Things to Do in Grand Haven This Fall: 2026 Tri-Cities Guide

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The Tri-Cities trade summer’s beach crowds for something quieter in the fall. Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg sit where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan, and October brings dune trails in color, big-lake sunsets off the pier and a month of Halloween fun downtown. This year that includes more than 150 decorated skeletons posted around town.

This guide covers mid-October through November 2026. Dates and hours were checked against organizers’ own pages on Oct. 13, 2026. Check them again before you go.

Fall color and lakeshore walks

Rosy Mound Natural Area. Boardwalks and dune stairs climb through oak and maple forest to a Lake Michigan beach in Grand Haven Township. The stairs are steep, so allow extra time.
The boardwalk and South Pier. The riverfront boardwalk runs from downtown to Grand Haven State Park and the pier with its red lighthouses. In fall storms, waves can break over the pier; stay off it when the lake is rough.
North Beach Park, Ferrysburg. A quieter beach and dune stairs on the north side of the channel.
Spring Lake. Drive or bike the roads around the lake for fall color on the water, then stop in the village for coffee.
Along the Grand River. Ottawa County’s parks along the Grand River east of town, including Riverside Park and Connor Bayou, have trails through floodplain forest.

Apples, pumpkins and mazes

Rasch Cherry & Apple Market, 17647 40th Ave., Conklin, about 30 minutes east: u-pick apples and a pumpkin patch Saturdays 10 a.m.–6 p.m. and Sundays noon–5 p.m. through Oct. 31, according to the market. Its daytime corn maze and scavenger hunt run weekends through Oct. 31. On October Friday nights, a Moonlit Maze and hayride runs 7–11 p.m.; on Saturday nights, the Haunted Harvest Maze and Spooky Hayride run 9–11 p.m. Our Oct. 8 story has more.

West Michigan’s Ridge fruit belt, north and west of Grand Rapids, has many more orchards within an hour’s drive. Call ahead after mid-October, when apple picking winds down.

Halloween and fall events with dates (2026)

Through Fri., Oct. 23. Bones About Town: more than 150 five-foot decorated skeletons around Grand Haven, with voting for originality, funniest and spookiest open daily until noon Oct. 23, according to Grand Haven Main Street.
Sat., Oct. 24, morning. Fall Fest in Downtown and Centertown Grand Haven, with trick-or-treating at participating businesses 10:30 a.m.–noon. The fest runs until 1 p.m. The city’s calendar lists a 9:30 a.m. start; Visit Grand Haven lists 10 a.m. It’s free.
Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Halloween at the Museum, with indoor trick-or-treating and crafts at the Tri-Cities Historical Museum, 200 Washington Ave., according to Visit Grand Haven and the city calendar.
Fridays and Saturdays in October. Night mazes and hayrides at Rasch Cherry & Apple Market (above).

Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg each post their own Halloween night trick-or-treat hours. Check city and village websites the last week of October.

Food and drink

Downtown Grand Haven’s Washington Avenue has the most restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries open year-round, along with the Centertown blocks farther east. Spring Lake’s village center has a smaller cluster. The area’s breweries and brewpubs make a good warm-up after a windy pier walk.

A fall Saturday in Grand Haven

Morning. Start downtown with coffee, then hunt for the decorated skeletons of Bones About Town along Washington Avenue and the side streets. On Oct. 24, stay for Fall Fest and downtown trick-or-treating.

Midday. Walk the boardwalk to Grand Haven State Park and the pier, or drive south to Rosy Mound for the dune stairs and a quiet beach.

Afternoon. Head east to Rasch Cherry & Apple Market for u-pick apples, pumpkins and the daytime corn maze.

Evening. Come back to the lakeshore for sunset, then dinner downtown or in Spring Lake. Thrill seekers can return to Rasch for the Haunted Harvest Maze, which runs 9–11 p.m. on October Saturdays.

Family picks

A skeleton scavenger hunt downtown before voting closes at noon Oct. 23.
Fall Fest trick-or-treating on Oct. 24, then indoor trick-or-treating at the museum.
The Rosy Mound boardwalk and stairs to the beach.
A daytime corn maze at Rasch on a fall weekend.

Where to stay

Downtown Grand Haven inns and hotels are walking distance to the boardwalk and restaurants.
Spring Lake has quieter lodging and vacation rentals on the water.
Muskegon and Holland, each about 20 to 30 minutes away, add more hotel choices on busy weekends.

Tips

Lake Michigan is dangerous in fall storms. Obey pier and beach flags and stay off the pier in high waves.
The waterfront musical fountain and many beach concessions are seasonal; check before planning around them.
Bring a windproof layer for sunsets. It gets cold fast on the lake after dark.
Recheck hours on Nov. 1, when many farms and attractions close for the season.

Official sites and maps

Visit Grand Haven events and lodging.
Bones About Town (Grand Haven Main Street).
City of Grand Haven community calendar.
Ottawa County Parks, including Rosy Mound and North Beach Park.
Rasch Cherry & Apple Market.

More from the Tri-Cities

This is a seasonal guide. We publish a new one for each area every season (winter, spring, summer and fall); last updated Oct. 13, 2026.

Sources:
Grand Haven Main Street, Bones About Town, downtowngh.com
City of Grand Haven, community calendar (Bones About Town; Fall Fest 2026 with Trick-or-Treat; Halloween at the Museum), grandhaven.org
Visit Grand Haven, Fall Fest and Halloween at the Museum, visitgrandhaven.com
Rasch Cherry & Apple Market, seasonal hours and events, raschcherryapplemarket.com
Photo: Chris Light, “Boardwalk & Oak PA200106.jpg”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boardwalk_%26_Oak_PA200106.jpg

All Mitten Daily guides

Things to Do in Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg This Fall (2026 Guide)