Twins Take on the Trip: Saugatuck, MI

Hi friends, it's Jess.  Recently, my family and I wanted to plan a short beach vacation.  We decided to check out a town we've never visited before, Saugatuck.  Saugatuck, Michigan, is a small beach town located on Lake Michigan.  It's been named the best coastal small town by USA Today and is known for its great beaches and vibrant arts scene.  We spent a couple of days there and here are our tips if you decide to plan a trip yourself!

Stay: 
Saugatuck and its sister city, Douglas, offer lots of different options for lodging.  We booked a last minute trip (through Expedia) to a chain hotel which was fine, but not exciting.  If we were to go again, I would check out some of the many options on AirBNB or VRBO.

Visit: 
If you're anything like us, you probably came for the beach.  Our favorite was Oval Beach (Perryman Street) It was an easy drive from the city and signs marked the way from downtown.  You have to pay $10 for a day parking pass (or you can pay $50 for a season pass), but you can come and go as you please on that date.  There's a small snack bar, a picnic and grill area and clean public restrooms!  When we were there, on a cloudy week day, there was plenty of sandy beach space, but I imagine it gets crowded on weekends or nice weather days.   Other popular beaches are Douglas Beach (Lakeshore Drive in Douglas) and the Saugatuck Dunes State Park (6575 138th Ave).

How cool is that vintage sign?

Pretty even on a crappy weather day!

Caftan and nail polish

As I mentioned, there's a huge arts scene in Saugatuck.  There are no less than twenty galleries which you can visit and explore.  The Saugatuck Center for the Arts also has lots of weekly performances and exhibits to check out.  The performances sell out, so order tickets ahead of time if you want to see something while you're in town.

Eat:
Hands down, the best place we ate was The Southerner (880 Holland St).  Chef Matthew Millar is a James Beard Award Semi-Finalist and the food is traditional Southern fare with a twist.  The decor is Southern and charming and our waitress (Hi, Jessica!) couldn't have been sweeter. We loved the  Horseradish Pimento Cheese and the Mac and Cheese.  The portions are generous (which made it easy to share with the kiddo...see below for more).  Please, PLEASE, order the chicken biscuit Nashville Hot style and you can thank me later.  Their drink menu is also great and the slushies are perfect for a vacation.

Margarita Slushie = Happy Place

The Horseradish Pimento Cheese had a great kick!

Best Nashville Hot this side of the Mason-Dixon!

If you're not totally stuffed after that dinner, head into town for some ice cream.  Our joke on the trip was that you literally can't walk two steps without finding an ice cream parlor.  They all claim to be the best, but our personal fave was Charlie's Round the Corner (132 Mason St).  The portions were crazy large and there was a giant flavor selection.  Our kid woke up in the morning asking to eat breakfast there, so I guess that's a ringing endorsement.

All these choices, and my kid chose Superman!

Birthday Cake Ice Cream--it even coordinated with my nails!

Finally, we didn't eat there, but we saw dozens of people carrying pizza take-out boxes from Marro's (147 Water Street). Looks like that's the place to go if you want to grab a pizza and sit on the beach, and, really, who doesn't?


Odds and Ends:

• Saugatuck is pretty well-known for being gay friendly and was in full Pride Month mode when we went!  Even our random hotel was flying rainbow flags--cool!
• Although we did see many other families with kids, I wouldn't consider it to be a particularly family friendly spot.  None of the restaurants we visited featured basics like a kids menu (lucky for us, our kid isn't terribly picky, but it was a bummer to pay for adult price/portions), family-friendly bathrooms or booster seats.  Most of the tourists we saw were probably 50 or older.  No one was at all unkind to us, but folks seemed sort of surprised to have a kid to deal with when we came in.  We rolled with it just fine, but for you mamas out there, I think I might choose another spot if I were booking a trip with a toddler.

So there you have it, Saugatuck in a nutshell.  Have you been there before?  If so, let us know in the comments below what your tips or tricks for travel there are!