Michigan's Adventure, Muskegon, Michigan

Michigan’s Adventure is the largest amusement park in Michigan, located in Muskegon County, halfway between the cities of Muskegon to the south and Whitehall to the north along US Highway 31. The park address is 1198 W Riley-Thompson Road, Muskegon, Michigan 49445. The phone number is (231) 766-9959.

The entrance to Michigan’s Adventure is located on W Riley-Thompson Road off US Highway 31. Regular parking is $20, while the closer “preferred parking” is $30. The first roller coaster that visitors see when arriving at the park is Shivering Timbers, a wooden coaster that reaches speeds of 65 mph/105 kmh.

The first stop after parking the car is a security check just outisde the breezeway entrance to the park. There is a walk-through metal detector and a bag screening, which is out-of-frame to the right. Muskegon sees 145 days per year of rain. The high temperature today, Thursday, August 26, 2022, will reach 75 deg F/23.8 C.

The admissions breezeway is past Security. Like all Cedar Fair parks, two-day tickets are available, and there is enough to do at Michigan’s Adventure for two days. A Gold or Platinum season pass, however, includes parking plus food and merchandise discounts. Two-day tickets, and parking, are purchased online.

Coasters Drive-In is just past the breezeway entrance. (The neon signage, when lit up at night, is beautiful.) Greeting diners out front are a 1956 Chevy and a 1934 Roadster. Like all Cedar Fair parks, Michigan’s Adventure is cashless. Guests can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit or credit cards.

This dining location is perhaps the best food option at the park, considering that there is a wide array of food and beverages, indoor and outdoor dining, and fun things to look at, in addition to the two classic cars out front. There is a working Wurlitzer jukebox here, playing all the 1950’s hits, with all the lights and sounds.

Coasters Drive-In has been a fixture since 2006 for burgers, fries, and shakes. This year, the food got an upgrade with cafeteria-style dining featuring new side dishes. The offerings include chicken fingers, onion rings, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a nice-looking broccoli-carrot-squash mix.

Coasters still has burgers and fries. The cheeseburger and onion rings shown here are hot, fresh, and tasty. The French fries and mac-and-cheese sides, not shown here, are also good. Also not shown is the country-fried steak and pepper-flour gravy offering, and when paired Yukon gold mashed potatoes, it is delicious.

The condiment bar overlooks the front of the park. There is ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, plus ranch dressing and barbecue sauce, and the little dispensing cups. Napkins and utensils are in the center. Fresh romaine leaf lettuce, thick tomato slices, and Vidalia onion slices (not visible) are the best burger toppings. Side salads are also available.

The beverage nook and the condiment bar are well-maintained throughout the day. Cups are at the check-out register. Michigan’s Adventure is cashless, but there is a cash-to-card kiosk at Snoopy’s Boutique to pay for merchandise, food, and drink throughout the park. These Visa cards are also accepted outside the park.

The booths at Coasters are very comfortable and clean, and it is a fun place to eat. Nevertheless, many guests bring a purse-pack of alcohol wipes in a day-bag to use on all dining surfaces at the park. Bringing a small bottle of hand-sanitizer is a good idea too; although there is a free-standing dispenser at the door.

The attendance at Michigan’s Adventure was light today and some rides and food stands were closed. Confection Connection, visible through the Coasters window, is open. Despite the rain and cool temps, many folks have ice cream cones and Dippin Dots. The regular chocolate cone at $5.39 plus tax is huge.

The Timbertown Railway is closed today, and has been closed nearly all summer for repairs. Other attractions that are closed today, due to weather, are the Giant Gondola Wheel and the Lakeside Beer Garden. Lakeside Gliders and Sea Dragon closed up during the later hours of the day.

The Carousel celebrates its 31st anniversary this year at Michigan’s Adventure. These myriad, magical creatures include a sea horse, shown here, plus a tiger; a beautiful painted bear is on the other side. The horses go up and down, and there are stationary seats for those who prefer a placid ride.

Lakeside Gliders, open most of the day today, is a fun attraction where the rider uses the hand-held metal “sail” to control the height and the spin on the ride. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, has this ride, as does sister park Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Michigan’s Adventure has been a Cedar Fair park since 2001.

The Dodgem bumper car ride is open all day today and is walk-right-up due to light attendance. On hot days, this is a great place to get out of the sun. Dodgem has been here since 2002. A little known fact is that this park got its start in 1956 as a petting zoo called Deer Park. Various expansions have brought 52 rides here in total.

The Swan Boats came to Michigan’s Adventure from sister park Cedar Point in 2004. Cedar Point moved the boats out to make room for the pond turnaround on its Maverick roller coaster. Parent company Cedar Fair purchased this park twenty-one years ago for $28 million, and in 2002 added $5 million in upgrades.

The Swan Boats glide around the lake, as riders pedal the boats. There is a steering lever in each boat to control direction. Riders wear life-vests, and there is a 300lb/136kg weight limit per rider. Visible over the boat stand is RipCord, and to the right is Thunderhawk, which came from Ohio’s Geauga Lake park in 2008.

The water park has water rides, of course, but also has a t-shirt shop and food stands. Hand-sanitizer is on the right, and a water fountain is on the left that will fill water bottles. Rain is pouring at 1:15 pm. The temps are over 65 deg F/18.33 deg C within two hours of the park opening, so the waterpark would also open.

The Tidal Wave pool is a likely first stop after walking through the waterpark breezeway-shower house. It has a gated, zero-depth entry and up-charged cabanas off to the right. A lot of food stands were closed here, but no one in the pool pays any attention to the rain. The Surfside Beer Garden is nevertheless open today.

The Snake Pit triple-threat black-out tube slide is not lacking for riders today. Step right up and pick your poison. It is a black double-diamond aggressive thrill ride designed for people at least 42 inches/107 cm tall; people under 48 inches/123 cm tall must wear life jackets. The catch-pool is 44 inches/112 cm deep.

The Beach Party water attraction is the best place in the water park for guests of all ages. The minimum height is 36 inches/91.4 cm in bare feet on the smaller slides and 40 inches/101.6 cm in bare feet on the three larger slides. The bucket dumps an ocean of water. The maximum weight per guest is 300 lb/136 kg.

Camp Snoopy for kids is the newest part of Michigan’s Adventure, added in 2020. Woodstock Express (formerly the Big Dipper coaster, which was moved to Camp Snoopy) is a 1999 steel sit-down coaster for riders 36 inches/91.5 cm and up; under 42 inches/106.5 cm must be accompanied by a responsible person.

Despite the rain, Beagle Scout Acres had some takers today. This area accommodates guests under 36 inches/91.5 cm with a supervising companion who is at least 14 years of age. Some attractions in Camp Snoopy are closed due to the weather. The play area here can accommodate kids up to 60 inches/152.5 cm.

Twenty years ago the park rebranded itself with Charles Schulz’s iconic and timeless Peanuts characters, culminating in the development of Camp Snoopy. There is a lot to like at Michigan’s Adventure. This 250-acre/1 sq km park has aggressive thrill rides, a waterpark, and a children’s area plus a petting zoo.

Michigan’s Adventure might not be a destination venue, but it is a fun place that could be part of any Lake Michigan getaway. It is smaller than Cedar Point, Kings Island, and its northern sister park, Canada’s Wonderland. Driving north for sunny beaches, cooler temperatures, and glowing sunsets also could include this park.