Let your kids run wild at the sand pits and tree house while you inspect the sculptures and floral displays in this park’s various gardens.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a picturesque set of grounds featuring botanical and artistic displays. The 158-acre (64-hectare) park has indoor and outdoor sections, with a waterfall, exotic plants and a Japanese garden among its highlights. Appreciate the utter serenity as you make your way through the sections of the garden.
Introduce your little ones to the interactive exhibits of the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden. Fossils and other trinkets await them in the sand pits, while the tree house, beaver lodge and butterfly labyrinth make up the scenery.
Enter Michigan’s Farm Garden for a representation of a traditional 1930s family farmstead, complete with a barn, a windmill and a vegetable garden.
Find tranquility in the Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden, where waterfalls and rock gardens create a Zen-like setting. Lakes and sculptures adorn this enchanting garden. Study the range of large statues gracing the pleasant terrain. Look for The American Horse, created by Nina Akamu in three sizes.
Themed events take place here across the seasons. Marvel at the colorful wings of 50 species in the Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies are Blooming exhibition that is held in March and April.
In the lead-up to the year-end festive season, the park is dominated by the Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World celebration. See Christmas lights, take carriage rides and browse exhibits on about 40 different cultures.
Have a meal at the Gardens Café and gaze up at the colorful glass tapestry hanging from the ceiling. The gift shop displays plants, tools and books, among other items.
Note that the site opens daily from morning until late afternoon, staying open into the evening on Tuesdays. There is a fee for admission, with lower prices for kids, students and seniors. Young toddlers enter for free.
Find Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in the eastern fringes of Grand Rapids. Ride the bus from the downtown area to get here in 45 minutes.
See other nearby sights such as Ball Perkins Park, Crahen Valley Park and Manhattan Park.
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