Official 2018 Muskegon County Michigan Visitors Guide VISITMUSKEGONwww.visitmuskegon.org YOU’LL NEED MORE THAN A WEEK! 26 MILES OF BEACH 14 MUSEUMS 65+ MILES OF TRAILS AMUSEMENT & WATER PARK YEAR-ROUND FESTIVALS & EVENTS BREWERIES & FARMERS MARKETS Ann Arbor 166 mi. Chicago (35 min. flight) 185 mi. Cleveland 340 mi. Detroit 198 mi. Fort Wayne 217 mi. enjoy the journey Grand Rapids 42 mi. Lansing 107 mi. Muskegon County is located in West Michigan along the beautiful Lake Michigan Milwaukee (via Lake Express) 89 mi. shoreline. Boasting three state parks, miles of cycling trails, two major canoe/ South Bend 129 mi. kayaking rivers, and 26 miles of beaches, Muskegon is the outdoor recreation hub of Michigan’s sunset coast. St. Ignace 276 mi. Toledo 226 mi. Muskegon is easily accessible: just three hours from Chicago and Detroit via Traverse City 148 mi. major interstates, a two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride from Milwaukee on the Lake Express Ferry, and an hour and a half drive from Lansing. The Muskegon County Airport (MKG) offers daily flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), with 180 connections to destinations across the United States. So Visit Muskegon on a one-tank trip, enjoy a girlfriend getaway, or plan a week’s vacation along our little slice of Lake Michigan shoreline. There’s always something to see and do in Muskegon County! Go to www.visitmuskegon.org or call 800-250-9283 to learn more. Traverse City 75 Lake Michigan 10 131 Milwaukee 75 94 Grand Rapids 96 Lansing 23 Wisconsin 31 Kalamazoo Ann Arbor 94 to Detroit Detroit 90 223 94 31 Michigan Chicago 80 90 South Bend to Cleveland Toledo 80 80 90 Fort Wayne Cleveland Illinois Indiana Ohio play 6 Beaches & Parks 7 Cultural & Entertainment contents 9 Maritime & Lighthouses 10 Yoga 11 TripAdvisor® 12 Fresh Markets 13 Family Fun 14 Kayak dogs 15 Outdoor Recreation 19 15 active stay 16 Lodging 19 Pet-friendly 20 Cottages 37 shop 21 Resorts, Lodges, B & B eat Traverse City 75 22 Brews 24 Eat Perk Up & Sweets 28 Lake Michigan 10 131 more Events 30 Mary Aten Milwaukee 6 waves of fun 22 beer 37 Shop 75 94 Grand Rapids Community Resources 96 41 23 Lansing 42 Camping Wisconsin 31 Kalamazoo eat stay Ann Arbor 24 16 43 Golf 94 to Detroit Detroit 44 Sailing 90 Michigan 223 94 31 46 Water Sports 47 Fishing Chicago 80 90 South Bend to Cleveland Toledo 80 80 90 48 Boating Fort Wayne Cleveland 50 Getting Around Illinois Indiana Ohio www.visitmuskegon.org 3 For visitor information: Visit Muskegon 610 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, MI 49440 welcomeWelcome to Muskegon County! 231-724-3100 or 800-250-9283 www.visitmuskegon.org We hope you enjoy your copy of the Official 2018 Muskegon County Visitors Guide. Whatever the season, you’ll find plenty to see and do during your visit to our beautiful slice of Lake Michigan shoreline! Enjoy our many family attractions and museums, superior outdoor Produced by Visit Muskegon, in partnership with FineLine recreation, dining and cultural events, festivals, and Creative, and in cooperation with the Muskegon County excellent accommodations. Board of Commissioners: Rillastine R. Wilkins, District 1 Our lodging facilities offer full-service hotels in the Benjamin E. Cross, Chair, District 2 Susie Hughes, District 3 downtown area, plus brands you know and trust Robert Scolnik, District 4 throughout the county. Quaint bed & breakfasts and Marvin R. Engle, District 5 Charles Nash, Vice Chair, District 6 seasonal cottages line our lakes, from Muskegon Lake Gary Foster, District 7 and White Lake to Lake Michigan! I. John Snider II, District 8 Kenneth Mahoney, District 9 Whatever the reason or season, your visit to Muskegon County will be one you’ll remember for a lifetime. For Published by Visit Muskegon, the official destination further details on anything you see in this guide, please marketing organization for Muskegon County, Michigan. Visit Muskegon’s partners include: call Visit Muskegon at 800-250-9283 or check out our Circle Michigan – www.circlemichigan.com website at www.visitmuskegon.org. Follow Visit Muskegon Destinations International across all social media platforms for up-to-the-minute www.destinationsinternational.org information on events and activities! Michigan Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus www.visitmichigan.org Sincerely, Michigan Beachtowns – www.beachtowns.org Pure Michigan Sports – www.puremichigansports.org The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners Travel Michigan – www.michigan.org and the Staff of Visit Muskegon West Michigan Tourist Association – www.wmta.org Design and Maps: FineLine Creative Guide Cover Photo: Tim Reilly Map Cover Photo: Kristine Tyler Photos: Mary Aten, Andraya Croft, Jeremy Church, Barb Lowry, Bill Reek, Tim Reilly, Cecilia Riley, Riversedge Photography Contents © Visit Muskegon - Muskegon County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1/2018 — 70,000 Advertising Sales & Editorial Inquiries FineLine Creative 231-798-9778 [email protected] Disclaimer Visit Muskegon has made every effort to assure accuracy of content within this publication. The information contained within is not a complete list of all businesses in Muskegon County. Calendar of events information is correct at the time of publication. Visit Muskegon cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information presented here, or be held accountable for any omissions or errors. For a more complete list, or to confirm information from this publication, please contact Visit Muskegon at 800-250-9283 or [email protected]. 4 Muskegon County Visitors Guide 2017 Andraya Croft play adventure in your blood? Michigan’s Adventure Amusement and Water Park Muskegon Winter Sports Complex Nothing beats family togetherness, and nothing brings Muskegon Winter Sports Complex is home to the only a family closer than Michigan’s Adventure, offering two publicly accessible luge track in the country. People of all parks for a very economical price. Michigan’s Adventure ages and athletic ability can learn to luge on the 850' ice has over 60 rides and attractions including their world- track designed by Olympian Frank Masley. Or luge in the class wooden roller coaster, Shivering Timbers, which summer months on the only fiberglass, wheel luge track is over one-mile long and 125 feet tall. Experience other in North America. The Winter Sports Complex also has great roller coasters, thrill rides, kiddie rides, and their over two acres of outdoor ice skating including a skating water park, WildWater Adventure, with action-packed trail through the woods, miles of illuminated cross- water rides. country ski trails, and snowshoe trails along the Lake 4750 Whitehall Rd., Muskegon | 231-766-3377 Michigan shoreline. www.miadventure.com Muskegon State Park | 3560 Memorial Dr., N. Muskegon 877-TRY-LUGE | www.msports.org indoor, outdoor, wet or dry attractions Get sandy, tour a historic ship, speed down a luge run, hike the dunes, or scream as you rocket down Thunderhawk’s next bend. 6 Beaches & Parks 10 Yoga 13 Family Fun 7 Cultural & Entertainment 11 TripAdvisor® Top Choices 14 Kayak 9 Maritime & Lighthouses 12 Fresh Markets 15 Outdoor Recreation www.visitmuskegon.org 5 Jeremy Church beaches & parks beach sand between your toes Enjoy 26 miles of sugar-sand beaches on the shores of Lake Michigan. Collapse in a beach chair with a favorite book or make sand castles for hours. Birding – Muskegon County WMS Meinert Park P.J. Hoffmaster State Park & This 11,000-acre site is home to Canadian Park offers rolling dunes and an expansive Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center geese, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, snowy beach. The park also provides scenic overlooks Park features forest-covered dunes along three owls, and dozens of other types of birds. with spectacular views of Little Flower Creek miles of Lake Michigan shore, campgrounds 8301 White Dr., Muskegon | 231-724-3440 and the Lake Michigan shoreline. nestled in the woods, and scenic hiking trails. www.muskegoncountywastewatertreatment.com 8390 Meinert Rd., Montague | 231-894-4881 6585 Lake Harbor Rd., Muskegon | 231-798-3573 www.muskegoncountyparks.org www.gillettenature.org The Blockhouse Conceived in 1931 as a make-work project Moore Park Pere Marquette Park, in the depths of the Great Depression, this Park offers 36 acres of hills, woodlands, Muskegon Public Beach wetlands and grassy open areas with 1,500- replica of historic Fort Dearborn offers scenic This city park offers a wide expanse of sugar- foot shoreline on Half Moon Lake. This lake views overlooking Lake Michigan. sand beach, playgrounds, picnic areas, fishing Muskegon State Park is a popular attraction for fishing, boating, piers, and access to the Muskegon Channel 3560 Memorial Dr., Muskegon | 231-744-3480 swimming and picknicking. and lighthouse. 17505 White Rd., Bailey | 231-744-3580 3510 Channel Dr., Muskegon | 231-724-6704 Duck Lake State Park www.muskegoncountyparks.org This scenic state park, near Michillinda and Pioneer County Park Nestrom Roads, has a shallow channel leading Muskegon State Park Located along Scenic Drive between North to Lake Michigan. Hiking, skiing trails, and a Park features a bathhouse, day-use parking, Muskegon and Whitehall, offering 235 modern picnic area stretch from the northern shore of a large campground in the dunes, the historic campsites. Duck Lake to Lake Michigan. Blockhouse, and boat launches. Muskegon 1563 N. Scenic Dr., Muskegon | 231-744-3580 State Park is home to the Winter Sports Complex. www.muskegoncountyparks.org Hackley Park 3560 Memorial Dr., N. Muskegon | 231-744-3480 This National Historic Park is dedicated to the Twin Lake County Park memory of Civil War veterans, presented to Norman F. Kruse Park, Park has 800 feet of water frontage on Twin the city in 1890 by Charles H. Hackley. Home Muskegon’s Dog Beach Lake and is popular for picknicking and to festivals, concerts and community events. Just south of Pere Marquette Park sits Kruse swimming.