A Grand Rapids weekend

Having long distance friendships can be tough, but choosing a great trip location tends to sweeten the pot. Enter: Grand Rapids.

This summer, Chad and I traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a group trip destination for our friends Haley, Phil, Megan, and Natalie.

For extra context, Phil and Chad were college roommates, Megan and Haley are childhood best friends, Haley is one of our closest friends in Milwaukee, and Natalie is Phil and Megan’s baby. All caught up? 🙂

Throughout our weekend reunion, we found ourselves exploring Michigan’s second-largest city, impressed at every corner. Grand Rapids is a riverside city that delivers a balance of historic charm and creative energy, with plenty to do and see.

Here’s everything we enjoyed throughout our Grand Rapids weekend.

About Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan is a riverside city about 30 miles east of Lake Michigan, with a population of 200,000 people.

Grand Rapids delivers a great balance of historic charm, vibrant culture, and creative energy throughout. It’s walkable, with several pockets of neighborhoods worth checking out.

Known as “Furniture City” thanks to its legacy as a 19th-century manufacturing hub, Grand Rapids has evolved into something more. It’s full of history and is artsy and inclusive, with plenty to do and see.

Our weekend in Grand Rapids

Here’s how we spent a packed and full weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Leonard at Logan House

Our time in Grand Rapids was framed by our stay at The Leonard at Logan House.

This historic bed and breakfast is located in the Heritage Hill neighborhood and was built in 1914. It’s charming, beautifully updated, and has an incredible location that’s walkable to a great range of restaurants, bars, and shops.

Read more about our experience at The Leonard at Logan House here!

Thanks to The Leonard at Logan House for hosting us!

Dinner and drinks on Wealthy Street

We started our Grand Rapids weekend by exploring what Wealthy Street had to offer. This area of town, known as the Uptown District, is bustling and fun, with so many trendy options to explore. We went to:

• Donkey Taqueria – I had a delicious margarita and quesabirria tacos
• Eastern Kille Wealthy – they had the most incredible craft cocktails!
• Živio – their patio was perfect

This part of town is brimming with energy—a mix of local and hip—and we definitely took advantage of the delicious options available to us.

Fulton Street Market

After a delicious breakfast from The Leonard at Logan House, we went over to the packed Fulton Street Farmers Market. It’s been open since 1922—one of the oldest and largest in the state. It’s busy and robust! We were extremely impressed by the crowd size enjoying the market.

The market has a permanent structure for a year-round set-up, and I loved the flow: food and coffee options at the beginning, followed by traditional vendor stalls. There’s so many things to choose from: fruit, fresh flowers, baked goods, veggies, kettle corn, coffee, honey, hot sauce—you name it.

I bought a dixie cup assortment of fresh fruit for $1 and it was such a fun way to sample new-to-me varieties of local cherries and berries. Sweet, sour, and delicious.

Founders Brewery Tour

Later that afternoon, we headed to Founders Brewing Company for a tour. Founders has a long history of being creative, quirky, and a little sassy with their craft beer selection and marketing; finding success in staying true to themselves.

We loved the tour (shoutout to our guide Kyle, who kept things interesting and engaging), which took a peek behind the scenes and included unlimited pours throughout. It cost $15 a ticket, and lasts for an hour.

We visited the Founders taproom after the tour, enjoying another round along with some appetizers.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

One of the top highlights of our Grand Rapids trip was a visit to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park—a 158-acre space with a stunning mix of greenhouses, outdoor gardens, scenic walking paths, and a world-class collection of sculptures.

I could’ve spent an entire day here! We loved the mix of greenhouse tropics and lush, outdoor landscapes that went on for (seemingly) miles.

If you have time for just one big attraction in Grand Rapids, I’d make it this one. Tickets were $22 a person (and worth every penny).

Food and drink options

Grand Rapids has no shortage of places to eat and drink. Here are a few local recommendations to consider:

• Marie Catrib’s – Casual, flavorful, vegetarian-friendly, and always bustling
• Brewery Vivant – Housed in a refurbished funeral chapel with Belgian-inspired brews
• Donkey Taqueria – Hip and flavorful Mexican street food in a cool space
• Terra – Farm-to-table dishes, wood-fired pizza
• Furniture City Creamery – A quaint shop with creative, house-made ice cream

Coffee shop options

As a little treat connoisseur, I was pleased to see an array of coffee shops to choose from in Grand Rapids. Here are some options:

• Madcap Coffee
• Rowster Coffee
• Ferris Coffee
• Wealthy Street Bakery
• The Bradbury Cafe
• Chartreuse Sisters

Day trip to Grand Haven

On our final day, we took a detour to Grand Haven, Michigan. Grand Haven a picturesque coastal town about 45 minutes away, sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan.

In fact, Grand Haven is almost directly across the lake from where Milwaukee sits!

We spent a few hours at Grand Haven State Park’s City Beach, where we laid on our towels and got into the refreshing (okay, kinda cold) water. The beach was incredibly sandy and soft, which we loved! I could easily spend an entire day (or several) here. Plus, it was fun to see Natalie enjoy her first-ever encounter with sand, lol.

Downtown Grand Haven embraces the beach town vibes, with pastel buildings, ice cream shacks, boats in the bay, and lots of families gathered to spend time outside.

Afterward, we stopped by the Unicorn Tavern for hearty Belgian dishes, ending our trip on a delicious (and extremely filling) note.

Worth a visit

Overall, Grand Rapids was a great destination for our group trip! Our weekend flew by (you know the saying, fun and all) and we feel fortunate for quality time with our friends.

Grand Rapids is a city with depth—there’s a creative and inclusive energy that merges trendy with historic, and it was exciting to explore. I’ll be back, it’s just a matter of when.

If you’re looking for a Midwest city that delivers on charm and weekend-worthy experiences, Grand Rapids deserves a spot on your list.

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