This blog post may contain affiliate links, which may reward me in the event of a sale. I use these funds to reinvest in my blog and to create more great content like this article to share with you! My visit to Lansing was sponsored by Greater Lansing, however all thoughts & opinions are my own. Disclaimer here.
Over the past couple years, I’ve grown increasingly interested in exploring Lansing – Michigan’s Capital City more. Lansing is a little over an hour drive from where I live in west Michigan, so it’s always seemed like a great destination for a long weekend. Also, I craved getting to know the city beyond it being Michigan’s state capital. So come with us as we discover the best family-friendly summer activities in Lansing, Michigan!
Below, I put together my family’s travel itinerary plus a number of helpful tips to help you plan your Lansing getaway!
Family Friendly Getaway to Lansing Summary
When: Weekend in late spring or the summer
Why: I’ve always wanted to go on a getaway to Lansing to explore Michigan’s Capital city in more depth. Digging into its history and culture always sounded enticing to me and a great way to enjoy a fun vacation with my family. When we planned our trip, we discovered a few unique and interesting neighborhoods within Lansing, which we’re excited to share!
Time Traveled (1 way): 1 hour from Grand Rapids, Detroit, & Kalamazoo; 3 hours from Traverse City & Chicago, 4 hours from Indianapolis
Time Spent at Destination: 3 days
Budget: We spent a total of $700 on all attractions, meals and lodging for 3 days – such a great deal!
Day One: Downtown & Old Town
We set off for Lansing at 9AM from Grand Rapids to make it to Lansing a little after 10AM. Leaving early ensured we had 3 full days to discover all the best family friendly summer activities in Lansing as possible. And stop one of the day was to the Michigan State Capitol Building – not necessarily a stop that screams summer! However, Michigan’s State Capitol building is steeped in historical significance that I wanted my son to have an early exposure to.
Michigan State Capitol Building
Before we begin, touring the capital building can be done with a toddler! It’s easier when you set expectations before you go inside. I told my son, “look with your eyes, not with your hands.” And “this is a place where I need to be on my best behavior.” With over 9 acres of preserved hand painted surfaces inside the building, I didn’t want to constantly keep swatting away Winston’s curious hands.
That being said, if you’re traveling with a little one or just want to tour the Capitol building when it’s not bustling with activity, check the calendar to find out when the House and Senate are in session. During our visit, neither was in session, which made finding parking by the building easy. We found paid street parking steps away from the new Heritage Hall. To pay, we downloaded the Passport parking app, entered the five digit code of where we had parked our car, license plate number, and amount of time we intended to stay. Even if you run close to your time limit, the app pings you at the 10 minute mark to top up your parking.
Heritage Hall
The first stop when taking a tour of the Capitol is the recently built Heritage Hall. From here, all guided and self guided tours start. Even though we intend to take a self guided tour, they offered to add us to a guided tour. But at my son’s age, I knew we wouldn’t make it through a guided tour.
From here, you’re offered a self guided tour booklet that contains much of the historic and artistic info that would be learned on a guided tour. And my son was given a Michigan themed coloring book!
We enjoyed exploring the new Heritage Hall. It’s not elaborately designed like the rest of the Capitol building. However, there’s a lot of historic information to set the context; plus fun facts about the state of Michigan, the current Capitol building, and the previous Capitol buildings.
One thing that caught my eye was the hideous rendering of the proposed fourth Capitol building from the 1960s. Thank goodness that didn’t go through! The design was just two prison looking cubes side-by-side. So ugly!
Touring the Capitol Building
From the ground floor we took the elevator all the way to the fourth floor and worked our way down.
At the fourth floor, you’re the closest to the top of the rotunda. And looking down at the levels below, adorning the walls are paintings of each of Michigan’s previous governors.
Climbing the stairs down to the third level, we went into the house and senate viewing galleries. And we were also able to step inside the Supreme Court chamber. During our visit, there was a gentleman inside one of the chambers answering questions about the House, Senate, and their functions – plus, about the architecture in either of the two chambers.
You can’t miss looking up at the top of the rotunda from the bottom below. When guided tour groups pass through, they always suggest laying down on the floor to look up at the ceiling. This was something my son loved doing!
Shigematsu Japanese Garden
After we wrapped up our tour of the Capitol, we made our way to the Lansing Community College Campus where we explored a hidden gem located within it – the Shigematsu Japanese Garden. The garden is a free attraction, however it is currently undergoing a bit of maintenance. The school is adding a new pond liner, sprucing up the landscaping, and bringing it back to life.
When we visited, it looked overgrown and not taken care of. We’ll come back in the future to see it once the upgrades are completed. Despite that, it was still a lovely experience. There are two lanterns in this garden that are beautiful. Plus there is a nice trail around the parameter of the garden and a deck extending into the Koi pond.
We parked along the street nearby Durant Park. When visiting on a weekday, use the same Passport parking app to pay the nominal fee.
Old Town Lansing
The Old Town neighborhood used to be where Lansing’s downtown District was in the mid to late 1800s shortly after Lansing was chosen as Michigan’s Capital city. It is also where the first residential house was built. Throughout Old Town, there are historical markers explaining the areas significance, where things once stood, and even evidence of a former train line!
Brenke Fish Ladder & Lansing River Trail
In Old Town we parked in a large parking lot nearby both the Grand River and the Brenke fish ladder. It is also next to a part of the Lansing River Trail, which is one of the largest river trail systems in the United States. The Lansing River Trail extends about 13 miles long and runs through many neighborhoods with three corridor’s. The one in Old Town is part of the northern portion of the trail.
After a brief peak into the fish ladder where we didn’t see any fish (best seen in September), we walked a bit along the Lansing River Trail before we headed to lunch.
The Cosmos
Lunch was enjoyed at The Cosmos, which is an outer space themed wood-fired pizza joint. Inside there are beautiful, exciting, eccentric murals of outer space, aliens, and all sorts of cosmic ideas going on that was fun to take in.
The Cosmos is connected to Zoobies Tavern, where you can also order pizza from. We tried two different types of pizza. One was known as ‘the Marge,’ a margarita pizza and the other, a barbecue pork pizza – both were delicious! You can also order popcorn as an appetizer that has truffle oil and black pepper flakes on it. My son devoured it – it was so divine! Everyone really enjoyed the pizza, and the ambience couldn’t be beat.
I absolutely love the theme of this restaurant and we would hands-down go back when in the area. There’s also outdoor seating available if you visit on a lovely summer day.
Preuss Pets
After we wrapped up our lunch, we headed a couple blocks down to Preuss Pets. While Preuss Pets is technically a pet store – it’s so much more than that! It is an experience! And, for us not having many aquarium options within the state of Michigan, Preuss Pets, kind of makes up for that.
Before you even walk inside, you are greeted by a waterfall and giant metallic sculpture. Then as you enter, there is a converted school bus that is stocked with the various pet supplies available for purchase. All throughout the store, there are animals, equipment, food, treats, aquarium supplies, decor, and hundreds of fish available.
There’s even a large mangrove growing in one of the corners of the store. It’s absolutely incredible inside Preuss Pets. Some of the animals found at Preuss Pets available for purchase include a variety of birds. This store has more bird species than I’ve ever seen anywhere. There’s also reptiles, various bugs, ferrets, chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters, and all kinds of other adorable little critters.
Preuss Pets was such a hit with Winston!
Our next stop after that, was to check into our hotel – the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Lansing, nap, and get ready before attending a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game!
Lugnuts Baseball Game
It is easy to attend a Lugnuts game, especially from where we were staying. Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, is located just across the street!
As we walked there, we noticed a giant lugnut sculpture extending up above one of the buildings in downtown Lansing. The Field is also surrounded by restaurants and bars that hyped up the atmosphere surrounding the field before the game started.
Pro tip! Before trying to enter the field, if you’re a woman, make sure you leave your purse at elsewhere, unless you carry a teeny tiny purse. Security checks the size of bags before you enter. There is an exception if you’re with little ones still in diapers or pull ups. So if you have a little one, carry those supplies with you to show security and they’ll let you in. I carried a pull up in my purse and didn’t have any issues entering.
Once we entered the field, we immediately headed to the concessions before they got too busy to buy some dinner. I didn’t find the pricing of their food as bad as some other stadiums. There is kids meal which gets you a hotdog, bag of chips and pop for $8.
After we took our seats, we quickly became big fans of the stadium entertainment. During one of the inning breaks, we watched a performance by a guy who could balance anything on his face. It was very entertaining to watch! He even balanced a full large glass of beer on top of a reusable water bottle on top of his nose and he didn’t spill it! There were also all kinds of audience participation games and games on the field. If you stick around until the end, there are fireworks to enjoy!
Capital City Market
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at its neighbor, the Capital City Market to pick up some snacks! This grocery store is owned by Meijer and is filled with Meijer brand products plus locally made goodies. Love that this exists in a downtown area! If you want to check it out, there is a parking lot behind it for Capital City Market shoppers to use.
Day Two: Museum District & REO Town
Before we started off on day two’s adventures, we headed across the street to Starbucks. Now, I’m not one to regularly visit Starbucks – I much prefer local, independently owned coffee shops with locally roasted coffee beans (call me a coffee snob, that’s OK). However, this Starbucks was different. This Starbucks is located within an old train station. And upon further online investigation, (your girl knows how to Google!), the building was built in 1901 and used as a passenger train station until service discontinued in 1978. After that, a restaurant moved in which was located here until 2016. Starbucks opened in the fall of 2022, and Bobcat Bonnie’s is going to be moving in as well sometime in 2023. Keep that on your radar!
Soup Spoon Cafe
After grabbing a latte from Starbucks, we headed to breakfast, which was the Soup Spoon Cafe. This cafe is located about a mile up the road from the Courtyard Downtown.
The Soup Spoon Cafe takes reservations, which I always appreciate when dining out with my son. Dining at popular restaurants can be tricky with impatient toddlers! And with the number of people dining here by 9:30AM, I can tell this restaurant is a popular breakfast spot.
While there wasn’t a kids menu, it is easy to customize most of the dishes to be kid friendly. Plus there is also an à la cart menu. That is what we ordered off of for Winston‘s breakfast. I ordered a Baja scramble, which consists of scrambled eggs with chorizo and Southwest style toppings mixed in with guacamole. It definitely hit the spot I was craving!
There’s a small parking lot at the Soup Spoon Cafe patrons can park at. And despite no kids menus, there were many families dining here with little ones around Winston‘s age so we felt welcomed. There is even a family-sized, inclusive bathroom with changing tables.
Impression 5
Impression 5 Science Center is a perfect museum for kids of all ages. My son had been anxiously awaiting a visit here all week long!
Right after we paid admission, Winston beelined it for the water room on the main floor. In this room there are all kinds of exciting water toys such as:
- Water funnels, where you put a plastic ball up top and watch it spin around the funnel until it gets spit out the bottom;
- Water squirters;
- A station to make your own mini sail boat;
- Hydraulic station where you spin the wheel fast to build, momentum and pressure; then release the lever and watch water go shooting up to touch the ceiling; and a
- Water wall with magnetic tiles, so the water runs in specific formations you create
Also on the main floor is a rotating exhibit. When we visited, it was Doc McStuffins! This exhibit is fun with multiple mini stations where kids can put on a doctors jacket and play with various tools. Every station is interactive and an opportunity for them to learn about being a doctor or a veterinarian.
Upstairs are a lot of other exhibit’s that are all science or sensory-based. Right when you enter, there’s a building station and dentistry station with a ginormous set of teeth. There’s also a real life grocery scanner where you can scan the barcode of various grocery items. At the end of checking out, the machine will calculate how healthy a shopping basket you filled.
As you continue through the museum, you’ll pass a couple throwing stations where you do exciting things like build your own paper airplane to throw between hoops or launch a ball to try and hit various musical instruments. It’s a great way to get out some aggression!
Another of our favorite spots here was the room full of bubbles. We could’ve stayed all day long. Within it, there is a bubble table with an instrument that blows air allowing you to make your own bubbles. Winston got creative here- put some bubble solution in his hand and used the instrument to create bubbles right in the palm of his hand! There’s also a really big bubble making stand. And a spot where you can try to put yourself inside a bubble as well as multiple tables with variously shaped bubble wands.
Two other really cool areas we enjoyed within the museum were the atomic energy exhibit and the little kids section. The little kids section is catered towards children four and under. You must take off your shoes to go in. But it provided a calm, relaxing environment for all the younger kids and kids who might get overstimulated visiting the rest of the museum.
Other great museum’s to consider adding to your Lansing getaway include the RE Olds Transportation Museum and Michigan History Museum.
Potter Park Zoo
After two hours in the museum, we spent another two hours at Potter Park Zoo!
Potter Park Zoo is Lansing’s Zoo that’s been in existence for over 100 years. It’s on land that was donated by former residents of Lansing who wanted the land to be used as a park. After the first 10 years, a free zoo was added to the park. While the zoo is no longer free, all Ingham county residents receive discounted admission.
Compared to other Michigan zoo’s, one big draw of Potter Park Zoo is the black rhino exhibit. Originally back in the 1970s, there was an African elephant exhibit but as more studies into zoology continued, for ethical reasons, Potter Park Zoo discontinued the African elephant exhibit. Although their former elephant isn’t far away! She now lives it at the Indianapolis Zoo!
Today, there are two African Black Rhinos who had a baby at the end of 2019, the first time in the zoos history! Other animals at Potter Park Zoo that we really enjoyed are the massive elk herd exhibit, lions, otters and snow leopards.
Other fun attractions at Potter Park Zoo you may enjoy include a camel ride, which I initially thought about doing with Winston, but when we got there, he wasn’t interested. However, across from where the camel rides are is a Dipn’Dots stand, which Winston finally tried for the first time in his life!
REO Town
For our next stop, we headed to a neighborhood called REO town, south of downtown Lansing. REO town is an historic neighborhood that gets its name from R E Olds, founder of Oldsmobile. It is here where he had his original plant that manufactured Oldsmobile cars, one of the first passenger cars in the United States. Today REO Town is an eclectic neighborhood with several murals, public art, vintage and antique stores, and independently owned restaurants and breweries.
Sleepwalker Spirits & Ale
We ended up eating at one of these restaurants called Sleepwalker Spirits & Ales. This restaurant is extremely cozy and reminded me of walking into someone’s home. In the front, it looked like a Victorian parlor room with a couch and coffee table. Separating the front from the back are big, old, dark wooden panels.
The back of the restaurant only has about five tables and a bar with an intimate setting. Even visiting with a child, they welcomed us! We ordered a spinach dip as an appetizer and split a Caprese sandwich. I also indulged in a craft beer, which was a lavender wit. The food and beer were both fantastic!
There’s not a whole lot of parking in REO Town, only street parking. However, we didn’t have any issues finding a parking spot here.
River Point Park
After wrapping up our dinner, we made our way to River Point Park, which is also located in REO Town. This park has a tiny parking lot with only three spaces to it.
This park is right along a portion of the Lansing River Trail and what makes it most significant is that it is where the two rivers that run through Lansing meet – the Red Cedar & the Grand. When we arrived, I didn’t know what to expect to see, but along the trail, there is a dock that extends out into the rivers a bit, which also makes you feel as if you’re right there where the rivers combine. However, it was also kind of sad to see how developed the area around the rivers were. Competing with the view is the highway and a large lit-up billboard.
Within River Point Park, there is a small playground for kids complete with a tire swing, swings, jungle gym to climb, and small play set with a slide.
Cooley Gardens
Before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we made our way to Cooley Gardens, nearby downtown Lansing. Making it super easy to visit is a fairly large, free parking lot right in front! The gardens are a popular spot for photographers and wedding parties.
The gardens are 2 in 1! The other is the Scott Sunken Garden, a garden you take steps down into. It has a stone wall around it with both plants and a stone sculpture of a woman inside the interior.
If you continue further, you enter into the Cooley Gardens, which is a Victorian, century old English garden with peony beds, conifers and more flowers. This place is such a beautiful, hidden gem. I can’t believe it’s free to experience! And was a beautiful, peaceful way to end our second day exploring.
Day Three: East Lansing
Day three was our final day in Lansing. We started off the morning once again taking it easy at the local Starbucks across the street. (I feel like such a sellout.) Once caffeinated, we made our way to the riverfront in downtown Lansing, where we visited Rotary Park before rounding out our family friendly summer getaway to Lansing in East Lansing.
Rotary Park
Rotary Park is located right next to the newly opened Lansing Shuffle. The Rotary Park has a sandy beach, with steps leading down to the Grand River, and a kayak launch. In the evenings, there’s also a fire pit, stage for musical acts to perform, public tables and chairs, and even beach chairs right on the beach!
It’s really nice to see effort made to make the area fun in the summer for families. Because we visited first thing in the morning, the beach was empty. Just us and a bunch of ducks! Next to the beach area, there is a Lighted Forest to enjoy during the evening.
Enjoy Lansing’s Summer Events
The next area we explored before heading home was East Lansing, home to Michigan State University. While attending the East Lansing Art Festival, we noticed how massive it was! There were tons and tons and tons of various artists and merchants with booths located all throughout downtown East Lansing. There’s also a demonstration area and a performance stage.
If you plan to visit next year, be one of the first to arrive right when the festival kicks off. Parking was very easy to find when I arrived right at 10AM. And then by the time we left, parking in the garage was harder to come by.
Other exciting summer time events happening throughout Greater Lansing include the Olive Burger Festival happening in June, Wine Fest in July, JazzFest in August, and more! Click here to discover which events are happening when you plan to visit.
Family Friendly Activities to Do at Michigan State University
4H Children’s Gardens
Finally, we went to Michigan State University where we spent some time at the MSU 4H childrens Gardens. This adorable garden is completely free if you visit during the weekends. You won’t even need to pay to park! They are lots of really cute themed garden areas like an herb pizza garden, Peter Rabbit garden, butterfly garden and more.
There is an amphitheater for performances, an assessable treehouse, secret garden, hedge maze and chimes to dance on (which happened to be one of Winston‘s favorite things). The children’s gardens are open between April and October 31 each year. There are also special events each month. Check out the website to keep those in mind.
Another spot within the children’s garden that Winston and I both really appreciate is the picturesque Monet bridge. Just behind it is what appears to be a metal gate in a very random location. However, Winston discovered that as you spin it, the frog sculpture in the pond spits out water. This was a delightful discovery for both of us!
There are two bathrooms available right at the children’s garden both are spacious and with enough room for changing an infant or toddler.
MSU Dairy Store
Then we drove over to the MSU Dairy Store, which has its own small parking lot in front of it. Despite there being an event going on at the campus, we were able to snag one of the coveted spots. We didn’t even have to wait long for the ice cream!
When we entered into the store, we saw a bunch of dairy merchandise for sale, both ice cream, as well as some cheeses and meats. One fun fact I enjoyed learning is that the MSU Dairy Department has its own cow herd to produce some of the products sold at the Dairy Store. There’s also big vats on site used to manufacture the ice cream.
There are many fun flavors to try at the MSU Dairy Store. Some of the flavors are unique to the Dairy Store, including the Sparty Swirl, which is what I ordered. This flavor consists of cake batter ice cream with green frosting swirled in and green cake pieces. Winston ordered the cookie monster, which is a very vibrant blue moon base with Oreos and cookie dough mixed into it. Before we paid for our ice cream, Winston ate half of his cone and finished before we found a shady tree to sit underneath. This was such a delightful experience and I can’t wait to come back and try another unique flavor the next time I’m in East Lansing.
Other free museum’s and stops to make on MSU’s campus include MSU Broad Art Museum and MSU Museum.
Mitten Raised Bakery
Before hitting the road back home, we made one final stop within East Lansing. And that was to mitten raised bakery. There, I ordered a latte to keep myself awake during our drive back plus a wrap for Win and myself to split.
From the outside looking in, this bakery looked adorable. Upon stepping in, we discovered its interior is just as adorable! There’s also a children’s table with a box full of various coloring books and utensils.
An impulse buy I made for later was one of the delicious cookie sandwiches they sell! They look so irresistible!
Where to Stay in Lansing
During our visit to Lansing, we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown. This hotel was phenomenal to stay at! The rooms were spacious, clean and contemporary. The bathrooms also were huge. Rather than a tiny little shower, the shower takes up the whole section of what a bathtub would.
Check in when easy and quick. When we pulled into one of the three spots reserved for people to check in, they let us unload our car and drop everything off before proceeding to the parking lot. Parking is free with your hotel stay, and to enter into the gated lot, just tap your room card.
Along the ground floor there is a lobby, snack and beverage kiosk for purchase, a bar, and fitness center. There aren’t any rooms on the ground floor, so if you’re traveling with young kids that like to play and run around, a room on the second floor is most recommended.
We stayed in a two queen room, which had some extremely comfortable beds. Other modern amenities to find in each room include usb and traditional outlets right on the nightstand. All rooms come with a wall mounted TV, Keurig coffee maker, microwave, and fridge. Those last three were all hidden within a dresser. There is also a phone for those who may need that and an alarm clock.
For more recommendations on lodging options, check out the Greater Lansing website.
Family-Friendly Summer Activities in Lansing, Michigan Map
If you’re a Michigander, Lansing is a destination everyone should visit one day. Irregardless of it being our state’s Capital city, there are great family friendly attractions to visit, many of which are unique to the Lansing area!
To add an additional day to your visit in Lansing, check out my day trip article to Grand Ledge here. Grand Ledge is located just west of Lansing and contains some of my favorite hidden gems in Michigan! It’s a place you definitely don’t want to miss, especially if you’re a nature lover.
Until our next adventure together!
from Michigan with Love,
Jackie
Pin this Post for Later: Discover the Best Family-Friendly Summer Activities in Lansing, Michigan
