Where we actually eat, shop and take the kids. Not a directory — these are the places we'd tell you about if you asked us on the dock.
Two things worth knowing before you start.
Downtown Brighton is walkable. Park once on Main Street and dinner, a drink, the boutiques, the playground and a walk over the Tridge are all within a few minutes of each other.
Everything else is on Grand River. Two supermarkets, the butcher, the beer shop, a bowling alley and a couple of good burgers sit along one stretch of road just east of town. One trip covers the week.
All open Sundays. The difference is what time you're up.
Tons of food for a great price.
Simple and delicious — and they serve breakfast all day, which matters when you're on holiday and nobody's up before ten.
An awesome assortment of French toast.
Cozy, with great outside seating for a morning coffee.
Fantastic dinners and a great wine list.
The best Italian around.
A great American dining menu.
Great drinks and an awesome brunch.
Awesome taco selection.
Awesome burgers and great service.
Great local bar feel.
Sliders, and a small indoor arcade that buys you twenty minutes of peace with the children. Upstairs is 120 West, the rooftop bar — a good stop before dinner or for a night out.
Good for all adult ages, with live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Great atmosphere, full of windows, and never too busy.
Awesome food.
Young and loud, with a good rooftop over the Mill Pond. Worth knowing what you're walking into.
The Monday secret. The VFW at the American Spirit Centre opens to the public on Mondays and does half-pound burgers for about the cheapest you'll find anywhere in the county. It's a veterans' hall, not a restaurant, and that's rather the point.
Kroger has the better prices, Busch's the better quality meat. They're a few hundred yards apart on Grand River, so take your pick — or do both.
A little pricey, but worth it. This is where Champ's gets the beef for that burger — so you can eat it downtown on Friday and grill the same meat at the house on Saturday.
A great market, with a huge inventory of beer and liquor.
Where to go if you're after whole foods.
Genuinely close, if you're stocking up for a big group.
My favorite spot in town. The playground and the Tridge are the same place — park once and the children get 10,000 square feet of wooden playground while you walk the millpond.
Small and simple — but the playground is the first fully inclusive one in Michigan, which matters to some families a great deal.
Over a hundred farm animals, and some of the goats and cows will come over to be petted.
A great place to get the kids out.
Mt. Brighton for winter sports, Kensington for summer walks, Island Lake for mountain biking.
4,000 acres, and three mountain-bike loops — 9.1, 5.6 and 3.2 miles. The short one is called the Badlands and is the fat-tire route.
Multiple uses, and the harder riding of the two — nearly 900 feet of climb, the most demanding in the area.
An 8.5-mile paved trail right round Kent Lake, plus seven miles of hiking-only paths.
One practical thing. Kensington, Island Lake and Brighton Rec all charge for vehicle entry, and they're on two different systems — Kensington is a Metropark, the other two are state parks needing a Michigan Recreation Passport.
If you're coming from out of state you can't use a Michigan plate registration, so buy a day pass at the gate. Worth knowing before you drive out there.
Michigan weather turns. It's worth having a plan.
Brighton Bowl is the closest and the nicest, but it's often full with league reservations, so ring ahead rather than turning up. If they're booked, Whitmore Lanes and Bowl-E-Drome are both old-school alleys and both worth the short drive.
Twenty screens, and the seating is better than most.
Somewhere to sit for two hours when it's coming down. There's a theater attached with local performances and art shows.
The little boutiques are what give downtown its small-town feeling.
For proper window shopping.
The house is across the street from the dock, and all of this is within twenty minutes of the front door. Send your dates and you'll hear back the same day.
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