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A beach holiday you can afford ... in Michigan
Michigan's second-largest city has shopping, theaters, minor-league sports teams, a 12,000-seat arena, a new convention center, a thriving arts scene, bustling nightlife and family attractions. The 1913 Room at the Amway Grand Plaza hotel is considered one of the state's finest restaurants.
Museums include the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, the Public Museum of Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has held several important art exhibitions in recent years. One of its largest and most unusual, on through Sept. 10, features bronze sculptures by Tom Otterness, including 35 displayed along two miles of downtown sidewalks and pedestrian bridges.
Doubling back on westbound I-196 and exiting onto northbound U.S. 31, travelers arrive in Holland. From its 6 million tulips that bloom each spring to its authentic 240-year-old windmill to its very name, there is no mistaking the city's Dutch heritage. Its biggest event is the Tulip Time Festival, held each May, when tulips bloom throughout the city.
Holland State Park has a large beach adjacent to the picturesque Holland Harbor Lighthouse. Informally known as Big Red, it resembles an old-fashioned schoolhouse and stands at the mouth of the channel linking Lake Michigan to inland Lake Macatawa.
One of the cleanest beaches in the U.S.
Although shipwrecks are often associated with oceans, the Great Lakes hold more than 6,000 sunken ships. Many are regularly explored by scuba divers. Ocean Sands Scuba in Holland has a charter boat that takes divers to several shipwrecks off the coast of Saugatuck.
"The greatest diving in the world is in Michigan," says Chuck Larsen, the shop's owner and veteran diving instructor. The cold freshwater at lake bottom, about 39 degrees year-round, is ideal for preserving wrecks.
At least 10 lighthouses still stand in the region. One of the most visible is north of Holland in Grand Haven, at the mouth of the Grand River and next to popular Grand Haven State Park. Each May, the park hosts the colorful Great Lakes Kite Festival.
Camping is one of Michigan's most popular summer activities, but make reservations ahead of time. Campgrounds near Lake Michigan fill up fast between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
A dozen miles north of Grand Haven, two more lighthouses stand near Muskegon's Pere Marquette Park, home to a beach repeatedly recognized as one of the nation's cleanest. Close to the park is the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum, home of the USS Silversides, a World War II submarine and a Prohibition-era Coast Guard cutter.
Need to make a fast trip from Muskegon to Milwaukee? The high-speed Lake Express ferry crosses the lake with passengers and their cars in two-and-a-half hours. It makes three daily roundtrips in spring and summer.
Just north of Muskegon is Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park, the state's largest theme park, which started 50 years ago as a petting zoo. This season's new attraction is a $5 million river ride called Grand Rapids.
Head north another 30 miles to Silver Lake State Park, where there are nearly 2,000 acres of sand dunes.
Another ferry, the SS Badger, is based in Ludington, the final stop along Michigan's west coast. The 410-foot-long craft, which has operated since 1953, makes one roundtrip daily to Manitowoc, Wis., taking cars and passengers across Lake Michigan in four hours.
Travelers wanting one last dip can indulge at the city-owned Stearns Park Beach in the heart of Ludington or head north a few miles to scenic Ludington State Park.
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