Top Summer Things to Do with Kids in the Great Lakes Bay
Sunscreen, sandals & ice cream cones — it’s summertime in the Great Lakes Bay! And with warm sun shining & cool, blue waters, every day is ripe for adventure!
Pack up the fam & hit the open road to arrive at destination high-fives & smiles — and beaches, boat rides, splash parks, and petting zoos! Here’s where to go & what to do this summer for a getaway your family will never forget:
Bay City State Park
Saginaw
Get up close with 150+ animals at the Saginaw Children’s Zoo before riding the hand-carved carousel & miniature train!
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Birch Run
Encounter the Reptile Sanctuary & Rainforest Experience at Wilderness Trails Zoo, home to 200+ exotic animals!
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Frankenmuth
Pet & feed the animals, tour the one-room schoolhouse, and learn about life on the farm at Grandpa Tiny's Heritage Farm!
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Buoy 18 | @shineonsunfish
Tours + Experiences
For hand-dipped cones to piled-high sundaes, follow a curated Ice Cream Tour to our favorite local creameries & scoop shops!
With beautifully carved carriages & friendly horses, cruise through Little Bavaria with Fantasy Carriage Company or Frankenmuth Carriage Company.
Tour Frankenmuth on the Golden Ticket Trolley! The playlist is kid-friendly, and kiddos can ring the bell & choose a treat at the end of the route!
Midland
Wander through colorful blooms at Dow Gardens — including an award-winning Children’s Garden — and don’t miss the canopy walk that soars up to four stories high in the trees!
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Frankenmuth
Zoom through an aerial obstacle course of ziplines, ladders, and rope bridges at Frankenmuth Aerial Park — sharing high-fives along the way!
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Midland
Find family fun & natural wonders at Chippewa Nature Center. Spend time exploring 19 miles of trails and a Nature Discovery Area.
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BaySail | @baysailbaycity
Family Boat Tours
Prepare for a magical family experience aboard BaySail’s Appledore Tall Ship, and consider an evening Sunset Sail.
Book an ecotour with Johnny Panther Quests Adventure Trips, and be able to say your family boated through the “Everglades of Michigan”!
Nothing says summer like a cruise with Bay City Boat Lines! Enjoy a relaxing boat ride and the chance for the kids to see a lighthouse.
Relax aboard kid-friendly Frankenmuth FunShips and be guided along the Cass River, learning tidbits about Frankenmuth as you go.
All aboard the Bavarian Belle Riverboat! Tour Frankenmuth from the water, and see iconic sights from the canopied upper deck.
Buoy 18 | @frommichiganwithlove
Outdoor Mini-Golf + More
Enjoy a fun-filled afternoon at Buoy 18, with a mini-golf course that overlooks a bustling marina — and a free game room!
Get a hole-in-one, race go-karts, run through laser tag — it’s all about fun at Fun Way Amusement Park! Hit the batting cages, rock bumper boats, and have a blast.
Choose between two mini-golf courses at Alpine Mountain! Jump into bumper boats & go-karts and enjoy arcade games & tasty ice cream.
Putt-putt around a rushing waterfall at Dutch Village Adventure Park, then swing at a bucket of balls in the batting cages!
Spend a day at the ballpark and snap a family photo with Lou E. Loon at a Great Lakes Loons Minor League Baseball game!
Bay City State Park | @frommichiganwithlove
Beaches + Splash Pads
Soak it up at Spray by the Bay splash park inside Bay City State Park! Enjoy the sandy beach & playground area, too!
Find sun-drenched fun at the splash pad inside Haithco Recreation Area. Enjoy this park with a lake, beach, and fishing access — and rent paddleboats for the fam!
Beat the heat at Celebration Square Splash Park! Let toddlers get their feet wet in water misters, or whoop it up with big kids at geysers & water soakers.
Spend time in Frankenmuth Jaycee Spray Park’s fountains & water features. Pack a lunch — there’s plenty of shade & picnic areas for snacks between soakings!
Splash at Longview Spray Park, and enjoy a day under the spray — and dumping buckets & waterspouts activated by movement!
Right near The Tridge, splash your way through waterspouts & dumping buckets at Gerstacker Spray Park.
Kid-Friendly
Make s’mores and summer memories at Bay City State Park, with a swimming beach, splash park, and playscape! Or, camp out with Yogi Bear at Frankenmuth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort to enjoy a playground, pool, game room, and mini-golf!
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Frankenmuth
Make forever family memories at Michigan's biggest indoor waterpark & family fun center, Bavarian Blast at the Bavarian Inn Lodge! Brave the wave pool & 16 new waterslides, or go for mini-golf & mini-bowling, a ropes course, and 180+ arcade games.
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Frankenmuth
Experience two waterparks in one — each with a retractable roof — at Zehnder’s Splash Village Hotel & Waterpark! Enjoy a Family Raft Ride, tube slides, and an outdoor pool!
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Valley Lanes | @shineonsunfish
Indoor Family Fun Zones
Bowl for strikes at Stardust, then enjoy 60+ arcade games, two-story laser tag, and indoor bumper cars.
Head to Valley Lanes for bowling, mini-golf, an arcade, bumper cars, and a laser maze.
Drop into retro gaming fun at Crazy Quarters Arcade! Packed with pinball & arcade games, play Skee-Ball, Pac-Man, and more.
Flip & fly at Urban Air Adventure Park, with giant trampolines, climbing walls, an indoor zipline, laser tag, and bumper cars!
Try your hand at pinball machines & arcade games at Brinstar — then snack on creative burgers & fresh-cut fries.
Soar to new heights on wall-to-wall trampolines at Airborne Adventure Park — and enjoy your family “hang-time” in the air!
Let the kids burn energy at The Playground! Adults can kick back with a latte while kids have a ball at this indoor play palace.
Watch your family (literally) find your way through the Ultimate Mirror Maze, and check out The Vault Laser Beam Challenge.
Experience the River Place Game Room for 40+ arcade games, and earn prizes that make perfect souvenirs!
Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum | @frommichiganwithlove
Museums + More
See the world's largest collection of motorized fire trucks at the Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum — and don't miss the FDNY Super Pumper!
Designed for children (but “big kids” have bonus fun), discover the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum for hands-on exploration & interactive galleries!
Transport your family into the cosmos at Delta College Planetarium — and be sure to visit the gift shop for out-of-this-world souvenirs.
Arts + Entertainment
Craft a one-of-a-kind keepsake together at Painterly Pottery or Space Studios, with handcrafted pottery for your family to paint.
Enjoy an art experience — instructions & supplies provided — at the Craft Bar inside Studio 23/The Arts Center!
From Midland Center for the Arts to The Dow Event Center, The Temple Theatre to the State Theatre of Bay City — treat the family to live entertainment all summer!
Joyful Tantrum | @joyfultantrum
Kids' Shopping
Hit the arcade, shop souvenirs, and sample fudge to gourmet cupcakes at Frankenmuth River Place Shops!
Explore gift shops stocked with toys, candy, and souvenirs at Bavarian Inn Castle Shops — and follow your noses to fresh bakery treats!
With Gap Kids to Go! Games & Toys, discover 100+ stores at Birch Run Premium Outlets!
Find kites to wooden toys at Toyberg, or wander into Joyful Tantrum, “a toy store, unplugged.”
Celebrate Christmas any time of year at the world’s largest Christmas store, Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland.
Kid-Friendly
Light up the night at the Bay City Fireworks Festival, find heaps of family fun at Funtown Chowdown Food Truck Festival, or enjoy elephant ears & midway rides at the Bay, Midland, or Saginaw County Fair!
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Things To Do
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?
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Things To Do
Get to dozens of magical outdoor spaces where toddlers giggle and teenagers come alive (and parents have just as much fun as the half-pints)! Bring your camera, your favorite sneakers, and your sense of family adventure — big smiles are just up ahead!
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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
