We headed up to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to the town of Holland for a little experience of Dutch!! Check out these sites that are in Southwest Michigan!!
Windmill and Tulips 🌷
We were a week late for the tulip festival, however, we were able to see some tulips at the Windmill Islands Gardens. There were tulips in various colors along with a Dutch village that has a model of the a Netherlands village made by early settlers. There is a antique Dutch carousel 🎠 and a playground with children’s gardens for the kids.
On the property is a working 250 year old Dutch mill called “De Zwann”. Grain is milled into natural flour. When the mill was brought to Holland, a base was built for the windmill to sit on. The height of the windmill from the ground to the top is 125 feet and overlooks 36 acres of gardens, dikes, and canals. There are 3 floors that can be viewed and 3 other floors that are unavailable due to social distancing.
Holland Princess
We took a dinner cruise aboard the Holland Princess which is a 65’ Victorian Style Paddleboat. It takes off from Beechwood, Michigan and tours Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. Along Lake Macatawa, you can see year around homes and summer homes that add beauty along the water’s edge. The dining area is covered with a cash bar that served an amazing dinner. After dinner, you can go up a deck, view the lake, and take photos.
Holland Bowl Mill
One of the amazing shops is the Holland Bowl Mill which is also a factory that makes bowls straight from trees. They make bowls from various types of wood 🪵 including walnut, cherry, beechwood, ash, etc. They are an environmental company that donate any scraps of wood to artists in the area and they save all the wood shavings which are sold to pig farms in the area. In the shop they sell all sorts of products other than bowls. They sell dinnerware, bowls, abstract bowls, fruit bowls, utensils, and decor items. If you don’t see what you are looking for, you can order from them online.
These are just some. of the places to visit in Holland with many other places to check out. If ever in the area, check the places out!!
Next Stop 🛑: Traverse City, Michigan
Holland is in my bucket list, I reaaly want to see Tulips.
Love those bucket lists! Thanks for the comment!!
Beautiful photos and nice descriptions. Will pin this to my travel board and perhaps we’ll visit Holland Michigan some day. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for pinning it to your travel board!!
Wow this look like it was a great trip! The tulips are beautiful! I’d love to visit here!
It was!! A place for the bucket list!
I liked the bowl factory. My mother used to make things like that in her woodworking shop.
The bowl factory was amazing!!
My Dad used to make items in his woodworking shop. Small world!
Thank you for the inspiration! Holland is now on my bucket list 😉 Pinned it for later!
Thank you!! Love those bucket lists!!
Stunning! So looking forward to being able to travel again!
Thank you!! I know that feeling!! Thanks for the comment.
i love the windmills and tulips! so beautiful
Thank you for the comment!
This is on my list of places to visit! I’ve heard some really great things about Holland and your blog post supports that!
Thank you for your comment!!
I would love to see Holland! Who knew there was a little bit of it tucked away in Michigan. This seems like such a nice trip and the photos are wonderful!
Thank you. Those hidden places are the best!
This sounds so fun! Will definitely add this to my travel bucket list
That looks like such a fun & rewarding experience! I hope I get to find out for myself some day. I have a friend from Holland, so maybe I’ll have to convince him to bring me along on his next visit. Thank you for this awesome read!
He would know some other great spots!! Thank you for the comment!
On my bucket list. The perfect palce to relax
I love all things travel so enjoyed this read !
Thank you for the comment!!