Douglas, Michigan is overlooked by local Michigan travelers for the bigger, well-known town of Saugatuck, just across the lake. While Saugatuck is rightfully amazing, there is a lot Douglas offers. That is why my family and I planned the ultimate day trip to Douglas, Michigan! Prior to visiting, I did my research to ensure we hit up all we could within one day.
While Saugatuck and Douglas share the moniker Art Coast of Michigan, Douglas is known as the Village of Friendliness. Now after hearing that, how can you not visit?
Check out the trip summary and details below to discover all there is to see and do during a day trip to Douglas, Michigan!
~ Day Trip to Douglas Map ~
~ Day Trip to Douglas Summary ~
When: Saturday during the last official weekend of summer (but this trip can be done in any season!)
Why: Whenever we visit this region, we end up in Saugatuck. This time we wanted to explore the nearby, smaller town of Douglas.
Time Traveled (one way): 45 hour from Grand Rapids, 3 hours from Detroit, 1 hour from Kalamazoo, 1 hour 45 minutes from Lansing, 3 hours from Traverse City
Time Spent at Destination: almost 5 hours
Budget: $ – food (carry cash!) & gas
What we did during our Day Trip to Douglas
First, we made a couple quick stops to the replica Kalamazoo Lighthouse and Lake Shore Chapel. Then we spent some time soaking up the sun and relaxing to the sound of waves at Oval Beach. After that, we parked at Mt Baldhead Park and explored the outdoor exhibits at the Saugatuck-Douglas History Museum.
For lunch, we enjoyed monster sized hot dogs from the historic root beer barrel stand. Before wrapping up the day trip, we drove to Douglas’ main street and explored art galleries, the Back in Time garden behind the Union Schoolhouse, and more!
Other Things to do in/near Douglas
Restaurants/Breweries/Wine Bars – Other fantastic restaurants to visit in Douglas include The Farmhouse Deli & Pantry, Saugatuck Brewing Company, Red Dock Cafe, and Everyday People Cafe.
Shop & Sip – If visiting on a day trip with the girls, Coastal Society is a super cute place to shop & enjoy a cocktail!
Kayak – At the end of Center Street, Running Rivers rents paddle boards and kayaks launching steps away at Wade’s Bayou Memorial Park.
Spas – Ready for some relaxation? Book a spa day at Redefine Med Spa.
Saugatuck – Explore the larger town of Saugatuck across the river. There are lots of cute shops, restaurants and things to do including taking a cruise on the Star of Saugatuck. Be sure to arrive early to find a parking spot. Free parking lots are limited. Alternatively, there are a couple lots outside of town open to the public with shuttles to drop you off in town. If planning to visit outside the peak late spring/early fall season, parking isn’t an issue.
Fennville – Home to a winery – Fenn Valley, hard cider mill – Virtue Cider, and many more agri-tourism destinations.
~ Day Trip to Douglas Details ~
Kalamazoo Replica Lighthouse
First up is a quick pit stop out of the car to stretch your legs. At this spot, you’ll see a 2002 replica of the 1859-built Kalamazoo Lighthouse. The original was destroyed by a tornado in 1956. While the original was buff with white trim, this replica is red and white! It’s also located in a different location.
Besides the lighthouse is a plaque explaining the history of the former nation of New Singapore. This area is also where the Great Lakes passenger ship Keewatin docked as a museum before moving to Canada in 2011.
Finally at this stop there’s an old red water tower. There’s not any signage here explaining its significance or meaning but still interesting to note!
If hungry, check out the eccelectic, island themed Red Dock Cafe (seasonal) at the end of the dock near the Lighthouse.
Lake Shore Chapel
Our second stop is also a quick one. We went to the Lake Shore Chapel, which is a nondenominational seasonal church that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1904, this one story Prairie-style Chapel is built into the forested dunes in Douglas. Summer chapels like this are scarce in Michigan while this one is particularly unique due to its simple Prairie School design.
The chapel was constructed due to the establishment of a summer cottage community in this area at the turn of the century. Most of the settlers were from Oak Park, Illinois and Lawrence, Kansas. During the summer of 1900, cottagers from Oak Park decided to organize summer services in their local community and three years later agreed to build a chapel. Oak Park native Harry L Walker designed the chapel and Grand Rapids firm J.B. Ackerman constructed it. It took a few months to build during the spring and summer of 1904.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see its interior due to visiting outside its operating season. According to the NRHP file, there is no fixed seating inside. Behind the pulpit, there is a glass encased 45 star US flag, original to the chapel.
Oval Beach
Our third stop is Oval Beach. From Memorial Day to Labor Day this beach charges $10 a car to enter. After Labor Day, it’s free. This is usually when the beach isn’t as busy either as the weather is usually a bit cooler.
Oval Beach is a great place to relax to enjoy the waves, watching boats from afar and whatever else may pop up. This beach is ranked one of the top 25 best shorelines in the world by Conde Nast and one of the top 5 beaches in the United States by MTV.
Additionally, this place is a great access point to hike the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area. The 2.5 mile trail loops through the dunes, around wetlands, to the north shore of the Oxbow Lagoon, along the Kalamazoo River channel, and the Lake Michigan shoreline providing beautiful scenic views at every turn.
Mt Baldhead & the Saugatuck-Douglas History Museum
Next up we parked at the Mt Baldhead lot and crossed the street to check out the outdoor exhibit at the Saugatuck-Douglas History Museum. Unfortunately the museum is closed due to Covid, but in normal times the museum is open on the weekends 12-4pm for free during September and October! If you’re planning to visit between Memorial and Labor Days, cross from Saugatuck on the Historic Chain Ferry!
Outside the museum there are plaques with historical information on the region, the old pump house, and local environment. The grounds of the museum are beautified with several types of flowers.
The Pump House building is constructed in the Prairie-Craftsman style of architecture; built in 1904. It revolutionized life for the residents of Saugatuck by housing the town’s first water and power systems.
Another thing you can do here is climb the 302 steps to reach the top of Mt Baldhead. The view from the top is absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend doing the climb during the fall when the leaves are changing colors.
Once you reach the top of Mt Baldhead, there stands a Cold War relic – the white spherical radar tower built by the US Air Force in the 1950’s. Saugatuck agreed to lease the land to the Air Force in exchange for the original steps to be replaced and vegetation planted to stabilize the dune. Decommissioned in 1968, the tower still stands and can be seen from all around Kalamazoo Lake.
Save the Barrel
Hungry yet? We ate lunch at the restored Douglas root beer barrel stand. Originally opened in 1952 by Flint businessmen Joe Decker and Harold Kelly, these gentlemen had the great idea to open a gimmicky root beer and foot long hot dog stand near Oval Beach. This seasonal restaurant recently reopened after sitting vacant for decades! In 2010, local history lovers and the Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society purchased it for $1 to save it from demolition. After careful restoration work and $11,500 raised for its preservation, the barrel moved to its new home in Douglas and opened for business shortly after.
This stand serves several varieties of HUGE hot dogs like a “Rhino dog” smothered in mac n cheese and chili (pictured). Also sold here is root beer (of course), floats, sundaes, and classic sides like potato salad, baked beans, and mac n cheese. After devouring my hot dog and side, my stomach was content the entire day! I highly recommend stopping here for some great food and to be part of the barrel’s legacy!
Please note the barrels operating hours are subject to change due to weather. Also, payment is cash or check only.
Downtown Douglas
After downing our hot dogs, we seriously needed to walk off some of those calories. Lucky for us, the next few stops were all in one place – Downtown Douglas. From here, we easily found a parking spot along the main street (Center Street), popped out the stroller and started exploring!
The Union School House
Our first spot in downtown Douglas is the 1866 Old School House. Originally known as the Douglas Union School, it is the oldest multi-classroom schoolhouse building in Michigan. It is also a prime example of 19th century school architecture in the United States. In 1957, the school closed after a new elementary school opened in Douglas. Then in 1962, it converted into 4 apartments by its new owner. Finally in 2006 when the owner contacted the Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society about preservation, it underwent renovations. Today, the schoolhouse is on both the State and National Registry’s of Historic Places and serves as the local history center.
Beside the schoolhouse is a boathouse with a restored 1854 Francis Metallic Surfboat and exhibit on Great Lakes shipping and shipwrecks. The surfboat is only one of two surviving examples of coastal rescue crafts used from 1849-57. To see this over hundred year old boat and learn what it was like to respond to shipwrecks at the time is truly amazing!
Saugatuck Douglas History Center App
A unique feature that added perspective behind our day trip is the Saugatuck Douglas History Center App. Once we downloaded the app, we used it to learn more about the buildings around downtown Douglas. Without it, we would have simply noted several different buildings with storefronts. But as we walked down Center Street with the app open, we learned, for example, the dark gray building housing Brackett & Co used to be home to The Peoples Store, the town’s general store. And this building is the first brick building in Douglas. How neat is it to dig deeper into a place without someone physically present to explain these things?
Another cool aspect of the app is the old photo’s of the buildings and sites. It’s neat to see the changes made throughout time to some of these places!
Be sure to use this app when you travel across the lake to neighboring Saugatuck as there are several historic sites there too!
Back in Time Garden
Behind the schoolhouse is the Back in Time Garden. Started in 2010, the garden is slowly converting into an educational walk-through that mixes local history, art, and ecological stories together. Today, the garden contains a large wooden totem pole, several smaller ceramic totem poles with locally significant landmarks, an exhibit on a former summer camp that used to operate nearby, and a peach orchard.
This is another place where the Saugatuck Douglas History Center app comes in handy. While there are plaque’s posted at some of the stops within the garden, the app elaborates and points out nuances and additional information. The Secrets of the Garden tour is located under the “More” section of the app.
Detroit Institute of Arts Replicas
Another cool feature of downtown Douglas are the replicas from the Detroit Institute of the Arts via the DIA’s Inside|Out program. 2020 is the program’s 11th year of operating. And actually, what a good year for it, given so many traditional museums remain closed due to the pandemic!
If you’re not able to stop by Douglas before the end of October when the replica’s are taken down, the Inside|Out program is occurring on Mackinac Island, Bellaire, Ludington, and Hancock. And if you’re over on the East side of the state, there are over 20 communities participating. What a great cultural activity to take advantage of this fall!
Explore the shops
There are several fantastic shops located in downtown Douglas all within a couple blocks! One thing to note are the number of art galleries and shops. Saugatuck & Douglas are known as the Art Coast of Michigan, hence the number of art galleries, stores, and public art pieces present. In Douglas, check out Water Street Gallery, Mr. Miller’s Art Emporium, and Button Gallery for unique works from all over!
Besides art, there are clothing and decor boutiques, a jeweler, furniture supplier, and pet boutique. One exciting looking boutique is called Coastal Society. This shop includes a cocktail bar allowing you to sip as you shop. This place is bookmarked in my brain for a future girls trip!
Beery Park
Beery Park is a quaint 1.2 acre park east of the shops and restaurants along Center Street. There is a ball field, basketball court, and playground for the kids to get all their wiggles out. Towards Center Street there is a cute statue of children playing on a log with benches and flowers around it. Also by the park is a public restroom.
One particularly Instagramable spot near the park is the rainbow crosswalk that traverses Center Street at the Main Street intersection. Remember to look both ways before posing for the ‘gram here!
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Have you ever visited western Michigan before? If so, when was the last time you explored a new small town here? Douglas is a rising star within western Michigan, often overlooked by its ‘bigger sis’ town of Saugatuck. Despite its smaller size, there are plenty of things to see and do!
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from Michigan with Love,
Jackie
