Michigan's best spring destinations, festivals listed in this USA Today guide

As cold temperatures dissipate and snow melts (hopefully for the last time), Michigan residents are welcoming warmer weather.

With spring break upon us and more people enjoying the outdoors, the USA Today Network has compiled some of the best spring destinations and festivals to check out in Michigan this spring.

West Michigan

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

Address: 1000 East Beltline Ave. NE in Grand Rapids

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park offers a visual experience for all families to enjoy. The botanical garden, art museum and outdoor sculpture park attracts roughly 750,000 visitors annually.

The annual Fred and Dorothy Fichter "Butterflies Are Blooming" exhibit continues until April 30. It's the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the nation, featuring 7,000 tropical butterflies.

Visitors can enjoy a meal at the James and Shirley Balk Café or stop by the DeVos-Keeler Gift Shop for a souvenir. Learn more at meijergardens.org.

John Ball Zoo

Address: 1300 Fulton St. in Grand Rapids

John Ball Zoo houses more than 2,400 animals on 140 acres on the west side of Grand Rapids. It supports conservation efforts across the globe and serves as a popular spring field trip destination for area schools.

The zoo will host the Grand Rapids Lantern Festival from 7-11 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, April 19-June 11, featuring handcrafted Asian lantern displays that will illuminate the zoo “and tell the intersecting story of wildlife and Asian culture,” according to its website.

Dining options at the zoo include the Monkey Island Café and the Tiger Paws Snack Shop, with various merchandise locations. Learn more at jbzoo.org.

Holland’s Tulip Time Festival

Location: Holland

Hundreds of thousands of tulips bloom in Holland during the annual Tulip Time Festival. It's taken place every year since 1929, with the exception of 2020. The 2023 Tulip Time Festival is set for May 6-14.

The festival includes walking tours, parades, traditional dances, concerts, a quilt show, a carnival, tall ship tours and other events and activities. Bicycle Showband Crescendo, a Dutch musical group that performs on bicycles, will perform at this year’s festival.

Learn more at tuliptime.com.

Grand Rapids Comic Con

Location: Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 2900 Lake St. in Kalamazoo

The Grand Rapids Comic Con takes place April 14-16 at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center. The event will bring a fun and family atmosphere. The cost is $5 for children ages 5-12, and children under 5 enter free. Tickets per adult vary based on the date of entry, ranging from $22-$29.

This year’s lineup includes Mari Shimizu, the original voice of Atom in “Astro Boy”; Karan Ashley, who played the second Yellow Rangers in “Go Go Power Rangers!”; and Jeffrey Combs, who played Herbert West in the “Re-Animator."

The event will feature fan panels, a film festival, costuming, education, kids’ activities, vendors and more. Learn more at grcomiccon.com.

Southeast Michigan

Hidden Lake Gardens 

Address: 6214 W. Monroe Road in Tipton

More than 750 acres of horticultural beauty can be explored at Hidden Lake Gardens of Michigan State University in Tipton. The campus’ botanical garden boasts a vast collection of rare conifers, hostas and bonsai, along with 15 miles of hiking trails and arboretum.

There's a lake, picnic area and paved scenic drive. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the spring blooms starting to emerge. In a recent Good Plant Care poll ranking the 200 Best Public Gardens in America, Hidden Lake Gardens was voted No. 33.

The visitor center has a gift shop and auditorium. Dogs on leashes are welcome. Admission is required. Learn more at ipf.msu.edu/hidden-lake-gardens.

Hitsville U.S.A. 

Address: 2648 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit

Hitsville U.S.A. is a must-see for music lovers of all ages. Known as the Motown Museum, it’s the original house-converted recording studio established by Berry Gordy in 1959. Open to the public, curated exhibits highlight a long list of music legends including The Four Tops, The Temptations, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes.

An hour-long interactive guided tour shares the history of the studio. Admission is required. Learn more at motownmuseum.org/visit/motortown-revue.

River Raisin National Battlefield Park

Address: 333 N. Dixie Highway in Monroe

Monroe’s River Raisin National Battlefield Park preserves the site of the Battle of Frenchtown. It’s the only national battlefield documenting a site of the War of 1812. The 81-acre park offers the River Raisin Heritage Trail along with walking and biking trails. Cannons and monuments are exhibited throughout the park.

The visitor and education center features interactive exhibits, a diorama of the River Raisin settlement, orientation maps, ranger programs, a theater and a gift shop. Learn more at nps.gov/rira/index.htm.

Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium

Address: 1221 E. Kearsley St. in Flint

Located in the Flint Cultural Center, the Sloan Museum of Discovery features four new interactive history and science galleries including Hagerman Street, an interactive neighborhood with a three-story tree house for early childhood learners.

Longway Planetarium offers astronomy demonstrations and shows under a 60-foot dome. Admission is required for both locations. Learn more at sloanlongway.org.

Northern Michigan

Famous Soo Locks Boat Tours

Address: 515 East Portage Ave. in Sault Ste. Marie

The Soo Locks, located in St. Mary's River between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, connects Lake Huron and Lake Superior and is a well-known tourist attraction in the Upper Peninsula. The locks, which date back to the early 1800s, are over 1,000 feet long and see more than 7,000 vessels pass through each year.

The Famous Soo Locks Boat Tours last 90-minutes and take participants across St. Mary's River and through the locks themselves, giving tourists an up-close look. Learn more at famoussoolocks.com.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

Address: 400 W. Portage Ave. in Sault Ste Marie

The Whitefish Point Lighthouse has overlooked Lake Superior since 1849, and is still in operation. Whitefish Point is also home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which catalogues hundreds of shipwrecks from the Great Lakes. It's the only location in the world to display actual pieces of the famous Edmund Fitzgerald.

Learn more at shipwreckmuseum.com.

Boyne City Morel Festival

Location: Boyne City

Beginning Thursday, May 18, Boyne City will host the 63rd Annual National Morel Mushroom Festival. Mushroom picking is a popular attraction in Michigan, especially in the spring season, when many mushroom breeds are in season.

The festival centers around the Morel mushroom, common to the area and popular among mushroom pickers. The three-day festival will include a morel cooking event, a mushroom hunt, a carnival and a seminar on mushroom picking.

Learn more at bcmorelfestival.com.

Palms Book State Park

Address: M-149, Manistique

Palms Book State Park is a well-known Upper Peninsula tourist attraction and state park. The park is most known for Kitch-iti-kipi or the “Big Spring”. Kitch-iti-kipi is Michigan's largest freshwater spring, 200 feet across and 40 feet deep. A large self-guided observation raft can bring visitors directly over clear waters to give them a perfect view.

Learn more at michigandnr.com.

— Contact reporters Evan Sasiela, Brendan Wiesner and Lisa Vidaurri Bowling at newsroom@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Michigan's best spring destinations, festivals listed in USA Today guide