Southwestern Michigan (St. Joseph, Stevensville and more)

[hezzier]

I thought I'd start a thread since there are a couple members interested in the area.  This way as I think of things, or anyone else does, we can just put it here.



We have family there and have visited many times over the summers.  I usually find a house on VRBO.com that meets our needs.

http://www.swmichigan.org/

I'm not sure if it will be warm enough to swim, but we loved walking along the shore and collecting beach glass.  We did it every morning.  Not sure where to tell you to get the best public access to a long stretch of beach. 

Check this website, look at beaches in St. Joseph and Stevensville, Grand Mere State Park Beach would give you the longest walking beach.
http://www.lakeeffectliving.com/Lake-Effect-Guide/Beaches.html

Since we usually rent a house and have family there, we don't eat out a lot, but we have eaten at these places...
We like this restaurant, kids have never eaten anything from there, have never questioned them on allergies.  Also has an amazing bakery called Bit of Swiss for those without any allergies (we usually try and sneak in a treat for DD, since it's a no go for DS)
http://www.tosis.com/

We have successfully eaten here more than one time.  DS usually just has a burger with no bun. (don't know if they have any vegetarian options)
http://eatatthebuck.com/

There is a Moe's Southwest Grill in St. Joseph that we ate at once.

So I'm sure you remember the Chicago Cow statues that were decorated by different artists and placed all over the city...St. Joseph does it every year with different statues.  Here's a link
http://www.stjosephpublicart.com/#1

St. Joseph has lots of shops downtown, farmers market, summer concerts, check here for more
http://www.cornerstonechamber.com/

[hezzier]

Response to will it be warm enough to swim:


It will depend on how much sun there is and where the wind is coming from.  It's amazing how much it changes from day to day.  One day will be completely calm and then next day will be 3 foot waves.  Each beach is different too...Jean Klock beach has a lot of shallow water so it would be warmer sooner in those areas.

http://www.michigan.org/property/jean-klock-park-benton-harbor/

We played mini golf, drove bumper boats and raced cars here...it's little but fun
http://captainmikesamusementpark.com/

There is also kayaking available which we have never gotten around to doing with the kids.

[GingerPye]

This is great --- thanks!

[hezzier]

For families with younger children, there is a great kids museum in St. Joseph as well as a restored carousel and a courtyard fountain that kids love to get soaked in.