Grand Haven: the original "Coast Guard City," with a musical fountain to match

Grand Haven wears its identity on its sleeve. In 1998, an act of Congress (signed by the president) named it “Coast Guard City, USA” — and it was the very first city in the country to earn that title, in recognition of its long ties to the Coast Guard going back to a 19th-century lifesaving station on the harbor. The city still hosts the U.S. Coast Guard’s national memorial service, and every summer it throws the Coast Guard Festival, a roughly ten-day celebration in late July and early August with a parade of ships, a carnival, a memorial service, and fireworks over the Grand River. It’s one of Michigan’s largest annual events and the high point of the local calendar.

The other thing Grand Haven is famous for sits right on the waterfront: the Grand Haven Musical Fountain, billed as the world’s largest musical fountain. On summer nights it puts on a free show of water, colored lights, and music after dark — a local tradition since 1962. And no visit is complete without walking the long pier out to “Big Red,” the bright red lighthouse at the end of the channel, with Grand Haven State Park’s beach right alongside. One safety note locals take seriously: never walk the pier in storms or high waves, and swim only in guarded areas — Lake Michigan’s waves and rip currents can be dangerous.

To plan a visit: the Coast Guard Festival runs in late July/early August each year (coastguardfest.org). The Musical Fountain performs free nightly shows in summer on the downtown waterfront, and the pier and beach are at Grand Haven State Park.