Hastings, the county seat

Hastings is the seat and the hub of Barry County, a small town that grew up where settlers bought land along the Thornapple River in 1836. The river still runs right through the middle of town, with a riverwalk and easy spots to put in a kayak or canoe.

What anchors downtown is the Barry County Courthouse, a grand 1890s building of brick and stone that’s one of only a handful of Michigan’s 19th-century public buildings still used for its original purpose. Around it is a walkable old downtown of tidy storefronts and a scattering of Victorian homes. Hastings also makes a good home base for the county’s bigger draws — Charlton Park, the Gilmore Car Museum, and the Yankee Springs woods and lakes are all a short drive away.