Things to Do in Muskegon, MI: 20+ Ideas (2026)

Last Updated: July 2026

The best things to do in Muskegon, Michigan start with water: 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, three state parks, and the deepest natural harbor in West Michigan, wrapped around a downtown that has quietly become one of the better small brewery scenes on the lakeshore. Muskegon is my favorite kind of Michigan beach town — still a little under the radar while everyone else piles into Grand Haven, Holland, and Ludington — and it packs dune-backed beaches, a WWII submarine you can sleep aboard, and a real luge track into a single weekend.

This guide is for anyone planning a Muskegon trip who wants a local’s read on what’s actually worth your time — where to swim, what to skip, where to eat after the beach, and how to build a weekend that’s more than just the amusement park. I’ve spent years covering this coastline, and Muskegon is the West Michigan beach town I most often tell people they’re underrating.

🏆 The accolades are real: Pere Marquette Beach has been named to national clean-beach lists by the Clean Beaches Council, and Muskegon was recognized by Livability as Michigan’s best city to visit with a dog in 2024. The USS Silversides is one of the most decorated surviving submarines of World War II.

Is Muskegon Worth Visiting?

Yes — Muskegon is worth visiting for three reasons most West Michigan beach towns can’t match. First, the beaches: 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline across state, county, and free city beaches, so you’re never fighting for sand the way you do in Grand Haven on a July Saturday. Second, the maritime history: Muskegon has the deepest natural harbor in West Michigan and a cluster of WWII ships, including a submarine you can spend the night aboard. Third, the range — it’s the rare lakeshore town where you can hit the beach, tour a submarine, ride a real luge track, and drink good local beer all in one weekend.

The honest counterpoint: downtown Muskegon is still a work in progress. It has genuinely turned a corner — the brewery scene and the Muskegon Lake waterfront are real draws now — but if you’re expecting Saugatuck-level polish, adjust your expectations. What Muskegon gives you instead is space, authenticity, and prices that haven’t caught up to the fancier towns down the coast.

How Long to Spend in Muskegon

Plan on two full days to see Muskegon properly — one for the beaches and one for the town, ships, and downtown. A single day works if you’re only here for the beach and a sunset dinner, but you’ll miss the maritime museums and the brewery scene that make the town more than a beach stop. Families doing Michigan’s Adventure should add a third day, since the amusement and water park fills one on its own.

Best Beaches in Muskegon

Muskegon’s beaches are the reason to come, and they fall into three groups: free city beaches, state park beaches that need a Recreation Passport, and quieter county beaches. Pere Marquette Park is the one I send first-timers to — a wide, daily-raked city beach with free entry, a quarter-mile pier walk to the 1903 Muskegon South Pierhead Light, and food on the sand at The Deck. For dunes and elbow room, Muskegon State Park gives you two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline backed by forested dunes and the historic CCC blockhouse on the highest point in the county.

Bringing a dog? Kruse Park is the only off-leash dog beach in Muskegon County, on a bluff just south of Pere Marquette. For families with nervous young swimmers, Duck Lake State Park up in Whitehall is the winner — a shallow channel connects warm Duck Lake to Lake Michigan, so kids get calm water on one side and the big lake on the other.

I break all eight Muskegon-area beaches down by who runs them, what you’ll pay, and where dogs can go in my full Muskegon beaches guide — worth a read before you pick your spot.

💡 PRO TIP: Pere Marquette’s main lot fills by 11 a.m. on hot summer Saturdays. Arrive before 11 or after 4 p.m., or come on a Wednesday when parking is free. One 2026 heads-up: Muskegon State Park’s Muskegon Lake channel walkway and its parking lot are closed for construction through August 2026, though the Lake Michigan beach stays open.

Michigan’s Adventure and the Luge Park

Michigan’s Adventure is the state’s largest amusement park, with more than 60 rides including Shivering Timbers — long one of the top-rated wooden coasters in the country — plus the WildWater Adventure water park and Camp Snoopy for little kids. It’s a full-day outing and opens for the 2026 season on May 22. Bring swimsuits: the water park is included, and the Funnel of Fear tube ride is the one kids talk about afterward.

The Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park is the most unusual thing to do in Muskegon and one of only a handful of publicly accessible luge tracks in the country. It sits inside Muskegon State Park and runs year-round: an 850-foot luge track and an ice-skating trail through the woods in winter, plus a dual zip line, rock climbing, and archery the rest of the year. This is the attraction that surprises people most — you don’t expect an Olympic-style luge run on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Come winter for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, too.

Maritime History and Museums

The USS Silversides Submarine Museum is Muskegon’s standout attraction and one of the best maritime experiences in Michigan. The Silversides is a Gato-class WWII submarine, launched in 1941, that you tour from the inside — and yes, you can book an overnight sleepover aboard, which is a bucket-list night for kids and history buffs. The museum sits along the Muskegon Channel and opens for the 2026 season on May 15, with daily tours; allow about two hours for the sub and museum.

Two more historic ships anchor downtown. The USS LST 393 Veterans Museum, at 560 Mart St, is one of only two surviving WWII landing ship tanks and runs tours from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The S.S. Milwaukee Clipper, a 1941 National Historic Landmark ferry with a grand Art Deco interior, is docked downtown and open for tours during its restoration.

Muskegon Museum of Art — 296 W Webster Ave

The Muskegon Museum of Art is a genuinely strong regional museum with a well-regarded permanent collection of American and European work, plus rotating exhibitions. It’s the best rainy-day stop downtown, and it’s walkable to the Monet Garden — a pocket garden near Clay and Fifth that recreates part of Claude Monet’s Giverny garden, blue bridge and water lilies included.

More Muskegon Museums Worth a Stop

For a Gilded Age detour, tour the Hackley & Hume Historic Site (484 W Webster Ave) — the ornate Victorian homes of two lumber barons, with Tiffany-style stained glass, open for the season starting May 1 and again for holiday tours beginning Thanksgiving weekend. The Lakeshore Museum Center (430 W Clay Ave) has two floors of hands-on history and science that’s a hit with kids, admission is a few dollars, and Muskegon County residents get in free. History buffs can also add the Muskegon Heritage Museum (561 W Western Ave), with a working steam engine and bowling alley, and the small Fire Barn Museum (510 W Clay Ave).

Outdoor Adventures and the Lakeshore Trail

Beyond the beaches, the Lakeshore Trail runs about 12 miles along the Muskegon Lake shoreline, linking beaches, the channel, and downtown, with easy access at Heritage Landing and Pere Marquette Park. Muskegon Lake and the area’s inland lakes are excellent for kayaking and paddleboarding, and the deep harbor makes for genuinely good freighter- and ship-watching from Pere Marquette or Muskegon State Park.

Heritage Landing itself, on the Muskegon Lake shoreline, is the county’s festival grounds — home to the Michigan Irish Music Festival, Shoreline Jazz Fest, and other Michigan summer festivals, plus fishing, a play area, and walking paths. And for a low-key family evening, Putter’s Creek mini golf (40 Whitehall Rd, North Muskegon) stays open until 9 p.m. in summer — a fun, cheap way to close out a beach day.

The Muskegon Farmers Market (242 W Western Ave) is the second-largest outdoor market in Michigan and worth a Saturday morning from May through October — local produce, baked goods, kettle corn, and a real slice of the community. Grab fruit for the cooler before a beach afternoon.

Where to Eat and Drink in Muskegon

Muskegon’s downtown brewery scene is the biggest surprise for first-time visitors, and it’s walkable. Pigeon Hill Brewing Company (895 4th St) is the anchor — named for a once-300-foot Lake Michigan sand dune — and it’s a must. Order the Shifting Sands IPA or the beach-themed Beach, Please, grab the Porkarito tacos with lime slaw, and settle in on the pet-friendly patio overlooking Muskegon Lake. A short walk away, Unruly Brewing and Rake Beer Project round out a downtown crawl.

For beach dining, The Deck sits right on the sand at Pere Marquette — casual food, live music, and a drink at sunset is the local move, and it’s my pick for a first-night dinner. Dockers, on Muskegon Lake, is the waterfront tiki-bar option with boats coming into the docks and good seafood. And start any Muskegon morning at Aldea Coffee (794 Pine St) — a genuinely good local roaster, the kind of first stop I never skip.

Save room for ice cream — it’s the right way to end a Muskegon beach day. Norm’s Ice Cream in North Muskegon (80 Whitehall Rd) is the local favorite that never disappoints, The Frosty Cove (2565 Lakeshore Dr) has gluten-free options, and Ruth Ann’s Ice Cream (605 N Scenic Dr) is the fun-flavors hidden gem up the shoreline.

For a deeper look at downtown Muskegon’s dining and nightlife, my sister site covers it in detail — see the Little Michigan Guide’s downtown Muskegon coverage.

A 2-Day Muskegon Itinerary

Day 1 — Beaches and sunset. Start with coffee at Aldea, then a morning at Pere Marquette Park before the lot fills. Walk the pier to the lighthouse and grab lunch on the sand at The Deck. Spend the afternoon at Muskegon State Park for dune-backed shoreline and ship-watching at the channel, then end with dinner and a Shifting Sands IPA at Pigeon Hill, back to the beach for sunset, and ice cream at Norm’s.

Day 2 — Ships, town, and trails. Tour the USS Silversides in the morning (about two hours for the sub and museum), then bike or walk a stretch of the Lakeshore Trail. Spend the afternoon at the Muskegon Museum of Art or the Lakeshore Museum Center if it’s raining, and finish with a brewery crawl through Unruly and Rake Beer Project. Traveling with kids? Swap Day 2 for Michigan’s Adventure and save the ships for next time.

Where to Stay in Muskegon

For waterfront character, the Shoreline Inn is Muskegon’s only true waterfront hotel, right on Muskegon Lake downtown with lake-view rooms and an on-site bistro. For a reliable downtown base, the Delta Hotels Muskegon Convention Center (Marriott) has redesigned rooms, an indoor pool, and Walker’s brasserie on site, walkable to the brewery district. Budget-conscious families cluster along the Norton Shores hotel strip near US-31, a short drive from both the beaches and Michigan’s Adventure. To sleep near the sand, book early for the state park campgrounds at Muskegon State Park and Hoffmaster.

When to Visit Muskegon

Summer (June–August) is peak: warm Lake Michigan water, every attraction open, and long golden sunsets, with July and August the sweet spot for swimming. Fall brings quieter beaches, comfortable dune hiking at Hoffmaster, and fewer crowds at the ships and museums. Winter is Muskegon’s secret season — the luge park, ice skating through the woods, and cross-country skiing at Muskegon State Park make this one of the few Michigan beach towns worth a cold-weather trip. Spring is the shoulder season, with attractions reopening through May and the lake still cold for swimming.

Nearby Day Trips from Muskegon

Muskegon makes a good base for the West Michigan lakeshore. Grand Haven, with its musical fountain and boardwalk, is about 20 minutes south. Whitehall and Montague — the quieter “White Lake” beach towns — are 20 minutes north, home to Duck Lake State Park and the White River Light Station Museum, an 1875 lighthouse you can climb (open for the season starting May 12). For a bigger day, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and Mac Wood’s Dune Rides are about 45 minutes north in Oceana County, and Holland’s Tulip Time is about an hour south. To compare the whole shoreline, see my guide to the best Lake Michigan beaches.

Muskegon FAQ

What is Muskegon, Michigan known for?

Muskegon is known for its 26 miles of Lake Michigan beaches, three state parks, and deep natural harbor, along with WWII maritime history including the USS Silversides submarine. It’s also home to Michigan’s Adventure — the state’s largest amusement park — and the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park.

Is Muskegon worth visiting?

Yes. Muskegon offers Lake Michigan beaches with more space than busier towns like Grand Haven, a WWII submarine you can tour or sleep aboard, a year-round luge park, and a walkable downtown brewery scene — all at lower prices than the fancier lakeshore towns. Two days is enough to see it well.

How far is Muskegon from Chicago?

Muskegon is about 180 miles from Chicago, roughly a three-hour drive up I-94 and US-31. From Milwaukee, the Lake Express high-speed ferry crosses Lake Michigan to downtown Muskegon in about 2.5 hours.

What is the best beach in Muskegon?

Pere Marquette Park is the best all-around Muskegon beach — a wide, daily-raked Lake Michigan beach with free entry, a historic lighthouse pier, an accessible walkway with a beach wheelchair, and food on the sand at The Deck. Kruse Park is the best option if you’re bringing a dog.

Is there a ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon?

Yes. The Lake Express is a high-speed car ferry that runs daily seasonal service across Lake Michigan between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and downtown Muskegon, Michigan, crossing in about 2.5 hours. You can bring your vehicle aboard.

What is there to do in Muskegon in winter?

Winter is one of Muskegon’s best-kept secrets. The Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park offers an 850-foot luge track, an ice-skating trail through the woods, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. The Hackley & Hume Historic Site also runs holiday home tours starting Thanksgiving weekend.

Can you tour the submarine in Muskegon?

Yes. The USS Silversides Submarine Museum lets you tour the interior of a WWII Gato-class submarine, and it also offers overnight sleepover programs aboard the sub. The 2026 season opens May 15 with daily tours; allow about two hours for the submarine and museum.

Is Muskegon good for families?

Very. Michigan’s Adventure is the state’s largest amusement and water park, Duck Lake State Park has calm shallow water for young kids, the USS Silversides offers submarine sleepovers, and the Lakeshore Museum Center has hands-on exhibits that are free for county residents.

More Fun Things to Do in West Michigan

• 9 Wonderful West Michigan Beaches on Lake Michigan
• Visit Silver Lake Sand Dunes: ATV Rides, Beaches and Things to Do
• Lake Michigan Lighthouses Guide
• 20 Amazing Lake Michigan Beaches to Visit