Grand Rapids Goes Beyond the LPGA Tournament
With a brand-new music Amphitheatre downtown, where a recent opening-night act by Lionel Ritchie kicked off the inaugural summer season – along with a recent ranking of No. 8 on the CNN Travel’s Best Towns to Visit in America, no one has an excuse for not finding something great to do in Grand Rapids.
What’s likely an easier question to answer is ‘what does Grand Rapids not offer for fun, food and entertainment for people of all ages?’
If you are attending the Meijer LPGA Classic tournament and wish to venture outside the border of the Blythefield course, or you might come back to the region another time in the future, we have some ideas:
Grand Rapids was named one of America’s Top 20 Summer Travel Destinations by WalletHub. You can spend your days on the trail, the water, the beach or the golf course, and your nights on the town experiencing delicious farm-to-table restaurants, live music venues, craft beverage taprooms, dance clubs and more.
West Michigan summer days are long and temperatures are moderated by the cooling breezes of Lake Michigan, making Grand Rapids a great choice for a warm-weather escape.
Even the LPGA Tour players like to venture out and see the sights of Grand Rapids on their limited down time off the course. Professional golfers often talk about all the options they have to explore the city and the region – it can be hard to concentrate on their golf game.
“I think it’s probably the best event on our schedule. I love coming to Grand Rapids,” said LPGA star Lexi Thompson.
Summer Things to Do
More than 2,000 animals come out to frolic at John Ball Zoo, which offers more animal-contact opportunities than any other zoo in Michigan. Downtown museums offer a caravan of fascinating exhibits just steps away from hotels and restaurants, including the world’s largest collection of Detroit Tigers autographed baseballs at the Grand Rapids Public Museum… but don’t forget the Grand Rapids Art Museum or the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.
Speaking of the Detroit Tigers, its farm team, the West Michigan Whitecaps, play in a fully renovated stadium less than 5 miles from the LPGA tournament site. There is also NASCAR sanctioned racing at Berlin Speedway.
Food and Drink:
Be sure to bring your appetite with you – there are more than 1,000 restaurants around town, offering an array of cuisine, price and amenity options, including outdoor dining. Downtown GR is home to nearly 200 restaurants within a 10-minute walk (or free bus ride) of hotels, shops and entertainment venues.
A main calling card to Grand Rapids is the adopted name Beer City. Be sure to download the Beer City Brewsader® app and sign up for the Flights of Flavor digital pass before you visit – you can earn free and fun perks when you use them to check in to participating breweries, restaurants, bars, coffeehouses and sweets shops.
Outdoor Summer Activities
Long summer days come in handy to get the most out of the grand outdoors. There’s Golf at 30+ courses within 30 minutes of the metro area (www.experiencegr.com/Golf). Hike, bike, paddle and canoe on hundreds of miles of trails and waterways.
Enjoy a picnic in the park – easy because Grand Rapids is home to 125+ parks offering such features as swimming pools, splash pads, playgrounds, lakes and boat launches. Millennium Park, five minutes from downtown, has a six-acre sandy beach and boat rental facility, and 20+ Lake Michigan beaches are as close as 30 minutes away, so pack plenty of sunscreen (same goes for attending the golf tournament).
This has been a small sampling of options so far – with more to come for the city and the west Michigan region. For exploring all the options, go to: https://www.experiencegr.com/
