Day One:
All Through Town
Dow Gardens | @carpenoctem182

Breakfast: Meet Midtown Midland and start your day like locals do at Live Oak Coffeehouse. Little ones will love the Blended Hot Chocolate, cinnamon rolls and No-Nonsense Bars. And parents? You’ll be just as pleased with your cup of locally roasted coffee and Crustless Quiche.

To-and-Fro: Drive from Midtown to Downtown (less than three minutes), and stop into Ray’s Bike Shop to rent rides for the whole fam so you can explore the 30-mile Pere Marquette Rail Trail, accessible right from Downtown. Consider taking off from the trailhead at The Tridge, Midland’s iconic three-legged bridge that hovers over the confluence of two rivers!

Toys & Treats: After your bike ride, pop by Joyful Tantrum in Downtown to let the kids experience a toy store, unplugged. Grab treats from nearby Aviator Cookie Company (try the Zebra Cake or Blueberry Streusel) to bring along and enjoy on your next adventure!

Dow Gardens | @jenniferrussell1105

Lunch: Stop into Downtown’s Amazing Deli and pick up a pre-made picnic of subs and more. Next, head to Dow Gardens and take in your pleasurable picnic amidst 110 acres of colorful flowers, rippling water features, and mature trees. Eat by the award-winning Children’s Garden (featuring plots planted and tended by local families) and let the kids point out their favorite flowers while you explore!

Heightened Adventure: Dow Gardens is also home to Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens — which, in turn, is home to the 1,400-foot longest canopy walk in the nation! Fully accessible for all ages and abilities, the Canopy Walk offers three unique viewing platforms, including a glass floor overlooking an orchard 40 feet below!

Kiddos will love the playground here, too, and adults will find absolutely everything about Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens exquisite. (Be sure to pose for a photo inside wooden pods you’ll find along the Canopy Walk, so you can remember this stop on your family trip to Midland forever!)

Wind Down: Wind down with meats smoked low and slow at Molasses Smokehouse & Bar. Enjoy the St. Louis-style barbecue restaurant in Downtown Midland — and especially the Loaded BBQ Tots and Burnt Ends Mac & Cheese!

Wind Up: Then, get ready for the “wind up” at a Great Lakes Loons game at Dow Diamond! A High-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the LA Dodgers, the Loons play 70 home games and your family is sure to have a ball!

Dow Diamond welcomes 5,200 to two indoor fireplaces, two outdoor fire pits, a playground on-premise, and more than 24 concession stands. Look for The Wing Wagon and Super Tasty Ice Cream for nighttime nibbles the whole family will love!

Day Two:
Out + About
Chippewa Nature Center | @ehlerspartyofthree

Breakfast: Begin your day with delicious sweet or savory crepes from Crêpes et Amis. (The kids will surely want the S'more crêpe, complete with marshmallow, graham cracker, and Nutella!)

Venture Out:
Spend quality time exploring the 1,200-acre haven of woodlands and rivers (with 19 miles of trails) that is Chippewa Nature Center! Admission is free and will welcome your family into: hands-on exhibits in the Ecosystem Gallery, a two-story observation deck to climb, the 1870s-style Homestead Farm to explore, a working Sugarhouse, and even a wigwam!

Lunch: Back Downtown, enjoy Pizza Sam’s (and their soups, sandwiches, and gyros) or try Pizza Baker for wood-fired pies on sourdough crust.

Fam Fun: Whoop it up at Longview Spray Park or go to Gerstacker Spray Park, right Downtown and right by The Tridge, to splash together. If the weather’s not cooperating, The Playground is an indoor neighborhood fun zone that serves perfectly poured lattes for parents!

Dinner: Zoom into Whichcraft Taproom for “big kid” drinks, including more than 80 Michigan craft brews (40 on tap), and let the kids devour a Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly. Or, bring them into Brinstar, where classic arcade games, specialty burgers, and fresh-cut fries will make everyone's night!

Good Evening:
Time it right, and you just might be in town to catch a family-friendly performance at Midland Center for the Arts! Either way, end your evening with mini-golf inside Valley Lanes Family Entertainment Center, where you’ll also find bowling, an arcade, laser maze challenge, bumper cars, and two escape rooms!

Midland Center for the Arts
Day Three:
Make it Matter
Grove Tea Lounge | @grovetealounge

Brunch: Grab brunch at “not your Grandma’s tea house — but she’ll love it, too” Grove Tea Lounge. Order the Brunch Bagel or Hot Granny Sandwich for yourselves, and for the kids? Try a scratch-made donut or heart-shaped Freckle Sandwich. Top off their morning with a Unicorn Latte, made with cinnamon plum tea, milk, whipped cream, and colorful unicorn sprinkles!

Group Photo: Before you go, spend time together inside Midland Center for the Arts. Experience an interactive invention space for kids, Spark!Lab® Smithsonian, or discover unique, hands-on STEM exhibits!

On Your Way Out: Visit Space Studios, just on the outskirts of Midland. Inside, you’ll find The Glaze Bar and a wide selection of ready-to-be-painted pottery. Get creative together and make beautiful, artistic souvenirs from your family weekend in Midland!

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When you planned on clear skies & sunshine, but Mother Nature has something different in mind — look to this guide for weatherproof ways to spend the day indoors as a family in Midland!

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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