A Day Trip to West Michigan
The Mitten State has so many beautiful small towns – the Pure Michigan campaign couldn’t be more spot on. It would take many years to explore them all. My childhood summers were spent vacationing in many of Michigan’s lakeside towns. We spent weeks traveling the great lakes and inland lakes, staying at marinas along the way. However, we missed Holland, Michigan. The weekend before last, me and my best friend from college took a girls trip to this beautiful town near the Lake Michigan shoreline. It’s now one of my favorite Michigan day trips. It has so much to offer in the summer. If you like antique shopping, a great farmers market, and the beach – Holland should be on your summer bucket list. 
We left early on a Saturday morning and arrived in Holland around 9:30 am, just in time to enjoy the farmers market. The Holland Farmers Market is incredible! There’s a wide variety of amazing vendors offering everything from homemade pasta, gorgeous fresh cut flowers, mushrooms forged just hours before, to the tastiest blueberry donuts and endless array of fresh produce.
I was in farmers market heaven. This is one of the best farmers markets I have been too. It reminded me of the markets we went to in Paris. We had so much fun strolling from vendor to vendor with street musicians playing music along the way and indulging in sweet treats. If you visit, you must try the blueberry donuts! They’re so incredibly tasty!
After the farmers market, it was time to get our shop on. It’s something Laura and I do VERY well. And Holland was the perfect place for this hobby of ours! There are so many amazing shops, including some great antique stores. There are a couple antique stops right in downtown Holland and some antique markets outside of town (which we stopped at the next day).
Shops Worth Going To In Holland
Favorite Stores Downtown:
Best Antiques
- Not So Shabby
- Seedlings
We worked up quite an appetite from shopping and New Holland Brewing was the perfect place for lunch and a cocktail. We had such a great meal there! We started with an amazing mushroom fondue! We were pretty sure they used mushrooms from the farmers market that were forged that morning. So tasty! We split a salad and enjoyed some wine, too!
After lunch we walked around town a little while longer and grabbed coffee at Ferris Coffee. This is a great place with wonderful service! Delicious coffee, too!
We eventually made it to our hotel to check in. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which was right downtown. It was perfect for us! It’s an adorable hotel with a great lobby and nice cafe.
We didn’t have to walk far to dinner which was so nice! It’s such a treat to stay in a walkable city! Live music drew us into Hops at 84 East for dinner. It was a great little spot with really good live music. The food was good, but the service and music were great! We were definitely happy about this spot.
The next morning we woke up to overcast skies and chillier than normal temperatures. We were really bummed as we wanted to hit the beach early, but breakfast at the Windmill, also downtown, cheered us up. This is a great breakfast spot with homemade bread and delicious cinnamon rolls!
After breakfast we headed back to our hotel and got our beach stuff ready despite the cloudy skies. As we waited for the temperature to warm up a bit, we drove to a antique mall outside of town a ways. And I’m so happy we did! We hit the jackpot at Not So Shabby (link is above). And how cute are the basket weave purses? I didn’t buy them but totally regretting not making that purchase haha. 
We spent more than an hour at Not So Shabby before heading back to the beach. By the time we made it to Holland State Park, the sun was trying to pop out and the temperature was better. Our beach time was short lived though, as some rain was headed our way. At least we got a decent hour, or so, on the beach before it arrived.
Before hitting the road for home we made one more stop at a restaurant for lunch – Ottawa Beach Inn . It’s right near the state park and has delicious white fish and great seaside atmosphere! It’s within walking distance from the beach and near a couple cute shops, too.
The meal was the perfect end to our Holland experience. We had such a great time! And it reminded us of how lucky we are to live in Michigan and be so close to great beach towns. Just a two hour drive and we felt like we were far away from home. Summer in Michigan is the best! Cheers! xoxo
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