For my mom’s birthday back in March I gave her a weekend in Saugatuck, just us. Leaving the men and dogs at home. Since my parents skip town immediately following her birthday, our trip had to wait until their return, almost three months later. A touristy-artsy-charming town on the west side of the state, Saugatuck is a great little place. We chose to go early in the season, and in the middle of the week to avoid both crowds and high weekend rates. The town is situated on Kalamazoo Lake, which then flows into Lake Michigan. Our visit was a little too chilly to do any beaching, but it’s supposed to be pretty spectacular. (I’m partial to Lake Michigan beaches as it is, so I couldn’t really give a fair assessment.)

As is the case with most trips like this, it went by way too fast – there’s much more I wish we’d gotten to explore. But we did a pretty good job packing a lot of activities into those little forty-eight hours! We strolled, we shopped, ate, did a little bike riding, and even managed to relax! It’s a sign of a good trip when you had a fantastic time, but also can’t wait to go back for more.

The afternoon we arrived was a little rainy and fantastically overcast – which is weather I love on a lakeshore. The fog rolled in so quickly it became quite dark and spooky, it was unreal.

But, the next day was sunny and bright; the shopkeepers were out first thing in the morning getting their stores ready! The temperature was perfect for milling around all day.

Our hotel was right on the river, so there was plenty to see. We even managed to fit in an hour at the heated pool! I chose hotel over bed and breakfast because I really wanted to be on the water, but next time I would gladly do either. We saw some really unique and inviting little places.

Like any good tourist town, Saugatuck has a ferry that will take you up and down the river, around the lake. Complete with a tour guide providing the history of the area. We didn’t partake, but it looked entertaining!

We did, however, use the chain ferry. It just runs back and forth across the river, which is incredibly handy. A buck a ride, and they allow dogs, bikes, strollers, you name it. We used it to get back to the hotel after biking around the other side of town.

This beautiful building houses the Saguatuck Douglas Historical Museum. What a view! Right on the river.