Grand Haven

Grand Haven is a beach town you can mostly do on foot. The state park beach, the pier and its two red lights, the boardwalk and downtown sit side by side where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan. One full day covers the beach, the pier walk and a Musical Fountain show after dark. A second day takes you to the quieter county beaches in the dunes north and south of town.

Getting there and getting around

US-31 runs north and south through town and meets Washington Avenue, the downtown main street. From Detroit and the east, take I-96 to US-31. By our routing estimates, the drive takes about 45 minutes from Grand Rapids and about 3.5 hours from either Detroit or Chicago. See getting here for the routes.

The closest airline airport is Muskegon County Airport, with flights to Chicago O’Hare; our estimate puts it about 15 minutes from town. Many travelers use Gerald R. Ford International in Grand Rapids instead. Private pilots can land at Grand Haven Memorial Airpark, a few minutes from downtown.

Once you are here, park once and walk.

• The boardwalk. A paved, flat path follows the river from Chinook Pier past the marina and downtown to the state park and the south pier. Plan on about 3 miles round trip from Chinook Pier to the end of the pier and back.
• Downtown parking. Downtown Grand Haven has free short-term parking, with three-hour limits on Washington Avenue and in many nearby shopping and dining areas. For a longer stay, the designated free all-day lots along Franklin Avenue, between South Harbor Drive and Third Street, are the easy choice. Overnight parking needs a permit in designated areas (sold at the kiosk at First and Franklin), and winter overnight street-parking limits apply from December 1 to April 1. Always check the posted signs, and see the city’s downtown parking page.
• Beach parking. The state park needs a Recreation Passport on your car. Grand Haven City Beach, next to the state park, has a free lot with no overnight parking. The Ottawa County beaches need a separate county permit from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and the Passport does not cover them. On summer weekends, lots fill by late morning, so come early.
• The trolley. Harbor Transit’s Lakeshore Trolley runs in summer, Thursday through Monday (roughly late May to early September; check the schedule). The Buccaneer Loop links downtown, Chinook Pier, the state park and south pier, City Beach and the Tri-Cities Historical Museum, and the Laker Loop goes to Spring Lake and Ferrysburg. Each loop takes about an hour, and one day pass covers unlimited rides. Check the schedule before you plan around it.

Where to eat

Downtown Grand Haven mixes breweries, a historic dining complex and beach-stand classics. These are places local and regional writers single out:

• Pronto Pups. The tiny stand by the beach and the pier, selling corn dogs since 1947. It typically opens for the season in early April. It is the classic beach lunch.
• The Kirby House. A downtown landmark at Washington Avenue and Harbor Drive, across from the boardwalk, with several restaurants in one building: the casual Kirby Grill, K2 Pizzeria for wood-fired pizza, and 1873, a dressier room for prime steaks and an extensive wine list that opened in January 2025. In summer, the second-story deck and patio are the draw.
• Smokey Jose’s. Barbecue and Mexican food under one roof, from ribs and brisket to tacos and margaritas. It began on Mackinac Island in 2018, closed there in 2023 and reopened on Washington Avenue in downtown Grand Haven in 2025.
• Odd Side Ales. Grand Haven’s experimental brewery on Washington Avenue, with everything from peanut butter stouts to easy IPAs and darts in the taproom. Its Side Bar cafe is your morning coffee stop.
• Grand Armory Brewing. A taproom in a 1905 armory building downtown, open since 2015, with pub food from Gnarly Varley’s. Regional beer writers point to its chocolatey peanut butter milk stout.
• Morning Star Cafe. The breakfast stop locals send you to. On summer Sundays the wait can run past an hour, so go early.
• Pinwheel Kitchen. New Holland Brewing’s takeout counter next to its Grand Haven tasting room, built around its pepperoni pinwheels, with salads and desserts. It serves no alcohol, but you can carry your food next door.
• Sweet Temptations. The sweet stop. Its vanilla bean ice cream took a blue ribbon at the 2025 National Ice Cream Awards, one of only nine shops to earn one that year. Get a cone before the fountain show.

Where to stay

Our Grand Haven listings lean toward inns close to the water. Harbor House Inn is a Victorian-style inn across Harbor Drive from the boardwalk. Boyden House Inn is a bed and breakfast in a restored 1870s house around the corner from downtown, and Washington Street Inn is a bed and breakfast in a 1902 house on Washington Avenue. On US-31, Best Western Beacon Inn is a hotel with an indoor pool about a mile and a half from downtown.

For vacation rentals and the full list, see places to stay in Grand Haven.

Our picks

Grand Haven State Park The full beach day: 48 acres of sand at the river mouth, a buoyed swim area, a beach house and a playground, with the pier lights in view. Watch the beach flags, and never swim near or jump off the pier.

The south pier lights Walk out the pier toward the two red lights joined by their catwalk. The outer light has opened for interior tours in summer, but only when the pier is dry and calm, so treat a tour as a bonus.

The boardwalk Walk the river from Chinook Pier to the state park, past the marina, the shops and the anglers. It is the way to get between town and the beach without moving the car.

The Musical Fountain Free shows of water, light and music on Dewey Hill across the channel, nightly at dark from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Find a seat at the Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium; shows run 25 to 30 minutes.

Rosy Mound Natural Area A 0.7-mile trail with about 1,000 feet of dune stairs to a quieter Lake Michigan beach south of town. It is a workout, it has no lifeguards, dogs are not allowed, and you need the county permit in summer.

North Beach Park The county beach in Ferrysburg, north of the channel: 745 feet of shoreline, a playground and a wooden stairway up a dune to a lookout deck. No lifeguards, and no dogs from May through September.

Spring Lake The village next door, for a bike ride on the Lakeside Trail around the lake or a kayak in its bayous.

One day, and two days

One day. Start with coffee at Odd Side’s Side Bar, then walk the boardwalk to the state park and spend the day on the beach. Grab corn dogs at Pronto Pups for lunch and walk the pier to the lights in the late afternoon. Have dinner downtown at the Kirby House or Smokey Jose’s, pick up a cone at Sweet Temptations, and take a seat at the waterfront stadium for the Musical Fountain.

Two days. Add the dunes. Breakfast at Morning Star Cafe, then climb the stairs at Rosy Mound for a quieter beach, or go north to North Beach Park for the dune lookout. Spend the afternoon at the Tri-Cities Historical Museum or on the Lakeside Trail in Spring Lake, and finish with a beer at Grand Armory or Odd Side.

To keep driving up the shore, our lakeshore harbor towns trip continues to Ludington and Manistee.

With kids, and on a rainy day

With kids. The state park has a swim area, a playground and a beach house close together. Imagination Station at Mulligan’s Hollow is a 10,000-square-foot playground that area kids helped design; it is free and open year-round from dawn to dusk. The trolley is a ride in itself, and the fountain shows suit all ages. North Beach Park adds a playground and dune stairs to climb.

On a rainy day. The Tri-Cities Historical Museum on Washington Avenue covers the area’s story from Native American history and French voyageurs to the lumber camps, with exhibits for the whole family, and it lists free admission. Grand Fun, an arcade with mini-bowling and food, is another indoor option. Then settle into a brewery taproom downtown.

Best time to go

Summer is peak season, when the beaches, the trolley and the nightly fountain shows are all running. The Coast Guard Festival fills town in late July and early August, with the Parade of Ships into the harbor and a big parade; check the festival site for the next dates and the rules for saving a parade spot, and book rooms early. The area also holds a kite festival in May, an art festival in June and a sand sculpture contest in August; confirm dates each year.

The shoulder seasons are quieter:

• May. The fountain plays on Friday and Saturday nights, and the trolley starts at the end of the month.
• September. The fountain keeps going on weekends, the beaches empty out and the boardwalk is easy to walk.

We’d pick a September weekend for a first visit: the fountain still plays on Friday and Saturday nights, and the summer crowds have gone home.

Winter

Grand Haven bills itself as a four-season town, and winter here is about trails and small-town events.

• Skiing. Mulligan’s Hollow Ski Bowl, behind the Tri-Cities Family YMCA, is a family-friendly community ski hill on the site of a World War II Coast Guard boot camp. Its webcam shows conditions.
• Trails. Cross-country ski, snowshoe or ride a fat-tire bike at Pigeon Creek Park, with more than ten miles of trails, and at North Ottawa Dunes.
• Downtown. Heated snow-melt sidewalks keep Washington Avenue walkable, and holiday lights go up downtown. The Jingle Bell Parade starts the season in early December.
• Winterfest. Grand Haven Winterfest runs in late January, with cardboard sled races, snow volleyball, a kids’ day, a bonfire and fireworks.

Ski seasons and grooming depend on snow, so check conditions before you go. The pier ices over in winter, so stay off it when it is icy and enjoy it from the beach.

Hours, menus and schedules change, so check with each place before you go.