If you’re looking to explore the great outdoors surrounded by the colorful beauty of flowers, you’re going to want to check out these kid-friendly gardens!
Come explore the 40 beautiful acres of Cranbrook Gardens in Bloomfield Hills where you can do a free self-guided tour and enjoy an afternoon outdoors! You won’t want to miss their immaculate sunken gardens (the floral designs change every year!), the fun red bridge in the Japanese Gardens that’s perfect for photo ops or the outdoor amphitheater where our kids have been known to test out their acting skills. The grounds are open year-round (weather permitting) but offer different views/experiences during the varying seasons. Make sure to check their calendar for events or plant sales coming up!
This non-profit community garden is a Detroit sanctuary that you can stroll at your leisure from sunrise to sunset! They have a native plant nursery, an outdoor wellness garden, a butterfly nursery and Kids Abloom – a children’s garden discovery area that opened in 2021! Not only are their flowers growing, but so is their vision and you can even be a part of it by volunteering, shopping their online native plant store, or attending their events and workshops.
You can wander the grounds and gardens of the Ford House, along the waters of Lake St. Clair, from 8am to sunset on Tuesdays – Sundays. Entrance to this historic estate also gives you access to to the Visitor Center, including three exhibitions, as well as the gardens, grounds, and auxiliary buildings including Josephine’s Playhouse, Recreation Building, and others (open seasonally). A great time to check out the Ford House is during their FREE Storytime at the Visitor’s Center on Tuesdays at 10:30am!
There’s something for everyone at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor! From the garden created just for kids, to the nearly 3 miles of trails, to the beautiful indoor conservatory filled with plants from all over the world. This FREE attraction will entertain your children for hours as they play at Gaffield Children’s Garden spotting aquatic friends in the pond, finding busy bees in the Pollinator Garden, playing out stories in the Forest Amphitheater or getting sandy with the toys in the sand pit! Make sure to check out their event calendar for guided nature walks, plant sales or special workshops.
A little farther out in East Lansing, you’ll find MSU’s picturesque garden meant just kids where they can run, explore and use their imaginations! This fun garden destination is broken down by themes – including a “pizza garden” that is shaped like a giant pizza with a piece cut out of it and where they grow plants that would make up a pizza (wheat, tomato, peppers, basil, oregano and chives)! The gardens are open April 1st thru October 31st and have two eating areas for the perfect outdoor picnic. They have fun events lined up that you won’t want to miss!
If you’re looking for a fun weekend escape, put Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids on your list! With a treehouse village, a huge water table in the shape of the Great Lakes, a bright red barn, a storytelling garden with puppet shows in the summer, and 158 acres to explore – trust us when we tell you that you’re going to need a map! And for the month of May, they have “Preschool Explorations” meant for preschool aged kids (and an adult) where you ride the Kid’s Tram around the Sculpture Park to discover colors, shapes, and textures found in sculpture & then create your own!
These delightful gardens, located in Midland, offer a variety of attractions to explore! With distinctive bridges, a fun exploration garden for kids, water features, visitor’s center and more – you’ll find yourself wanting to come back in very season! One of our favorite features is their Canopy Walk (designed to be accessible for all ages & abilities!) that offers unique viewing platforms – a large cargo net you can climb on above the spruce trees, a glass floor sitting at 40 feet high and views of a forest pond from 25 feet up. And don’t forget to stop by the epic playground, conveniently located next to a cafe! Dow Gardens is currently open Tuesday – Sunday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.
