I asked some friends to help me assemble a list of suggested activites for out-of-town guests who might be presented with extra time. Here's what we came up with.
Sights to see:
Sights to see:
- Experience Downtown Holland-The perfect place to leisurely explore with a fun mix of unique shops and dining spots. Conveniently close to the wedding hotels and church. Make sure not to miss:
- JP's Coffee Shop: a locally owned favorite of the locals (and the bride's highschool pals). Fantastic espresso, scones, muffins, and soups. 90 minutes of Wi-Fi with purhcase, upon request. Catch up with your friends or catch up with your book!
- Holland Peanut Store: Historic candy shop equipped to tantalize guests with homemade cookies, freshly roasted nuts, and an array of candies. See if you can find any Dutch treasures!
- TreeHouse Books:a local book shop
- Holland Area Arts Council features the work of local artists, open saturdays from 10-3.
- Holland State Park
- Great beach and fun pier. On the north side of Holland. You'll need to buy a day-pass to get in, $8 per vehicle for non-residents of MI ($6 for MI residents). While there you can climb up Mt. Pisgah a dune just east of the beach.
- Windmill Island
- "A beautiful oasis on the edge of downtown Holland, Windmill Island features a 248 year old working Dutch windmill "De Zwaan" (meaning graceful bird). The windmill, which reaches 125 feet from the ground to the top of the blades, towers over 36 acres of manicured gardens, dikes, canals and picnic areas." It costs $7.50/vehicle to get in.
- Sagatuck Dunes State Park
- Just south of Holland. Not only can you have a fun beach experience you can do a lot of hiking in the dunes. Saugatuck the town is also a nice place to walk around and look at shops and boats on the channel.
- Big Red Lighthouse
- This is on the south side of Holland. You must obtain a walking pass and park outside the private property. You can take a walk down the channel to see the big red lighthouse.
- DeGraaf Nature Center
- Off of Graafschapp Rd. in Holland. There are trails that you can walk and enjoy the nature
- Veldheer (delft and wooden shoes)
- Off of US-31. You can buy some Dutch delft and wooden shoes, and sometimes see how the shoes are made.
Shopping:
- Downtown
- As noted above, lots of good shopping and eating to be had.
- Outlet Mall
- This is off of James and US-31. We mostly prefer the GAP outlet, there is also a Carters, and there is a movie theater close by.
- Westshore Mall
- Off of US-31 and James.
Food and Drink:
- New Holland Brewery
- Downtown Holland--fun place to eat and get a drink, features locally brewed beers.
- Curragh
- Irish resteruant downtown Holland.
- Alpen Rose
- Located downtown resteraunt. This is one of our more high-end restaurants, but I hear the breakfast is reasonably priced.
- JP's Coffee
- Local coffee shop located downtown Holland.
- Lemonjellos
- Local coffee shop located downtown Holland.
- 8th St. Grille
- Local resturaunt located downtown Holland. Great soup bar.
- Crazy Horse
- Located off Lakewood.
- Windmill
- Tiny local breakfast place with a lot of charm.
- Russ'
- To really experience Holland, everyone should eat at Russ' at least once. Good food and good prices. Have fun and try the tele-dine side in which you call in your order from a phone located at your booth.
- Russ' has 3 Holland Locations, the most convenient to our guests will likely be 8th street or Lincoln Avenue
- Boatwerks
- located next to Kollen Park on Lake Macatawa. Great location, the food has had mixed reviews.
