ROSE FAMILY JOURNAL

Growing up, my family always visited Ludington, Michigan for the 4th of July. My parents grew up there, and we would stay with family a few blocks from Stearns Beach and a few blocks from House of Flavors. We have so many great family memories from those annual trips. Returning for 4th of July with my husband and daughter, to visit with my parents, my sisters and their husbands and daughters, and many more extended family was a dream experience. Here are a few of our favorite things to do in Ludington.

Restaurants/Coffee
While there are limited options for vegans in the dining arena, we did rent a cottage with a fully equipped kitchen. This really helped us out! However, we did have a few meals from restaurants and we managed to try out FOUR coffee shops.
1. House of Flavors — they always have a feature sorbet that is dairy free. When we visited, they had lemon sorbet and it was magic.
2. Thai Mango — a Thai food truck where you can get curries and noodle dishes with tofu or vegetables only.
3. Pizza — whether you go to Chuck Wagon, Sportsman, or Mancino’s, we had no issue ordering pizzas without cheese.

Coffee
1. Trailhead Bikes — they had oat milk lattes, and we were fans.
2. Red Rooster — we felt a little sorry for the staff, because they were packed! They also had oat milk lattes, and we were fans.
3. Book Mark — a book store/coffee shop that we only found by walking past it one day. They too had oat milk lattes, and perhaps made our favorite lattes of the trip.
4. Starbucks — all of the standards here.

Activities
With a baby, we were somewhat limited in the activities we did this time. With options to rent bikes, e-bikes, scooters, canoes, and kayaks, we opted to stick to stroller and baby-carrier friendly activities. Below are a few of our favorite activities to do in Ludington with a six-month old baby.

1. Hiking in Ludington State Park. We went on a hike on the Ridge trail and Lost Lake loop with the baby in a baby carrier. We loved the forest trails, beach and sand views, and lakes to explore.
2. Morning walks to the lighthouse, along the channel, and through the streets of town. The houses and boats in Ludington were so fun to look at and admire. We walked this little loop every morning!
3. Sunsets and taking a dip in Lake Michigan at Stearns Beach. The sunsets were so beautiful here, and I wish we could have enjoyed them more. With the sun setting close to 10pm though, they did not jive well with a baby’s bed time.
4. Shopping along Ludington Ave. and at the Art Fairs. Heading to the Art Fairs with my mom was one of my fondest memories from 4th of July trips of my childhood. It did not work out to spend too much time exploring the Art Fair this year, but it remains one of my favorite things to do still.

Where to stay
We stayed at Parkview Cottages, and we loved it. We loved being able to sit outside of the cottage while the baby slept. We loved being half a block from Stearns Beach and being able to walk to every where we wanted to go in Ludington.

If you’re looking for more weekend trip ideas in the Midwest — you might enjoy a trip to Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Chattanooga, or an Indiana State Park!