Michigan really is a quintessential summer road trip state — lakes, farmers markets, small towns, sand dunes, and long beach days that somehow feel both relaxed and packed at the same time. It’s also one of those places where there’s way more to explore than you expect when you first start planning.
We’ve done two separate weekend trips here: one focused on the Detroit area, and another in Southwest Michigan along Lake Michigan. Both were completely different, and both made us want to come back for more.
South West Michigan
For our Southwest Michigan trip, we based ourselves in Holland over Labor Day weekend. Summer is definitely peak season here — and things book up fast since everyone flocks to Lake Michigan — so we ended up planning this one last minute and using Holland mainly as a central base.
It’s not necessarily the most “charming downtown” destination on its own, but it worked well for what we needed: easy access to beaches, small towns, and outdoor activities. Even with a couple of mishaps (including a few beach parking fails we’re still slightly recovering from), we really enjoyed the area and would absolutely go back with a better plan.
Here is what we got up to!
Day 1
We started the trip at the Holland Farmers Market, which is held downtown on 8th Street. It’s a lively outdoor market with food vendors, art, live music, and a very busy but fun atmosphere. We grabbed a few snacks and wandered around before heading out for the day.
Next up was the Outdoor Discovery Center, which ended up being a surprise highlight. It’s free, low-key, and has a nice mix of short walking trails, gardens, animal exhibits, and a playground. It was the perfect easy stop between bigger activities and honestly exceeded expectations.
From there, we drove through the surrounding countryside, stopping at a few farm markets and cider spots, including Virtue Cider and Modales Wines. This whole area is full of little roadside stops, and we loved how easy it was to just pop in and out of places.
Lunch was at Crane’s Pie Pantry Restaurant, which was packed but worth the wait. Think pies, cider, donuts, and hearty lunch options — very Michigan, in the best way.
We then made our way to Saugatuck, which is a super cute lakeside town. We had hoped to get to Oval Beach, but between traffic and a full parking lot, we ended up pivoting and finding a quieter waterfront park instead. Not what we planned, but still a nice place to sit, eat pie, and regroup.
One of the absolute highlights of the day was the Saugatuck Dune Rides. This was such a fun experience — an hour-long ride in an open dune buggy through massive sand dunes overlooking Lake Michigan. It felt part rollercoaster, part nature tour, and was easily one of the best activities of the trip.
Afterward, we made the bad decision to try Oval Beach one more time. Waited in more traffic, but this time made it in. Although, we didn’t realize it cost money to park – something like $25 or more, and we had only planned to stay for an hour or so this late in the evening, so we bailed and turned around. Mission failed.
Instead – we took the kids to go go-karting and they had fun with that. Picked up some takeout tacos from Tacos Borre on the way back to the hotel.
Day 2
The next morning we headed straight to the beach early and went to Ottawa Beach to avoid crowds. We got parking easily… but then quickly discovered the lake was having a very windy day. Red flag conditions meant no swimming, and the sand basically turned into a sandstorm, so we didn’t last quite as long as planned. Laying in the sun and enjoying the views wasn’t quite possible when you’re getting smacked in the face by sand. But – it made for some funny memories.
We also stopped at several farm stands along the way, including Bowerman Blueberries Farm Market, which is exactly the kind of place you can’t leave without buying way too many snacks.
For lunch, we headed to downtown Holland and ate at Bowerman’s on 8th. The food was delicious! We had planned to go to the Windmill Restaurant but it had a long wait. Lots of places to eat in this area, so we walked until we found something, which we happened to love!
In the downtown area, there’s a nice playscape-playground near the water that we walked to, and did a little shopping and almost bought some wooden clogs.
We had seen some hiking trails during our drive in the morning and made our way back to a hike called Riley Trails Loop. It was an easy 3.4 mile hike and was pretty – with hardly anyone else there.
Finally, we made our way to one more beach – Tunnel Beach. This beach actually has a tunnel built through the sand dunes for you to walk through. You have to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the overlook, and then down a bunch more stairs to the beach. It was crowded, despite it still being SO windy. Gorgeous beach though, although we didn’t stay because… wind.
One of the highlights though was going back to Ottawa Beach for sunset. We made it just in time and had such a beautiful setting for a gorgeous sunset. Then hopped over to Captain Sundae for some delicious ice cream.
Day 3
On our final day, we made a quick stop in the super cute town of South Haven. We got some coffee from the Flying Saucer and then drove down to check out the beach there – also really nice. This is another cute town that we would choose to stay in if we had an opportunity.
While in the area, Holland has a lot of fun activities that we opted out of, thinking out kids were probably too old to enjoy. But – there’s the Windmill Gardens and Nelis’ Dutch Village as well. Overall, so many charming towns in Southern Michigan and so many things to do for families.
Detroit
Our time in Detroit was much shorter, but still gave us a good feel for the city — and definitely left us wanting to come back and explore more.
We caught a game at a Detroit Pistons home arena, which was a fun way to experience the local sports energy and see downtown at night.
We also spent time at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, which is one of those museums that’s much bigger than expected. It covers everything from cars and planes to major moments in American history, and it’s easy to spend a full day there without realizing it.
We also stopped at a local market area while in the city, which gave us a quick taste of the food and neighborhood vibe.
Wrap-Up
Michigan ended up being one of those states where every trip felt different — lakeside beach towns in the southwest, and a much more urban, historical feel around Detroit.
Between places like Holland, Saugatuck, South Haven, and Detroit, there’s a surprising amount of variety packed into one state .Let me know your favorite stops in Michigan, because we can’t wait to go back and explore more!
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