Winter Adventures in Grand Haven

Grand Haven has it all. In the summer the beach is packed and it's relaxing to lay out in the sun listening to the waves. In the winter though, Lake Michigan looks like this. It is absolutely stunning. 

On Monday class was cancelled due to it being Martin Luther King Jr Day. A few of my friends and I decided to take this time off to go on a mini adventure. We drove the 30 minutes from Grand Valley to Grand Haven beach. 

Ice chunks floating in Lake Michigan

The walk from the beach to the end of the pier is an icy one. During the beginning of winter, the waves crash over the pier and eventually freeze, covering the whole thing in feet of ice.

We walked along, climbing and exploring the ice formations. Pictures truly do not capture how beautiful this icy paradise was. We had fun throwing ice chunks into the water and listening to the unique sounds it made. 

Careful not to slip!

When we finally reached the end of the pier we were rewarded with this stunning view. 

The whole front of the red building was covered in ice. It was so amazing. We explored the crevices of the ice sculpture which made for some fun pictures. 

Here I am sitting in an "ice cave"

After this, we noticed we could hoist ourselves up onto the deck of the red building (not sure what it actually is so I'm just gonna call it a building).  We pulled ourselves up over the bar and carefully made our way up onto the deck. We explored this area for a while. The floor was extremely slick here and we held onto the railing the whole time.

From up on the red building.

Ice is so pretty!

Lastly, we decided to explore the beach and frozen waves. The water is frozen deep enough to go out onto the frozen waves. A lot of the waves freeze and form little caverns. This was a lot of fun to explore, too. We spent some time sliding down on our butts and stomachs like penguins. :)

Grand Haven in the summer is fun and relaxing, but it is truly special in the winter. I would definitely recommend anyone to come check out the frozen pier and have an icey adventure of their own!

~Never Stop Exploring