What are some great kid-friendly outdoor attractions in Michigan?

There are plenty of fun things to do outdoors with kids in Michigan when you Go Great Lakes Bay, including: discovering Dow Gardens and its treetop canopy walk in Midland; exploring Wilderness Trails Zoo in Birch Run or the Saginaw Children's Zoo; hitting the sandy beach & splash pad at Bay City State Park; learning all about life on the farm at Grandpa Tiny's Heritage Farm; or taking a family-friendly boat tour.

Skip to:

Dow Gardens | @jenniferrussell1105

Outdoors + Nature

  • Dow Gardens Explore 110 acres of floral beauty — including an award-winning Children's Garden — and America's longest canopy walk, four stories high in the forest! Tumble into tree-supported cargo nets and brave the glass-floored overlook.
  • Chippewa Nature Center Venture out into 1,200 acres of awesome! Travel the trails to see a Native American wigwam, one-room Log Schoolhouse, and working Sugarhouse — and visit the 1870s log cabin Homestead Farm to meet friendly farm animals, May to November, for free!
  • Frankenmuth Aerial Park Take to the trees as a family! Rock ropes courses & ziplines galore, made for ages seven & up. (Try Glow Nights or Twilight Climbs for added fun!)
Grandpa Tiny's Farm | @x_stina

Zoos + Farms

  • Grandpa Tiny's Heritage Farm Tour this working farm while pulled by a tractor! See the one-room schoolhouse along with lavender & sunflower fields, then pet & help feed the farm animals, including sheep, bunnies, pigs, and chickens!
  • Saginaw Children's Zoo Go wild observing more than 150 animals — from adorable river otters to a two-toed sloth — and be sure to ride the hand-carved carousel and take a spin on the miniature train!
  • Wilderness Trails Zoo Prepare yourself for this 56-acre park with primates, zebras, lions, reptiles — and special interactive animal encounters available to book. Meet more than 200 exotic animals and make your kiddos’ whole day!
Buoy 18 | @frommichiganwithlove

Outdoor Mini-Golf + More

  • Buoy 18 Mini Golf Create forever memories on the green, right next to a marina on the Saginaw River. Enjoy the game room for free, and have fun choosing your post-game ice cream!
  • Funway Amusements Saginaw Get a hole-in-one, race go-karts, ride bumper boats, run through laser tag, and cool off inside playing arcade games, all in one family-friendly place!
  • Alpine Mountain Golf Choose between two mini-golf courses — or play both! Challenge the fam to bank-shot basketball, race go-karts & bumper boats, and indulge in ice cream.
  • Dutch Village Adventure Park Have a blast playing mini-golf or swing at a bucket of balls in the batting cages — there's hand-dipped Hudsonville ice cream when you're through!
  • Great Lakes Loons Minor League Baseball Buy peanuts & Cracker Jack and take your family out to the ballgame! With stadium seating & grassy lawns, watch the Great Lakes Loons at bat. Be sure to visit the playground & Loon Loft gift shop!
Bavarian Belle Riverboat | @frommichiganwithlove

Guided Family Boat Tours

  • Bavarian Belle Riverboat Cruise aboard a 150-passenger paddlewheel riverboat. Kids will love the ride & refreshments, adults will appreciate the narrated history tour.
  • Frankenmuth FunShips Board an electric boat for a one-hour Wine & Chocolate River Tour. "Big kids" sample wines, little kids sip sparkling grape juice, and the whole family wins!
  • BaySail Feel the wind in your hair and watch your little ones' eyes sparkle aboard a majestic tall ship schooner. Choose between Great Lakes 101 daytime trips or Sunset Sails, Matey!
  • Bay City Boat Lines Join your local guide for a relaxing Saginaw River Guided Tour. Let the kiddos enjoy snacks & soft drinks while they keep watch for the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse!
  • Johnny Panther Quests Adventure Trips Spot wildlife galore on a family boating adventure through the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge! Glide through the wilderness with a one-of-a-kind local guide, spotting bald eagles to deer drinking from streams.
Bay City State Park | @frommichiganwithlove

Beaches + Splash Pads

  • Bay City State Park Enjoy the Saginaw Bay shoreline, sandy swimming beach, and picnic areas — and a coastal wetland with walking trails, wildlife viewing, and observation towers! Whoop it up with water at the on-site Spray by the Bay Splash Park — you’re right alongside an amazing playground, too!
  • Haithco Recreation Area Hit the beach and make it a day of playground fun, tossing horseshoes, and renting paddleboats, rowboats, canoes, or kayaks! Fish from the pier, grill up a picnic, and cool off at an earthy-themed splash pad.
  • Frankenmuth Jaycee Spray Park Practice counting to 18 together, because this zero-depth water play area has 18 different fountains, sprays, and geysers — accessible for all ages & abilities!
  • Celebration Square Splash Park Play for ages in zero-depth splash sections! Enjoy Discovery Bay with misters for toddlers, Adventure Bay with showers & dumping buckets for children, and Action Bay with water soakers & ground geysers!
  • Gerstacker Spray Park Splash right by the iconic Tridge (that's also an entrance to the Pere Marquette Rail Trail).
  • Longview Spray Park Get wet, wild, and feel wonderful! Be ready for belly laughs by the buckets (and waterspouts).
Like This? You Might Also Like:
Zehnder's Splash Village
Things To Do
A First-Timer's Guide to the Great Lakes Bay for Families

Spend a long weekend checking items off this bursting bucket list when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan — and have a four-day adventure your family will never forget! Because here, it’ll be a toss up: who had more fun, the parents or kids?

Read More +
Discover More
From the Blog
Go Great
How to Spend a Weekend in Frankenmuth with Kids

Travel to Frankenmuth, Michigan for a weekend with your family and be ready for all kinds of over-the-top fun! This town is known as “Little Bavaria,” but it’s home to two of Michigan’s top indoor waterparks and the world’s largest Christmas store, making it a must-stop for more than 3 million who visit annually.

Read More +
Go Great
How to Spend a Weekend in Midland with Kids

Splash at multiple spray parks, roam through colorful gardens & groves, and dare to take the country's longest canopy walk up to four stories high in the forest! It’s all here (and ready when you are) when you spend a weekend in Midland with the kids!

Read More +
Go Great
How to Spend a Weekend in Saginaw with Kids

With hands-on, interactive museums, zoos & petting farms where your hearts will melt, and opportunities to bounce sky-high or squeal with excitement aboard a choo-choo train — Saginaw is a kid-friendly spot that adults will love, too!

Read More +
Author
Jen W. O'Deay + Go Great Lakes Bay

By: Jen W. O'Deay | Updates: Go Great Lakes Bay | Jen is a Saginaw native and owner of Feel These Words, an independent copywriting studio & home to the free "5 Day Website MiniBoost". Jen specializes in writing that connects, delivered through website copy, branded content articles, and WingWoman writing services. You'll find Jen camping with her family, laughing, and at feelthesewords.com