views of the lake and forests.

Downtown Traverse City is the gateway to Mother Nature and Lake Michigan. The charming downtown streets are beaming with activity with a growing beer scene and many breweries as well as a popular wine scene with wineries to visit just outside the city. There are great restaurants to choose from to enjoy some fantastic cuisine, quaint cafes for a cup of coffee, charming shops for unique gifts, and other diverse offerings. Take a Traverse City wine tour to two American Viticultural Areas for a day at some fantastic wineries, and vineyards. Front Street is the beating heart of Traverse City’s downtown area with plenty of hotels, shops, restaurants, and entertainment options, and some of the hottest beer spots are found along this popular thoroughfare. This area is just blocks from the lake and city beaches which include the popular Clinch Park, and Volleyball Beach. Check out Grand Traverse Pie Company and sample homemade pies made with locally grown cherries. The downtown area is home to two movie theaters, an opera house, and the Old Town Playhouse with shows held by local performers. Front Street is also a charming place to visit at Christmas time with all of the seasonal decorations to enjoy.

Duluth, Minnesota is a great destination for adventure seekers looking for solitude in the great outdoors. This place is a natural beauty with diverse four-season attractions. The city sits perched along the northern shores of Lake Superior and is known as the land where the waters meet the sky. This popular harbor and seaport enjoys a long maritime history to explore and freighters still head out to sea from here bound for transatlantic crossings. Dubbed the “Best Outdoor City in America” and the “Craft Beer Capital of Minnesota”, and is the birthplace of iconic folk singer and national treasure, Bob Dylan, this is celebrated each May at the week-long Duluth Dylan Fest, as well as on the nearly two-mile long Bob Dylan Way, a fun walking route to the landmarks linked to the star. Duluth is a great place to enjoy the outdoors, unique arts and culture, delicious dining options, shopping, expansive public parks, panoramic vistas, and museums. This is a vibrant and eclectic port city on Lake Superior which covers a massive 31,700 square miles with almost 3,000 miles of shoreline, Duluth sits on some of the most beautiful sections of this natural wonder. Some of the best places to experience Duluth’s natural beauty are at Leif Erikson Park, Canal Park, and Park Point, where visitors will find a wide range of outdoor activities such as picnic areas, playgrounds, paved trails, and volleyball courts. The iconic Aerial Lift Bridge which dates back to the early 1900s, is the second oldest lift bridge in the country and a historical landmark in the city. Other options include the Great Lakes Aquarium, the indoor island-themed Edgewater Hotel and Water Park, the Duluth Children’s Museum, Timber Twister, and the North Shore Scenic Railroad.

Door County is nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, in Wisconsin, it is America’s Dairyland and The Badger State. There is an endless array of thrilling outdoor activities to enjoy as well as relaxing getaways in this picturesque state. The county is situated on a peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay, known for its long stretch of shoreline, magnificent state parks, charming wineries, stunning beaches, lovely farms, museums, grand theaters, enthralling art galleries, majestic lighthouses, clear waters. Door County combines the true beauty of Wisconsin’s natural features with a pop of arts, culture, historical sites, famed fish boils, and cherry orchards. Cave Point County Park is a unique county park with plenty of hidden gems, it was established in 1943 and covers roughly 19 acres. The park is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year who come to enjoy the wonders of nature and breathtaking landscapes in this gorgeous state park. There are stunning underwater caverns to explore, awe-striking coves, crystal clear waters and lush greenery, and plenty of thrilling outdoor activities such as kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, scuba diving, rock climbing, cliff jumping, and hiking through forested trails. Take a ride on the Washington Island Ferry Line for a tour to the topmost part of Door County, a small yet simply beautiful Washington Island. This state-of-the-art ferry service offers passengers a magnificent way to see the beauty of Lake Michigan as you cruise on its glistening waters.