Recently our family took a quick overnight trip to Holland, Michigan. Our visit was a few weeks before Tulip Time, and we could tell that Holland was on the cusp of being absolutely stunning in full bloom. Despite some poor weather conditions (50s with 20 mph wind - brr!) we made the most of it, and enjoyed the lack of crowds as we saw some Holland highlights.

The view from the Mt. Pisgah observation deck - you can see Big Red and Holland State Park in the distance.

We arrived in Holland mid afternoon and headed to the northern shore of Lake Macatawa to hike up the sand dune, Mt. Pisgah, and get our first glimpse of Lake Michigan. There is a large hiking loop trail that looked very pretty, but we just stuck to the boardwalk observation areas. From there we headed to check out Holland State Park. We walked along the beach, and enjoyed our view of the lighthouse, nicknamed Big Red. We then headed over to the southern shore of Lake Macatawa to explore downtown and see the Hope College campus.

Big Red - the lighthouse in Holland, Michigan.

On our way we made a quick stop at Sally Smoly Nature Playscape where the kids enjoyed the bouldering wall and a game of hide-n-seek in the nature play area before making our way downtown. It was a Sunday afternoon so the shops were closed, but we enjoyed walking through Centennial Park and the Hope College Campus. For dinner we made our way to HopCat, and we loved the specialty burgers! We tried the Hangover Helper (with bacon, a hash brown, and a fried egg on a pretzel bun) and the Cowboy (complete with fried jalapenos, bacon, pepper jack cheese and a smoky bbq sauce). The kids' meals were also a hit - reasonably priced, and they came with a drink, apple slices and a cookie in addition to the burger and fries. After dinner we made our way to our hotel and enjoyed the pool before heading to bed.

The tulips were getting so close to bursting into full bloom!

The next morning we made a quick stop at the Pere Marquette Caboose before arriving at Windmill Island Garden. We were able to use a local garden pass reciprocally here for free admission, so check any passes you have! Again, we could tell that in another few weeks it would be absolutely gorgeous, but we still enjoyed a number of tulips and other flowers in bloom. The poor weather conditions meant we essentially had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed the organ demonstration (which they do twice an hour), watched the video and looked at all the pictures in the Visitor’s Center, and then made our way over the drawbridge to the Windmill. Our time exploring the Windmill was the highlight of our visit. We were able to visit all 5 floors, and we spent about a half hour with the guide on duty. He was a wealth of information and full of stories about the long history of the mill, which included being a target of Nazis during World War 2 as the Dutch resistance often used windmills as meeting locations. After leaving the windmill and taking a little walking loop to see the tulip fields we enjoyed looking through all the little shops (try the cheese samples - we liked the lavender infused cheese and the double cream the best!). If you’re looking to buy a souvenir they seem to be quite a bit cheaper in the gift shop than for similar items at the shops downtown Holland. The boys also enjoyed the carousel ride on the way out.

De Zwann Windmill at Windmill Island Gardens

After leaving Windmill Island Garden we headed back downtown to visit some of the shops. You could spend hours browsing all of the cute little shops, but we especially enjoyed the Holland Clock Company, Cherry Republic, and The Peanut Store. If you’re an Adventures in Odyssey Fan make sure to stop by Family Central, a Christian bookstore with a small replica of Whit’s End where the kids can play. We enjoyed pizza for lunch at Crust 54, although if it hadn’t been so cold and windy we would have waited in the line out the door to eat at The Windmill Restaurant - it looked charming and quintessential Holland. After lunch we checked out Sierra and took a trip to Menards (we can’t seem to get away from needing something to fix something!). If we would have had more time we would have stopped at the Outdoor Discovery Center - next time!

The Pere Marquette caboose is on display outside of the current Amtrak station

In comparing Holland to other Lake Michigan beach towns there are definitely some pros and cons. The much larger population of Holland (34,000 at the last census) and the fact that downtown Holland is not located on Lake Michigan definitely give the town a different feel from other small beach towns. However, the unique Netherlands themed activities, the charming downtown shopping area, and the multitude of restaurant options make it a destination we can’t wait to visit again.