Starting your trip at Muskegon County Airport in Muskegon means everything around the region sits within an easy drive, from Lake Michigan dunes to the beer halls of Grand Rapids. Muskegon is a lakeshore city with a working-harbor past and a beach-town present, where a deepwater port, a submarine museum, and a two-mile sand beach all share the same waterfront. It is unpretentious, outdoorsy, and getting more fun every summer.

Standout experiences around Muskegon: - Spend a day on Pere Marquette Beach and walk out to the South Pierhead Light - Tour the USS Silversides, a World War II submarine docked on the channel - Ride the coasters at Michigan's Adventure, the state's largest amusement park - Climb the dunes at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park and visit the Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center - Try the luge or sled down the hills at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex in Muskegon State Park - Tour the Hackley and Hume Historic Site, two lavish lumber-baron mansions - Catch a summer concert at Heritage Landing on Muskegon Lake - Sample local pints at Pigeon Hill Brewing downtown - Hear the engines at Bike Time in July

Muskegon sits in the middle of west Michigan's coast, so good day trips run in every direction. Grand Haven, with its musical fountain and Coast Guard Festival, is 20 minutes south, and Grand Rapids, home of Meijer Gardens and a huge craft beer scene, is 45 minutes east. Holland and its spring Tulip Time are 40 minutes south, and the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, where you can drive on the sand, are 40 minutes north. Order a slice at Fricano's, where Muskegon's pizza tradition began in 1949, and finish the day with a Lake Michigan sunset.