Grand RAPPids: Apps to Help Make Your Visit Awesome

“Where should I eat and drink?” “What’s fun to do around town?” “Where do I park?”

These questions don’t need to weigh you down when you’re adventuring around Grand Rapids. Each question can be quickly and easily answered through numerous apps and other mobile technologies that aim to make your time in Grand Rapids as enjoyable as possible by alleviating the stresses of the unknown.

Food & Drink Apps

Voted Beer City USA in national polls and named Best Beer City for five years running by USA TODAY – along with numerous other brew accolades –  Grand Rapids is the perfect place for your next beercation.

Beer City Brewsader

If you’re already visiting and exploring Beer City USA, why not become an official Beer City Brewsader® in the process?

Becoming a Beer City Brewsader is simple: Download the Beer City Brewsader app, visit one of the 35+ participating local breweries, try one of the many thirst-quenching craft beers, and get your Beer City Brewsader Passport (digitally) stamped via the mobile app.

Collect eight stamps at eight different Beer City Brewsader breweries and you’ll receive an exclusive t-shirt confirming your status as an official Brewsader. Collect 30+ stamps and you’ll earn the perks of an Ultimate Brewsader, including exclusive deals, discounts and an Ultimate Brewsader crewneck sweatshirt.

The app also contains fun challenges, beer news and events, and even transportation options, whether you’re looking for a beer tour guide or a designated driver.

Flights of Flavor

Grand Rapids doesn’t just do beer exceedingly well. It’s also recognized as America’s Craft Beverage Capital and Michigan’s Best Food City. Flights of Flavor is a great way to sample some of our best beers, ciders, wines, spirits, cocktails, coffees, teas and food creations in one sitting, via unique drink flights, food flights and food & drink flights.

Get the Flights of Flavor digital pass – it’s not an app, you don’t have to download it – to locate participating restaurants, menus and prices. Use the pass to check in when you order a Flight and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for merchandise or directed to charity. The more Flights you try (and points you earn), the bigger the prizes.

Untappd

The Untappd app is another great way to find local bars, breweries and beers, aided by recommendations from other Untappd users. You can use the app to check in and rate beers, creating a running list for yourself and earning brag-worthy badges.

Review & Reservation Apps

You can check our Restaurants page for the most comprehensive list of Grand Rapids/Kent County restaurants, breweries, bars and other foodservice establishments. But if you want to know what other diners think of local restaurants, consult the Yelp app. The Yelp Waitlist function lets you view the live wait time of participating restaurants and get in line remotely.

Other local restaurants use such apps as OpenTable, Resy and Tock to accept reservations.

Delivery Apps

Alternatively, a cozy night indoors with food delivered to your doorstep or hotel lobby is a great option as well. Download UberEats, GrubHub, Postmates or DoorDash if you’d like to sample some of the finest cuisine in Grand Rapids from the comfort of your couch or hotel room.

Experiential Apps

Looking to experience all that Grand Rapids has to offer? Access these mobile technologies to get the city’s full experience:

Attraction Pass GR

Like Flights of Flavor, Attraction Pass GR is a pass, not an app – and like Flights of Flavor, it’s an easy and convenient way to sample some of GR’s best. In this case, it’s some of the city’s largest cultural attractions, which you can visit at a greatly reduced price when you purchase Attraction Pass GR.

With the pass, you’ll receive free admission to some of the region's most sought-after attractions like the Grand Rapids Art Museum , Grand Rapids Children’s Museum,  Grand Rapids Public Museum , Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum , Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives , and John Ball Zoo. Plus, you’ll enjoy exclusive discounts to other cultural events and activities around the city. 

There are one- and three-day versions of the pass, so you’ll have either 24 hours or 72 hours to redeem all the perks you want once you start using it. There are also adult, child and senior passes. Just show the pass on your smartphone to an attendant or staff member at each attraction you visit.

Miscellaneous Apps

Various Grand Rapids attractions offer apps to take your visit to the next level. Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park, Broadway Grand Rapids, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team, Gun Lake Casino and Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park and WildWater Adventure Waterpark are among those with apps that let you view upcoming events and activities, and purchase your tickets in the palm of your hand. You can find these apps on either Google Play or the Apple App Store.

The Kulture City app is an excellent resource for families with sensory challenges. Download it to discover the best way to take advantage of sensory-friendly features at Blandford Nature Center, the Grand Rapids Public Museum and John Ball Zoo. The Public Museum encourages visitors who are blind or have low vision to download the Aira app, a verbal description service that connects visitors to remote agents who will guide them through the Museum. You can also use Aira to help you navigate area Meijer stores.

Get the Grand Rapids SmartGuide app for a 60-minute audio tour of downtown GR that highlights 30 points of interest. Find local food trucks and food truck events via the Heart of Food app. The Art at GVSU app lets you explore more than 28,000 works of art in the Grand Valley State University collection, complete with self-guided tours of the school’s downtown and Allendale campuses.

Parking & Transportation Apps

There are useful transportation apps that are perfect for those who prefer alternative methods of transportation to cruise around Grand Rapids. If you are driving, there are apps to help cover your parking, so you won’t get a ticket.

Air Transportation

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport – recognized as North America’s easiest airport to travel through – makes your journey even more stress-free with an app that gives you real-time flight departure and arrival information, updates on parking availability, and even security wait times. Available for iOS and Android, the app can also connect with ground transportation options at the airport.

Bus Transportation

Travel on Grand Rapids’ award-winning Rapid bus system is made even more convenient by downloading the myStop® Mobile, Transit or Moovit app. The Rapid also offers the West Michigan Rides app, which lets you easily explore carpool, transit, bike, walk and other options. Download these apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play, and you’ll be able to plan your trip and track buses in real time.

Scooter & Bike Transportation

Download the Lime app to rent standing e-scooters and seated e-assist bikes throughout a 12- square mile area of Grand Rapids, including downtown. These environmentally friendly options are a fun and affordable way to see more of the city.

Rideshare

Of course, both Uber and Lyft have a presence in Grand Rapids if you’d like to have someone else handle navigating the city to get you from point A to point B.

Parking

Motu is the official parking app for the City of Grand Rapids. Motu is a free app that’s available for Android and Apple devices through the respective app stores by searching "Motu Grand Rapids."

It can be used at all city parking meters and with the app, drivers can pay for on street and offstreet parking where Motu signage is present. Users can also extend time left on their meter, receive notifications when their meter is nearing expiration, view payment history, and receive email receipts.

For private, off-street parking at select downtown facilities and venues, drivers can use the ParkMobile app.

Use any or all of these apps to app-reciate your Grand Rapids adventure even more!