February 2022
Rough Draft: Weekend Itinerary For Grand Rapids, Michigan
This wasn’t meant to be a rough draft itinerary – it was supposed to be a perfect itinerary! We had plans to visit Grand Rapids, Michigan with cousins for a weekend trip – a Beer Christmas! But alas, COVID strikes again and this time, is us – somewhere in Quebec City, I got COVID – whomp whomp! At the rate of transmission, it was bound to happen eventually. Our cousins went and had a wonderful time, so much that they have plans on returning so I will take that as two thumbs up.
While this trip was scheduled for the winter time, there are lots of things to do in the warmer weather as well.
What is there do to?
Beer Christmas – The proximity and number of breweries makes this a great Beer Christmas destination. There are also a wide variety of breweries for all beer preferences.
- City Built Brew Company
- New Holland Brew Company
- Founders Brewery
- Grand Rapids Brewing Company
- Arvon Brewing Company
- Brewery Vivant
- Speciation Artisan Ales
- Sacred Springs
- Greyline Brewing
- Mittin Brewing
Explore the city – It is so much fun to explore a new city and Grand Rapids has lots to offer. While you are not getting your Beer Christmas on, there are many options to spent your time.
- Visit one of many museums and historical sights throughout the city
- Gerald Ford Presidential Museum
- Grand Rapids Public Museum
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Meyer May House
Outdoor activities are available year round!
- Summer: Kayaking, paddle boarding, or boating on Grand River as well as fishing, are very popular. Mountain biking is another activity – Grand Rapids is one of “America’s Best Mountain Biking Town”.
- Winter: Snow is abundant so the area offers all sorts of winter activities for everyone.
Day trip to Lake Michigan – If you have more time than just the week, consider extending your trip to visit Lake Michigan. It is under an hour drive from downtown Grand Rapids to the lake.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park – Just outside of the downtown area, these gardens come highly recommended to visit. There are botanical gardens, indoor exhibits, and sculpture gardens to enjoy.
Grand Rapids Downtown Market – We adore food halls so when we find on in a new place, it always makes the list.
What to eat?
In our experience, where there is good beer there is bound to be good food. And that food can often be found at the breweries! Many of the breweries offer food service and many are quite delicious. Here are some spots we had marked to visit, with Sovengard being our cousins’ standout favorite.
- Butcher’s Union
- Reserve Wine and Food
- Little Bird
- Hopcat
- Stella’a Lounge
- Grand Rapids Downtown Market
- Terra
- Sovengard
Coffee stops:
- Madcap
- Rowster
- Sparrows
Itinerary
Based on the above information, here is how I would structure the weekend in Grand Rapids, excluding the travel time to get there. Our plan was to leave immediately after work in order to squeeze a dinner and have the weekend to explore.
| Day 0 | PM | Arrive |
| Day 1 | AM | Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Explore Downtown |
| PM | Beer Christmas | |
| Day 2 | AM | Grand Rapids Downtown Market Beer Christmas |
| PM | Depart |
If you have been to Grand Rapids before, let me know what I missed and what your favorites are!