Halloween Weekend Events

Halloween weekend marks the start of cooler weather, questions of whether zombies really do exist, and last chances to carve the perfect pumpkin in West Michigan.

This is one weekend that rapidly approaches ever year and always goes by too fast. Here at the West Michigan Tourist Association, we know everyone likes to celebrate this holiday in different ways so we have complied a list of all the haunting, ghoulish, and of course fun events happening around West Michigan this weekend. Make sure to follow the links for dates and times!

For the Family

Coopersville Pumpkin Train

Grand Rapids Zoo Goes Boo

Battle Creek 2011 Great ZooBoo

Thompsonville Crystal Harvest Days & Halloween Spooktacular

Muskegon Dark Side of the Museum

Battle Creek Twilight Tromps: Haunt Jaunt

Grand Rapids Hallowee-Ones

Boyne Falls Halloween Hoopla at Avalanche Bay

New Era Scarecrow Shooting Event

New Era Halloween Costume Contest

Big Rapids Big Rapids Trick-Or-Treating

Pentwater Halloween on the Green & Spooktacular Parade

Battle Creek Haunt to Trot Costume Contest

Haunted Places and Spaces

Fennville Haunted Corn Maze

Manistee Ghost Ship - SS City of Milwaukee

Northport Historic Ghost Tours at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse

Thompsonville Haunted Forest

Bay Haunted Hayrides

South Haven Haunted House

Marshall Haunted Adventure

Lake Odessa The Boondocks Haunted Hayride

Festivals

Manistee Macabre Manistee

Bear Lake Scarecrow Festival

Grand Rapids Spooky Tunes Laser Light Shows

Big Rapids Downtown Big Rapids Fall Festival

Traverse City Harvest Celebration at Brys Estate
Allegan Hometown Halloween

Douglas Halloween Harvest Festival

Parties and Dinners

Hickory Corners Murder Mystery Dinner

Petoskey A Murder Mystery Dinner

Traverse City Old Town Halloween Carnival and Monster's Ball

Grand Rapids The JUST WICKED Halloween Party!

Grand Rapids Mega 80's Spooktacular!

Arts

Grand Rapids Dracula

Walks and Runs

Traverse City Traverse City Downtown Halloween Walk

Traverse City Zombie Run

Deals

Byron Center Baymont Goes Boo

Fall Color Report- Thursday 10/27

Peak is just passing in most parts of West Michigan and for the most part, high winds and rain have dropped most of the leaves.

North:

Traverse City: Just past peak

Roscommon County-around Houghton Lake, lots of yellow mixed in with all the pines. Tamarack especially. Look close for the red berries of Michigan Holly.

Center:

Clinton County: over half of the trees are missing leaves around the area. Some pockets of color around rivers like the Looking Glass

Eaton County: It appears that we missed peak color! The storms and wind knocked off many of the colorful leaves, we are hoping to see some color on what trees still have leaves.

Clare County-good color north of Clare, lots of yellow on popples, oaks are holding leaves of reds-browns

Kent County: At peak

South:

Barry County: what trees have leaves are at peak, mostly oaks.

Calhoun County: recent storms have left many trees bare. What trees have leaves left are a mix of green, yellows. Nice colors on Old 27

The "S" Word

That's right, I'm about to say it.....SNOW! 

Whether you like to believe it or not, it is coming. Soon and fast. According to the Farmers Almanac, we here in West Michigan should be buckling down or gearing up for a wild winter (whichever you prefer)! For some of you, this is great news. For others, just the thought of this makes you want to run to the nearest tropical island.

Here in West Michigan, we are affected by what most locals refer to as "Lake Effect". We hear the phrase pretty much every day in the winter, and by the end of the season the only Lake Effect we want is the one where we get to dip our toes in the hot sand. 

So what is Lake Effect really? It's a weather phenomenon that is best known in the Great Lakes region, though it takes place world wide. In the early winter months, a large body of water, such as Lake Michigan, will take its sweet time cooling, leaving the water temperature much warmer than the air above. As cool winds cross, the lake evaporates rapidly, forming narrow bands of precipitation that certainly do not hold back upon reaching leeward shores. Perhaps surprisingly, it's not the shoreline that gets hit the hardest by the snow bands, but 15 miles inland where the terrain begins to rise.

Shannon, our wonderful Communications Director, used some of her precious time to create (if I do say so myself) an absolutely incredible "Lake Effect" map, where she charted average snowfalls of various West Michigan regions. It is fun to see what cities get the most snow and who is effected most by lake effect. Curious to see how much snow your favorite city gets? This is one map you won't want to miss.

If this post brings music to your ears because winter is your "thing", we wish you a happy and playful winter. Time to break out the skis, snowboards, snowmobiles and snowshoes. 

As for the rest of you, enjoy your hibernation! We will see you when the trees start budding again!

--Kelly

Fall Color Report- Wednesday 10/19

Due to the warm temperatures of last week and the high winds that blew through this week, the fall colors are certainly confused. The winds have blown quite a few leaves off of the trees, and there are some spots where trees are still completely green.

North:

Report from Traverse City: 75% to 100% Peak Color inland

50% to 75% Peak along the shoreline

Report from Manistee County: Along the Lakeshore the colors are at peak, about 1/3 of trees showing any green

Center:

Clinton County: Rain has caused some leaf off, mostly near peak color, about 50-75% of the trees showing color.

Report from Jackson County: conditions are past peak, winds knocked off a majority of the leaves that had color. About half the trees are missing leaves, of the remaining half, of those showing colors, what is still "green" shows strong undertones of yellow.

South:

Report from Muskegon County: Peak is here and due to recent winds, leaf off has begun. Of the trees remaining with leaves, 50% are showing color.

Report from VanBuren County: Due to winds along the lakeshore, most of the leaves have fallen. Inland, various trees are still at peak or just about there.

Fall Color Report- Wednesday 10/12

North:

Report from Traverse City: Colors are showing on 50-60% of trees.

Report from Otsego County: Around Gaylord, 50% color showing

Report from Wexford County: The area is at peak, possibly just past peak as leaves are starting to fall from trees. A great drive is US131 between Tustin and Cadillac.

Report from Manistee County: Colors along the lake are approaching peak, 40% of trees showing color

Center:

Report from Eaton County: Southern Eaton county showing 50% color, farm fields are crispy yellow!

Report from Jackson County: 60% color, nearing peak colors around the Waterloo State Recreation Area and Michigan Audubon Haehnle Sanctuary. Keep an eye open for Sandhill Cranes in the area!

South:

Report from Muskegon County: This coming weekend will probably be peak color, they are at 50% color from north to south in the county. About 30% yellows, 15% oranges, 5% reds.

Report from Calhoun County: In the area between Marshall and Bellevue, color is approaching peak, 40-50% of the trees showing some color. The farm fields in Convis township make for a nice foreground for trees that are changing. Look for sandhill cranes foraging in the fields.

Report from Barry County: M78 between Hastings and Nashville 40-60% color, oranges and reds.

Fall Color Report- Thursday 10/6

The cool nights and warm days are making for some quick color changes in West Michigan! Colors all over the region are starting to pop and at a rapid pace! Make sure to check back every week for an updated report. 

North:

Report from Traverse City: Colors around the lake are showing on 25-30% of trees, less inland.

Report from Otsego County: Around Gaylord, 40% color showing

Report from Wexford County: Around Tustin/Cadillac, colors are on 50% of the trees, many yellows and reds. The drive along US 131 is absolutely beautiful in this area.

Report from Manistee County: Trees are showing 15% color along the lakeshore, 20% inland. Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary reports many birds moving through along the lakeshore.

Report from Mason County: Take in Mason county's glorious color at about 35%. Many of the trees are supporting shades of yellow, red and orange. The ash, as always, are simply beautiful and the maples are just starting to change.

Center:

Report from Clinton County: Soybeans and corn are mostly yellow. About 10% color in trees, more along the Looking Glass.

Report from Ingham County: Color increases east to west, about 50% showing undertones of color, especially small trees and shrubs

Report from Eaton County: Soybeans and corn are quite yellow, however, trees are mostly green. There is more color in the NW corner, about 15%. As you head towards Lansing, trees are mostly green.

Report from Jackson County: Area around Waterloo Recreation Area and Michigan Audubon Haehnle Sanctuary showing about 25% color in the upland forested areas. Marshy areas are at peak color, keep your eyes open for sandhill cranes foraging in fields.

South:

Report from Muskegon County: Colors have really come along in the past week! About 40% of trees showing, about 3/4 of them yellow, the rest orange/red.

Report from Calhoun County: About 30% of trees showing yellow undertones in the upland areas. In the wetland areas, swamps and marshes are a wide variety of yellows, browns, and reds. These areas are nearing peak. A nice color drive is I-69 between Marshall and the Bellevue exit. CraneFest is this Saturday at the Kiwanis Youth Recreation Area.

Report from Barry County: Areas around Gun Lake are showing undertones of yellow. Cruise some of the back roads in the swampy areas and the tamaracks are starting to show some yellow, many red maples have turned. Poison sumac and other shrubs are a spectrum of colors, from deep purples, to reds, yellows, oranges. Trees are still mostly green, probably 95%.

Report from Van Buren County: sumacs are red, maples are turning into golden yellow or red, look for osage oranges on the road. Walnut leaves are about done and few walnuts on the ground. Generally color is showing @30%

Report from Kalamazoo County: Colors are still mostly green, 5-10% of the trees are showing color, mostly small trees like sassafras.