Tourism is a significant portion of Holland Michigan’s economy, driven largely their beautiful abundance of tulips and their crown jewel, Tulip Time. The festival began in 1929, with 250,000 tulips planted specifically for the event. Through the years this has only grown, with six million tulips planted, and ready to burst forth in color in early spring. These tulips are spread throughout the city, in parks and gracing the sides of streets. Beginning 85 years ago as just a tulip festival, Tulip Time has grown to be so much more, with it now a much broader time of festivity, and celebration of Dutch culture. Each day during the festival, traditional Dutch dances are performed throughout the city by nearly a thousand costumed locals, with shows lasting 5–15 minutes.

There are a number of great events and attractions throughout the festival, including multiple parades, a carnival, art and craft fairs, quilt shows, Tulip City tours, and even a town crier competition! Click here for a full calendar of events, and here for more special attractions. More information about the festival can be found at the official website: TulipTime.com

The festival only happens for about a week at the beginning of may, but Holland is a great town to visit no matter what time of year it is. Spring is certainly a great time to enjoy new life, and the tulips everywhere, but the other seasons offer just as much of a reason for you to visit. In the summer you can enjoy the beaches, sail on lake Michigan, golf, go biking, or camp. Autumn is a great time to visit the farmer’s market, listen to live music, or visit a museum. During the winter months you can get some great exercise cross-country skiing, ice skate, or stay indoors and see a show, or go bowling—and don’t forget to drink some nice hot coffee or hot chocolate at a local restaurant. Whenever you choose to go, you mustn’t miss the uniquely Dutch experiences, including the production of wooden shoes! Whatever it is you want to do, you’ve got hundreds of things to choose from in Holland Michigan.

Shopping and dining in Holland are excellent, with dozens of unique shops, art galleries, antique stores, and more, not to mention the mouth-watering dishes at the local cafés, grills, fine restaurants, and ice cream shops.

Four miles to the west of Holland Michigan is the Holland State Park, which has great campsites, picnicking areas, sandy beaches, and excellent access to the water, for boating, fishing, and swimming.

For more information about the town of Holland, visit the town’s official website at Holland.org

A good way to begin your time at the Sleeping Bear Dunes is to drop by the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, where there are interactive displays, brochures & maps, and a large relief map of the area! Next, stop by the Maritime Museum, and learn all about marine activity of the past. As shipping activity through the area began to pick up steam in the mid-to-late 1800s, so did shipwrecks, with 214 losing their lives on the Great Lakes during the winter of 1870 & ’71. As a result, Congress allocated funds, and formed the U.S. Life-Saving Service, an organization who’s sole purpose was to save those caught in shipwrecks. Each life-saving station was run by a station keeper or Captain, with an average of 6–8 people from the local community working under him.

In the 44 year period between the forming of the U.S. Life-Saving Service to it becoming a part of the U.S. Coast Guard, they rescued an astounding 178,000 people, with a 99% success rate in their work. With improvements in technology and radio communications, accidents on the Great Lakes became less common, and many of these life-saving stations were discontinued. Today, the station just west of Glen Haven has been converted into a museum, telling the tales of these dauntless men, great rescues, and the maritime history of the area. At 3 pm each day during the summer, there in a reenactment of a rescue drill, with Raggedy Ann & Andy as the shipwreck victims. The rescue is made with the help of the Lyle Gun, which shoots out a rescue line as much as 400 yards, to pull in crew stranded on a ship. The rescue is a great activity to bring your kids to, and they’ll be encouraged to participate.

Throughout the year there are many great events in the community, which you won’t want to miss. Click here for an up-to-date calendar.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes area has a lot of great restaurants, whether you want casual dining, fine dining, or would enjoy to be outdoors, or on the waterfront. Leelanau county also has many great places to shop, selling everything from antiques to ice cream. If you’d like to spend a day indoors, or the weather isn’t at its best, stop by a library or one of several area museums, or enjoy a movie or live music at the theater or the Traverse City Opera House.

A visit to the Sleeping Bear Dunes really ought to last more than one day. If you decide to stay, you can choose from a few campgrounds, or have a memorable stay at a bed and breakfast, or quaint hotel.

For more information about visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes, visit the Official Visitor’s Bureau Website, or the National Park Service Website.