Hi, all -- my extended family is planning a trip to South Haven in August. We'll be there too late for the blueberry festival, but we wanted to know: what are the must-see places and must-do events around the town? We'll have four kids ages 2-11 in the group.

We're into hiking, local foods, interesting museums, and amusement parks.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I should add -- we're talking about the South Haven in Michigan.

Not sure what else to do in South Haven, but there is a fun dune buggy ride in Saugatuck. Inexpensive and fun! I'm sure the kids would love it!

How far do you want to drive? I would do a google search on South Haven- find the name of the county and do a county search. I am about a 45 minute ride inland in Cass County near Paw Paw. Depending on what time in August- you can go fruit picking with the kids, which is really fun. They provide baskets / storage etc. Blueberries start around the middle of July and go well into August at times. We hit the end of the season once and my grandsons thought it was the best having to find the still loaded ones.
But you can do peaches etc. as well.

But if you do the search mentioned above you may find a few good county fairs and they are sometimes better than the State Fair in MI. Cass has theirs in Cassopolis the last few days of July and the first few in August, I believe. But you can always find through a county search something with amusement park large. I know there is a go cart track near/in South Haven going all the time too, that time of year. You may also google to find active dairy- might want to go see cows milked or ice cream being made etc.

If you want to go to Western Michigan Univ. near Dowagiac- they have an excellent children's museum too- but that is also a 1/2 hour or longer drive from South Haven.

They had vintage clothes there for the kids to dress in, plus numerous, numerous interactive to play with and experiment with. This is terribly underused and is spacious- would be good to get away from crowds or if the weather gets mean. Also in Kalamazoo there is an AIRZOO that is tops. But much better for older than you have.

Thanks -- this is fantastic info. Dune buggies and an Air Zoo? Who knew? (I'm from NY so I'm a little clueless about MI.) I'm really excited about picking fruit, too.

I know this may be obvious, but, it is just so much fun for our kids, ages 3 and 6 to go to South Haven and go to the beach, play in the sand and splash in the water. They could play at the beach all vacation if we let them. There is a great Italian resaurant right downtown in South haven also, the name escapes me but everyone knows about it!! A nice walking path also, bike path too if you have your bikes. We love Saugutuck, which is another beach town just about 15 minutes up the road from South Haven, have fun!!

Yes, we are planning to spend lots of time on the beach! How cold will the water be in late August? The 11-year-old in our party is like a polar bear, but the rest of us are a little more wimpy.

Saugatuck sounded great to me, but -- and I don't know how to say this delicately -- I'm worried my conservative in-laws might be freaked out by the gay scene. Is it a place where people who object to "alternative lifestyles" might feel uncomfortable?

When I was growing up, we would go to Warren Dunes State Park (we called it Tower Hill), not too far from South Haven and would climb the huge sand dune ...sweating in the heat and taking two steps forward and sliding back one, but the run back down was SO fun you couldn't stop laughing. Hope the winds haven't flattened it! My daughter and her family were in South Haven last week and had a great time. Water was too cold for most of them except the most hardy. Lake never gets very warm! P.S a New Yorker who admits being alittle clueless...Whew

RE" Saugatuck and the gay scene. Our family has been vacationing in Saugatuck for over 20 years. Unless you're looking for the "gay scene" - you won't see it. There is only one non descript gay bar in the area. My family is pretty conservative and has never had an issue.

Thanks, Paris -- good to know. I've heard nothing but great things about Saugatuck.

Same opinion as paris. Also with the swimming in Lake Michigan. By August it will be better, but it is never warm. Right now it is 57 to 60 degrees F., so that feels cold. But kids will love it, as it is invigorating and the waves are usually delightful. But if the waves are high, and some days they ARE, do watch the kids if they have little experience, as the waves can knock them over and catch them good in backwash.

There are many lakes (11,000) in MI and I am on a inland lake. My lake is 72 degrees already and by August will get some 5 degrees higher. I swam on May 28 easily this year.

Ha, two years later I'm finally posting about our South Haven trip. It was fantastic. The whole family had such a great time that we're going back again this summer. Really, you couldn't ask for a better place for a multi-generational vacation -- beautiful beaches, a bustling downtown, great ice cream, an excellent playground, world-class sunsets... South Haven reminded me very much of a New England town, but easier for our relatives in WI and OH to get to. (The NY contingent has to fly in, but that's OK.) This year we'll be in town for the Blueberry Festival -- is it really crowded then? No matter, I'm sure it will be fun.

SZ can you recommend somewhere to stay for a family with young children? Thx!

Whoops, just seeing this now -- sorry! We rented a house both times we visited, once through Shores of South Haven Realty and the other time, I believe, through VRBO.com. Renting a house for 8 adults and 4 kids worked out to be very cost-effective.

I just read that South Haven just took 3rd Place in Yachting Magazine's Best Yachting Towns in the World. It is a wonderful destination. We previously rented a house through www.funinsouthhaven.com.