Day Trip to Milan, Michigan

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Welcome to Milan, Michigan! Join us on a delightful day trip to Milan, located just a short drive south of Ann Arbor in beautiful Washtenaw County. While Milan is known for its rural surroundings, it also boasts a captivating and thriving historic downtown district.

During our visit, we dined at a couple of Milan’s locally owned restaurants, shopped at the unique shops and boutiques along Main Street, and explored a local park. Especially fun for our son was a visit to a family-friendly indoor playground, where he could run, play, and let his imagination roam free.

Please note that during our visit in the winter season, one of Milan’s attractions, the Milan Dragway, is closed. This raceway hosts thrilling drag races throughout the summer months. For additional attractions to add to your own day trip to Milan, I added other sights below in the article. 

History of Milan, Michigan

Milan was founded in 1831 along the route settlers to early Michigan took that started out east and entered into Michigan from Monroe. Founded near the banks of the Saline River, wooden houses and buildings sprang up forming Milan’s Main Street. After a fire in the late 19th century, the downtown was rebuilt in Italianate, Queen Anne and Victorian Styles. Victorian lighting installed in 1993 further enhances the historic small town ambiance.

Originally, Milan went by several other names before becoming Milan (pronounced My-lan). Some of these names include Tolanville, Farmersville, and Woodard Mills. But ultimately, Milan is what has lasted in honor of the town’s Italian immigrants and one of Italy’s main cities.

There’s also several other cool historic buildings that remain in Milan to check out if you’re a history buff! We popped over to see the exterior of some of these. Unfortunately, they weren’t open for winter so views from outside are the best I could capture.

Summary of Our Day Trip to Milan

When: Saturday in winter

Why: We’ve done a lot of day trips and adventures along West Michigan lately and were interested in exploring more of the towns in eastern Michigan again, where there is a ton of rich, interesting history! And since our son is a wiggler these days (age 4), we chose a town that had some options of fun things he’d enjoy too.

Time Traveled (one way): 30 minutes from Ann Arbor, 1 hour from Detroit & Lansing, 1.5 hours from Kalamazoo, 2 hours from Grand Rapids

Time Spent at Destination: 6.5 hours

Budget: $$ (restaurants, gas, shopping, admission to PlayStation)

Day Trip to Milan Details

We traveled to Milan from the Grand Rapids area in the morning to get a full day of adventure under our belt. Because the next day we had plans to spend a day exploring Ypsilanti, we spent the night at the Marriott at Eagle Crest Resort (which was a wonderful spot to stay!)

Original Gravity Brewing Co

We arrived in Milan at lunch time so started out at the Original Gravity Brewing Co when they opened at 11:30 am. It wasn’t too busy when we arrived yet. And we also noticed another family with a kid about my son’s age having lunch there too. Along one of the walls is a line up of classic arcade games, which kept my husband and son busy as I looked over the menu.

The menu is available via QR code at each table or menus are available by the counter where the overhead sign saying “order here” is. On the menu are several deli sandwiches and salads, both cold and panini style, and they use a lot of Michigan brands such as Better Made chips, Ann Arbor tortilla factory chips and Milan-based Rich Grains Bakery. 

And of course, being a brewery too there are several craft beers available – both classic and experimental flavors. I tried out a flight of all their tier one beers. These flavors included 10 Speed Saison, County Street Amber, Spincast (a kolsch), Southpaw IPA, Promordial Porter, and Hanks Copper Ale. I really enjoyed that last one!! 

For food, I ordered the special of the day which was a chipotle bbq panini that came with chips to split with my husband, a peanut butter jelly for my son, and an appetizer of chips and salsa. Everything tasted so delicious and complimented the beer perfectly.

Original Gravity Brewing was founded in 2008 by Brad Sancho who was a passionate home brewer for years. He followed his dream to start his own brewery centered on community, which he found in Milan. Definitely a good place to stop during a visit to Milan!

Milan Nature Park

Stop two on a day trip to Milan is the Milan Nature Park. After a two and a half hour drive and then lunch, now was a good time to go somewhere to get some wiggles out. We chose the Milan Nature Park because it is close to the other attractions we planned to visit in Milan. And at almost 13 acres and with a short trail and playground, it looked perfect for our son! 

A couple years ago, it was announced that the Milan Nature Park would receive some upgrades like a nature trail, BMX course, and expanded playground with sensory friendly and inclusive features. A lot of the progress is still in the works, and we saw the start of a kayak launch. 

However the playground, though not brand new or expanded is still fun with sections for both bigger and little kids, plus swing sets, see saws, and a dinosaur to ride on. In fact, the little kid playground has a large dinosaur you have to walk through to play on that playground. And in total, there are nine slides to go down!

While there isn’t a trail through the woods yet, you can still walk along the edge of the wetlands to what opens up into Ford lake. When we walked out there, we saw some ducks and geese and some massive eagles nests in the distance!

In total we spent about an hour playing and exploring here before headed to downtown Milan.

Shopping in Downtown Milan

Next up is shopping and exploring downtown Milan. In addition to having a downtown district that’s on the National Register of Historic Places, Milan is one of less than 30 Michigan communities that’s a part of the Michigan Main Street program. (See the link here for the complete list of Michigan downtowns that are part of this program).

Parking

There’s plenty of street parking available in downtown Milan. There’s also a decent size free parking lot in case you’re not able to find a spot on the street.

Shops

There is about a block and a half worth of shops in the Downtown area. Of all the storefronts that exist in downtown Milan, every single storefront is taken. And we popped into almost every shop! I’ve never been to such a town where I wanted to visit each store.

Starting off on the corner of Main and Wabash, we entered Lavender Lane on Main. This lavender boutique, is the year round shop of Lavender Lane Lavender Farm, which is located in rural Milan. Body products, beauty products, scented home decor, culinary lavender and more that’s all made from local Milan grown lavender is sold here. There’s even a prep your own tea bar.

Other stores we explored downtown included…

• Magnolia – a woman’s clothing store and boutique.
• Plum Tree Yarn Shop – a yarn & crafts shop that also offers classes.
• Pink Shamrocks – a home goods store where the owners rehabilitate vintage and antique furniture.
• Northern Chicks – a home goods store that also sells a small selection of women’s clothing and accessories. 
• Life is Sweet Bakery & Cafe – a family owned small batch bakery with a beautiful array of unique baked goods with many decorated for the upcoming holiday. It is too cute a shop! 

And when leaving Life is Sweet, don’t miss the beautiful botanical mural on the building. It’s a beautiful spot for a photo opp! 

Continuing on, don’t miss local book, comic and games store Adventure, Ink. This shop sells a variety of new and used books, comics and collectibles plus gaming supplies. This is definitely a spot for all the superhero fans and anyone looking for collectors items. 

The Play Station

By this point, Winston was bouncing off the walls again. Right around and the corner from Lavender Lane on Main is the Play Station. The Play Station is an indoor play place for families. It costs $10 per child to play and that rate is good for the whole day. Families are welcome to come and go throughout the whole day as they wish. For local families, a membership is $75 per kid which is good for three months.

They allow outside food and beverages so feel free to carry a picnic or snacks. If you don’t carry any, there’s snacks and drinks available for purchase at the front desk. 

After checking in, take off shoes and hang any coats you don’t want to carry in. The play area is a shoe free zone.

There are several options of places to play at within the Play Station:

• For tots under 18 months, there is a special gated section with squishy toys.
• Towards the front, is a room full of magnatiles and games.
• Another room is filled with gymnastics and tumbling equipment. Winston spent a lot of time here creating his own obstacle course.
• Then there is a large playground in the center of the facility with a slide, mats, tubes to crawl through, a swinging ball, and more.
• Finally, there are a couple trampolines for one child to jump on at a time. 

The Play Station is best suited for kids aged one to 10 years old. My son had an absolute blast and I was so thankful that such a place exists! Our day trip to Milan ended up being so much fun because it offered something my whole family enjoyed.

Roy’s BBQ and Burgers

The last step on our day trip to Milan was Roy’s BBQ and Burgers. Roy’s has been located at its quaint  corner location in downtown Milan for over 50 years. 

Burgers, hot dogs, ribs, chili, homemade soup and more are made right in the kitchen – visible for you to watch.

Food can be consumed on site at the counter otherwise there’s a small dining room in the back with about five tables. We popped in just before dinner time and didn’t have problems finding a table to sit at.

I ordered the big one cheeseburger while my son ordered the kids meal hot dog with fries and my husband ordered their chili which he raved about. The big burger was massive! It was about as big as my face and it came with cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, and mustard on it and tasted so dang good. It was honestly one of the best, most satisfying burgers that I’ve had in a very long time.

The french fries are more like thicker cut wedges, yet they still have a nice crispy exterior to them.

The service at Roy’s was unbeatable. We were greeted with open arms and treated very kindly. The staff went above and beyond for us, and even gifted my son some fruit snacks.

And the price can’t be beat! Excluding tip, our total rang up at just over $20 for all three of us to eat here!

Historic Hidden Gems in Milan

Now for my fellow history lovers! Besides the historic buildings that make up downtown Milan, don’t miss the two below places if you visit in the summer.

Hack House

First is the Hack House, which absolutely blew my mind when I read about the history of the person who built this home. The Hack House was built in 1883 by Olive Friend. (If there is a list of notorious Michigan women, Ms Friend needs a spot on this list). Ms Friend was behind an electric sugar refinery fraud that defrauded Wall Street and European investors. 

She built this house in her hometown of Milan as a place to escape to when the fraud came out. This ultimately happened in 1889, and she did, indeed make it back to Milan to hunker down. Unfortunately, the word of the fraud spread around the world and Olive Friend was arrested and spent about a year in jail for her white collar crime. 

Upon her release, she lasted about a year in Milan before she married and moved to Detroit. She sold this house to her cousin, Jim Hack. Today, the Hack House is owned by the Milan Area Historical Society.

Community House

The second historic hidden gem in Milan is the Community House. This two story building located by Milan’s Wilson Park was originally the site of Milan’s gristmill in 1834. 

Then, in 1935, Henry Ford bought the building to process soybeans to convert to paint for cars. It is so cool to be able to visit such a place in a small town like Milan that’s connected to the early days of Ford.

Today, the Community House is owned by Milan’s Parks Department and can be rented out for small group events. 

Seasonal Fun to Mix in to Your Visit to Milan, Michigan

If you’re visiting Milan during another season, you might want to add a visit to these other spots to your day trip:

• Milan Dragway – experience the thrill of watching drag racing!
• Lavender Lane – visit the lavender farm to see the lavender fields abloom. Best to experience from late June through early August.
• Wasem Fruit Farm – see what fresh fruits are available! Open summer and early fall.
• Zilke Farm Stand – enjoy local produce grown right in Milan. See what’s fresh and in season from late spring through fall.

Complete Itinerary for a Day Trip to Milan, Michigan

• 11:30 am – Lunch at Original Gravity Brewing Co 
• 12:45 pm – Milan Nature Park
• 2:00 pm – Downtown Milan to take in historic buildings and sights like the Old Fire Barn and shopping locally at Adventure Ink, Northern Chicks, Pink Shamrocks, Lavender Lane on Main, and Plum Tree Yarn Shop
• 3:00 pm – Let your child wiggle and move at The Play Station
• 5:00 pm – Enjoy an early dinner at Roy’s BBQ and Burgers

Map of Top Things to Do in Milan, Michigan

Other Helpful Info to Note for Your Day Trip to Milan

Hopefully from our family’s day trip to Milan, it inspires you to get out there and explore with your family too! 

For more day trip ideas or getaway guides to brainstorm your own visit to the Greater Ann Arbor area, check out my Spring Getaway Guide to Visiting Ann Arbor and our Guide to Unique Things to Do in Ypsilanti (coming soon!). In fact, after our day trip to Milan, we spent the night at a hotel in Ypsilanti.

Happy adventures!

From Michigan with love,

Jackie

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