The Wild West is having a cultural moment. From TV’s Yellowstone universe, to Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning foray into country music, to fashion magazine Vogue declaring 2024 the Year of the Cowboy, Americans are embracing the world of horses, harmonicas and 10-gallon hats.
Dubbed “Cowboy Core,” this trend also extends to travel, as more Americans are looking for getaways that tap into the cowboy spirit, whether it’s hopping on a horse, sleeping under the stars, enjoying great country music or just forging a deeper connection with nature.
A Midwest city like Grand Rapids, Michigan may not seem like the most logical choice for a Wild West adventure, but visitors will find plenty of ways to indulge their inner cowboy here!
Cowboy-Core Activities and Things to Do
Saddle up for a horseback-riding experience. The Double R Ranch Resort (30 minutes from downtown GR), Rise & Ride Ranch (50 minutes), Wild West Ranch (50 minutes), Double JJ Resort (1 hour) and Stony Lake Stables (1 hour) provide outdoor trail rides for all ages and skill levels.
Legacy Stables, 20 minutes southwest of downtown GR, offers one-hour rides on an outdoor trail or indoor arena, depending on the weather, as well as riding lessons and an Own-A-Horse Camp that lets you experience what’s it’s like to take care of and ride a horse for a week. Legacy Stables is also home to Karin’s Horse Connection, which provides equine-centered therapeutic programs open to people of all ages and abilities.
A mile-long sensory trail at Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding, 20 minutes northeast of GR, is ideal for children and adults with sensory needs. Equest also offers therapeutic riding and a Horsemanship Day Camp.
Gear up for the trail with hats, boots, spurs, belt buckles, horse supplies and more from Millbrook, an equestrian store in southern GR. Los Compas Western Wear and Jackson’s English & Western Store also stock gear and clothing for cowboys and cowgirls of all ages.
You’ll feel right at home line dancing in your western attire at The BackForty Saloon and the Twisted Bull, two country bars featuring live music, dance floors and stiff drinks. The Twisted Bull also has a mechanical bull for you to test your rodeo-riding skills.
For more country music, check out the concert schedule at downtown’s Van Andel Arena, which has hosted everyone from Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton to Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney through the years. Country acts appearing at Van Andel in 2025 include Kane Brown (May 9-10), Billy Strings (May 30-31), Chris Stapleton (June 12-13), Jason Aldean (Sept. 4) and Lainey Wilson (Sept. 27).
Other music venues, including DeVos Performance Hall, GLC Live at 20 Monroe, The Intersection, Midtown and The Pyramid Scheme also regularly feature national and regional country performers.
Dine Like a Cowboy at these Classic Restaurants
One of the advantages of a cowboy vacation in Grand Rapids is that you can “rough it” during the day and live it up at night. Our wide open outdoor spaces are just minutes from our big-city excitement and amenities – including top-notch dining.
Dig in to a big ‘ol slab of beef at 25+ local steakhouses, including The Chop House in downtown GR, Bowdie’s Chophouse in East Grand Rapids and Timbers Inn Restaurant & Tavern in Belding, which also serves a selection of wild game and fresh fish.
Visit downtown GR’s Grand Woods Lounge for “drinks, grubs and grooves” in a hunting lodge-themed environment. Drop in to Butcher’s Union, a “meat & whiskey restaurant” in the Bridge Street Entertainment District, for prime steaks and a choice of 100+ whiskeys. Treat yourself to comfort-food fare at pubs like Nick Fink’s, the area’s oldest bar – it dates back to 1888 – and Mill Creek Tavern, which opened in 1890 as the North Star Saloon and Motel. They’re just steps from each other in Comstock Park, 10 minutes from downtown.
Speaking of saloons, Grand Rapids boasts plenty of modern-day equivalents of the Old West bars that catered to cowboys. Wet your whistle at one of the city’s 70+ breweries, distilleries, cideries, meaderies and coffee roasters, and find out why USA Today named Grand Rapids both “America’s Best Beer City” and the “Craft Beverage Capital of the World.” Download the Beer City Brewsader® app before you head out – use it to check in to eight local breweries and you’ll get a free t-shirt in addition to enjoying some world-class libations.
Explore the Grand Frontier
A key factor fueling the cowboy travel trend is a demand for off-the-beaten track and rural destinations that allow visitors to escape from city life and get in touch with nature. Grand Rapids answers the call with a frontier of land and water trails stretching for hundreds of miles. From a downtown riverwalk, to a section of the 4,800-mile North Country Trail , to the vast waters of Lake Michigan, you can disconnect from the hustle and bustle and explore the Grand Outdoors to your heart’s content.
Grand Rapids is also a great place to get in touch with the land that nurtures and sustains us. We may not be driving cattle, but the city is surrounded by dozens of family farms that grow an astonishing variety of crops, and many also raise livestock. Visit local farm markets for fresh-picked or u-pick produce and a glimpse of working farm operations, especially during fall harvest time. Shop Heffron Farms Market and Rakowski Family Market, just 5-10 minutes from downtown, anytime for a variety of locally pastured meats, eggs and more.
Peaches Bed & Breakfast offers a comfortable, historic stay in Grand Rapids' Heritage Hill district.
Photo by Holly Kell for Experience GR
Rustic Places to Stay
Gather around a campfire and sleep under the stars at a dozen or so campgrounds within 30 minutes of downtown. Check in to Lowell’s River Edge Bed and Breakfast, an 1880s farmhouse 35 minutes from downtown, to enjoy 109 acres of secluded forest, meadow and riverfront all to yourself.
Enjoy modern conveniences while immersing yourself in local history at the Leonard at Logan House Bed & Breakfast and Peaches Bed & Breakfast in Heritage Hill, an urban historic district adjacent to downtown. These grand mansions might give you an idea of how oil barons lived in the Old West.
This ain’t Texas, to borrow a lyric from Beyoncé. But if you’re looking for a Midwest destination that combines abundant outdoor recreation and a touch of cowboy flair with exceptional convenience and affordability, giddyup and get yourself to Grand Rapids!