My daughter took a new job early in 2021, moving to central Michigan between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. I‘ve visited many times since then, for a few days here, a week there, a month around the holidays last year and finally decided to write up some activities and places I’ve visited and enjoyed across several towns in the area. I’ll probably update this post each time I visit if I find new activities unlike separate posts for other destinations.

Kalamazoo

• Kalamazoo River Valley Trail
• The historic Kalamazoo Mall, the first outdoor pedestrian mall in the United States, features revitalized Art Deco buildings and specialty shops.

Portage

• The Celery Flats area has a lot of great trails, various parking areas and trailheads.
• Air Zoo Museum has some great exhibits and is child friendly with rides and interactive exhibits.

Augusta

• Chipman Preserve, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has nice trails.

Battle Creek

Parks and Gardens

There are many great parks in the city, I enjoyed all the ones within walking distance of my AirBNB or my daughter’s house.

• Leila Arboretum has some lovely trails through the park plus the Fantasy Sculpture Garden and Kaleidoscope Garden
• Battle Creek Linear Park
• Mill Race Park
• We spent Mother’s Day at the Binder Park Zoo. We got there right when it opened and enjoyed the train, Africa, feeding giraffes, and much more.
• The site of most my morning walks, Friendship Park, connected to Linear Park, is a lovely place for a walk.
• Kellogg House and Gardens
• A yearly festival, but also lot of great murals, Color the Creek

History

• Sojourner Truth Memorial and Park
• I did not know Michigan or Battle Creek specifically was an important waystation on the Underground Railroad. There is a large Underground Railroad Memorial down by the Kellogg House just off the trail about their history.
• Historic Adventist Village There are exhibits on Dr. John Kellogg’s sanitarium, his inventions, from strange exercise machines to corn flakes, and the home of Ellen White, considered a leader and prophet in the early Seventh Day Adventist. Her book, Steps to Christ, has been published in more than 165 languages. The Smithsonian Magazine named White as one of 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time. Free tours, donations requested.
• On earlier visits to the area, Boo and I found the Historic Park Bridge. Multiple metal truss bridges have been moved here; it’s a great place for a walk.

Other

• Farmer’s Market, Wednesday mornings and Friday evenings at Kellogg Arena

Marshall

• Governor’s Mansion Museum Not much to see, definitely no furnishings, but interesting history discussion from the volunteers. Free.
• Marshall Riverwalk Trail
• American Museum of Magic Lots of good reviews on google but I wasn’t impressed at all; mostly just a lot of show posters. Not worth the $7 entry cost.
• Both the Honolulu House and Marshall History Museum are run by the Marshall Historical Society. One ticket, $10, for both venues.

Restaurants and Breweries

• Unami Ramen, Battle Creek. Great ramen, lots of choices for noodles, broth, protein and toppings. Loved their Korean Burrito, too!
• Presidential Brewery, Portage
• Handmap Brewery, Battle Creek
• Bell‘s Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo
• Latitude 42 Brewing Company, Portage
• Dark Horse Brewing, Marshall. Excellent pizza and great patio and barn for outside seating.
• Torti Taco Bar and Grille Downtown location, good variety on the menu, lots of selections of meat for tacos, burritos, tortas and more.  Love their creamy avocado salsa.
• Continental Pastries & Deli saw this by the Aldi when I was grocery shopping so stopped over for an amazing piece of “Chocolate Chocolate”
• The Fire Hub, Battle Creek. Had a great Mexican Corn Pizza with my daughter and granddaughter.
• The Crow’s Nest, Kalamazoo. Excellent breakfasts and huge selection from special Benedicts to lots of French Toast.

Road Trips

Monroe

The only NPS battlefield from the War of 1812, there isn’t much to see at River Raisin National Battlefield Park, but they do have a new visitor center. Site of an old abandoned paper mill, it just became part of the NPS in 2009, and 30 acres were donated in 2010.

There are two good videos and some exhibits about the British, Indian, French and US armies. There are trails on the battlefield with informational signs. The town of Monroe also has some nice trails. It wasn’t worth the drive from Battle Creek but definitely worth a stop if closer. I stopped to see the Custer statue that many in the town want to pull down because of Custer’s genocide of Native Americans.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **