Local Attractions

Taste the Food

To get a real sense of the flavor of Kalamazoo, you need to sample the food!  The diverse cuisine just in the downtown radius is pretty impressive.  You'll find everything from German and tapas, to BBQ and sushi. This local dining guide can help you find the perfect dinner!

Drink Locally Brewed Beer

Lucky for beer lovers, downtown Kalamazoo is home to many breweries!  Check out this brewery map for directions and more info on the six walkable downtown breweries, as well as the seven other breweries in Kalamazoo County.  Beer tours are available through West Michigan Beer Tours, including a Halloween Beer Tour on Friday and a walking tour of downtown breweries on Saturday. Use promo code bats2019. 

Do the Coffee Crawl

Kalamazoo has a number of excellent coffee houses to help you get that necessary injection of caffeine, many of which are within walking distance from the Radisson Hotel.

Shop on the Mall

Go to a Museum

Kalamazoo's museums and area attractions embrace nature, history, education, and art to ignite your imagination. Add the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Heritage Guitar, Inc to your list of downtown attractions. If you’d like to a little further abroad for a surprisingly interesting experience, learn about the history of the U.S. through the automobile by going to the Gilmore Car Museum, or check out the Kalamazoo Nature Center, one of the top three nature centers in the country.

Get Outside

The Kalamazoo area and SW Michigan have an abundance of opportunities to get outside and spend time in nature.  The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has numerous preserves encompassing some of the the most pristine forest, grassland, and wetland sites in the region that are open to the public and have trail access.  Attendees can also get out and walk, run, or bike all portions of the 22-mile Kalamazoo River Trail system, or make it all the way from Kalamazoo to white sand beaches on the shore of Lake Michigan on the 34-mile Kalhaven Trail.  The best mountain biking in the region is at the Fort Custer State Recreation Area.  For paddlers, there are numerous rivers and lakes in the area with public access, and fantastic paddling along the Kalamazoo River, which runs right through the city.  Please contact the local hosts if you need advice on the best places to get outside.