Thank Goodness for Grandparents!
Grandparents are basically superheroes in regular clothes – and we’re not just referring to free babysitting. They’ve got endless love and patience, the best stories, and somehow always have a piece of candy stashed in their purse or pocket.
But sometimes even super heroes need a game-plan when it comes to entertaining grandkids. That’s where we come in! If you’re a grandparent (or an honorary one who fills that role), we’ve got you covered.
This guide is packed with fun, easy things to do in Grand Rapids and around West Michigan that kids will love and grandparents wont need a nap to recover from… well, at last not a long one.
Our Favorite Things to do With Grandkids in Grand Rapids
Our annual Grandtastic votes revealed our reader’s favorite places for kids to play in Grand Rapids.
Share this list with Grandma or Grandpa and help them plan a fun outing with your kids!
1 – Explore Grand Rapids Museums
Grand Rapids offers fantastic museums available for grandparents and grandkids to explore together. Whether you opt to ride the vintage carousel together at Grand Rapids Public Museum, get hands-on at the GR Children’s Museum, explore your artistic side at Grand Rapids Art Museum, or see a replica of the Oval Office at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, your grandkids are sure to learn a lot while having a blast!
2 – Shop, Lunch and Carousel at the Mall
For older grandkids, shopping together at the mall can be a fun way to spend an afternoon. Even with young grandchildren a trip to the mall is always fun when it involves the children’s play area.
Both Woodland Mall and RiverTown Crossings offer free indoor play areas for kids, and Rivertown Crossings even has a carousel and a movie theater. A mall is a great rainy day activity!
3 – Enjoy A Sweet Treat from Van’s Donuts
Grand Rapids has some fantastic Mom & Pop Donut Shops that grandkids and grandparents should visit. One of our favs: Van’s!
Step back in time at Van’s Pastry Shoppe, the oldest bakery in town. It’s like walking into your grandma’s kitchen. From sweet treats to vintage cookie jars and old-fashioned toy cars as decor, we guarantee your grandkids will love it.
4 – Go Wild at John Ball Zoo
Head over to John Ball Zoo to visit all kinds of different animals. Family favorites include the tigers, hippos (including a new baby pygmy hippo), red pandas, gorillas and penguins.
Get a fantastic view of the zoo – and the city – from the Funicular or have grandkids ride a camel. Play areas throughout the zoo allow kids to burn off extra energy. Plus there’s three great playgrounds outside of the zoo, including a new fully accessible one.
5 – Spend the Day at Frederik Meijer Gardens
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s indoor and outdoor gardens and vast array of sculptural wonders are a must-see for anyone in Grand Rapids. We’ve listed all our insider tips to maximize your next outing to FMG’s Children’s Garden.
Meijer Gardens even has classes offered especially for grandparents and kids like “Grandma and Me: Totally Turtles.” You can check out all their class options here.
6 – Head to Holland and be Dutch for the Day
Grandparents and grandkids will love exploring all things Dutch with a day trip to Holland. Kick off the day with a delicious breakfast at deBoer Bakkery or the Windmill Restaurant in downtown Holland. Then spend the day at Windmill Island or Nelis’ Dutch Village…or both!
7 – Run Wild at the Playground
Park, Trails & Playgrounds are some of the most affordable, easy places for kids to work out their energy and also show grandma and grandpa their best tricks.
Get ready for about 1,000 “Grandma, watch this!” comments while you’re there.
If you’ve got a runner, you’ll appreciate Frog Hollow Park, which is completely enclosed save for the entrance (it’s also ADA accessible). Allendale Community Park has a sandbox in addition to play equipment. For a playground with super cushy turf (great for avoiding scraped knees), try Cascade Township Park.
There are 80+ more parks featured in our massive Grand Rapids parks directory, which will allow you to search for a park by amenities like bathroom facilities, toddler playground, and more.
8 – Have Some “Right Brain” Fun with Creative Classes and Open Gym
There are lots of creative classes around Grand Rapids that grand-friends can attend together. Local library programming (like GRPL or KDL) offer a host of children’s story hours and other special programming.
Also be sure to check out our Grand Rapids Gymnastics Guide for open gyms and toddler times. Even if you can’t participate with your grandchild, it’s always good to help them be active.
A visit to an art studio can offer great fun and most of the GR museums also feature a variety of one-time classes that may pique the interest of grandparents and grandkids alike.
9 – Cheer on Local Sport Teams!
Grand Rapids is the home to many awesome minor league and club sports teams. Whether Grandpa is a hockey fan or Grandma is a baseball buff, you’ll be able to find a great sporting event in GR anytime of the year!
- Grand Rapids Gold (Basketball)
- Grand Rapids FC (Soccer)
- Grand Rapids Griffins (Hockey)
- Grand Raggidy Roller Derby (Roller Derby)
- West Michigan Whitecaps (Baseball)
- Grand Rapids Rise (Basketball)
- AC Grand Rapids (this new soccer club is set to start play in 2027)
Want to keep it even more local? Cheer on some of the kids soccer games going on in nearly every town in West Michigan, or find a team your grandchild could be a part of!
10 – Take a Hike
West Michigan is chock full of hidden natural treasures like Fitzgerald Park, Helder Park and Wittenbach Wege Nature Center in Lowell.
Plus, here’s a list of All the Excellent Hiking Trails for West Michigan …to plan the perfect adventure for active grandparents and their favorite kiddos!
11 – Get Cozy Together With a Book at a Coffee Shop
Visit a local bookstore (or comic book store!) and let the grandkids pick out a book. Show them some favorites from when you were a kid – they may love it, too! Three of our favorite local stores in Grand Rapids are Books & Mortar, Schuler Books & Music, and Vault of Midnight.
Wanna grab a sweet treat after finding your new favorite book? Schuler Books & Music has cafe right inside, so you can enjoy your book without leaving. Le Bon Macaron or The Sparrows are local cafes we love to recommend.
Grandma and Grandpa and their grandkids will love reading together and you could even bring a favorite board game along from home. Who doesn’t love going out for hot cocoa (or coffee/tea for the grandparent) and getting lost in a book? Sounds like a perfect outing for grandparents and grandkids to me!
12 – Attend a Live Performance (or See a Movie!)
Concerts, ballets, musicals…there are many venues and options when it comes to attending a live performance in Grand Rapids. The Civic Theatre presents kid-friendly performances and the Grand Rapids Symphony has Lollipop Concerts for families. Watching a performance of CARE Ballet is another great way to introduce young children to the arts.
Everyone can enjoy getting dressed up for a fancy date to the symphony or you may prefer some good old fashioned cinematic fun! Celebration Cinemas offers free kid movies periodically, and AMC Theaters has their own specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
13 – Head for the Water: Splash Pad, Pool, Beach or Fishing
A trip to the beach always makes for a fantastic grandparent outing. Check out this list of Favorite West Michigan beaches, according to Grand Rapids Kids readers, to plan your next beach trip.
If Grandpa enjoys fishing, and you’d like to do some catch and release fishing, here are 7 great fishing ponds around GR:
- Millennium Park – 1415 Maynard Ave SW, Walker, MI 49534
- Whistlestop Park – 2120 76th Street, Byron Center, MI 49315
- Heritage Park – 4264 Canal Ave, Grandville, MI 49418
- Ada Township Park – 1180 Buttrick Ave SE, Forest Hills, MI 49301
- Waterfront Park on Reeds Lake – 2205 Reeds Lake Blvd, East Grand Rapids, MI 49506
- Riverside Park – 2001 Monroe Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
- Kroc Center Catch and Release Pond – 2500 Division Ave S, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
- Pickerel Lake Park – 6001 Ramsdell NE, Cannonsburg, MI, 49317
14 – We All Scream for Ice Cream
Warm days in Michigan call for ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa, don’t you think? Check out our list of top-voted Ice Cream shops in West Michigan and you may find a place you and your grands haven’t tried before!
15 – Teach Them an Appreciation of Old Things at an Antiques Shop
If you love antiquing, Grandma and Grandpa, check out our Vintage, Resale Trail Guide for Greater Grand Rapids. Bonus? The grandkids may even get a history lesson or two while rummaging around for old artifacts and cool knick-knacks.
16 – Take a Nostalgic Train Ride
The Coopersville & Marne Railway Company, offers the perfect outing for grandparents and their favorite littles just 30 minutes west of Grand Rapids. Their passenger cars are from the early 1900s and they have a diesel locomotive that was built in the 1950s.
We rounded up all the Magical Christmas Trains & Train Displays around Michigan to help you plan a relaxing holiday outing that will take you back in time.
17 – Arm Yourself With Indoor Fun Ideas
Because of our often crazy weather patterns, grandparents should keep some indoor play options up their sleeve for those icky outside days when you are stuck inside and kids are bouncing off the walls.
Grand Rapids has fantastic indoor play options at every turn! So put on those rain boots (or snow boots or sandals) and get your energy out at one of these exciting venues!
18 – Learn Together
Grandparents and older grandkids can enjoy an architecturally-inspiring tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Meyer May House in Heritage Hill, Grand Rapids. This gorgeous home can be toured for free on Sundays from 1 – 4 PM or on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 AM – 1 PM.
If you are a grandparent, we would love to hear from you.
What are your favorite things to do with grandkids around town? Leave us a comment below!
What an awesome list! Thanks so much for including Sparrows in here. Marvelous Me books is the name of our new children’s bookstore at Sparrows. We also have Remington in the space, selling fair trade goods! We’re three mamas collaborating to try something new to serve our community.
Whoever thought of this topic just made my day because grandparents don’t get enough recognition thank you so very much for the ideas
Rocket Fizz Candy & Soda Shop is a great place for grandparents to bring their grandkids. It carries nostalgic candies as well as today’s favorites. But that’s not all, this place is filled with items for all ages.
It’s very enjoyable how the grandparents and grandkids get to show each other “their” favorites to each other.
It’s located at 2090 Celebration Dr Ste 122
Grand Rapids, MI. 49525
Thanks for including grandparents – lots of great ideas!!