9 Fun Activities for Rainy Days in Grand Rapids

Cinematic Adventures

Going on a cinematic adventure is the perfect way to escape a gloomy day. There is a Sunday deal that allows you to see select movies on Sundays for only $6 at Celebration! Cinemas North (includes an IMAX theater), South, and RiverTown. Movies at Celebration! Cinema Woodland are $5 and kids tickets are only $1 all day, every day. Also check out the new Studio Park location! The AMC Grand Rapids 18 theater not only lets you enjoy movies in the comfort of cozy recliner chairs, but also early risers can catch any movie before noon for around $5. Head to Wealthy Theatre in East Grand Rapids for the Meanwhile Movie Series on select Tuesday nights. During the series, Wealthy Theatre and The Meanwhile Bar team up to present a film and Michigan craft beer pairing to add a little extra enjoyment to the movie-going experience.

Skating Central

Lace up your skates and glide away at one of Grand Rapids’ ice or roller rinks. Cool down on the ice at Griff's IceHouse, the official practice facility of the Grand Rapids Griffins. The venue offers open skating hours as well as skating classes and drop-in hockey opportunities. Kentwood Ice Arena, Patterson Ice Center, and Walker Ice and Fitness Center also have open skating hours and drop-in activities. Since 1949, The Fun Spot has been the perfect spot for families, teens, and toddlers alike to roller skate.

Bowling Alleys

Spare some time on a rainy day for fun at one of the multiple bowling alleys in Grand Rapids, many of which offer specials throughout the week. Wengers Bowling Center invites bowlers to pay only $5 for two games and shoes during "Wild Wednesdays" (9:30PM – 12AM) and $1 games and $1 shoes for "Fridays After Class" (12PM – 4PM). On weeknights, Clique Lanes offers three games and shoes for $6 from 9PM until close while Westgate Bowl offers $2 per game bowling on Mondays. No matter which local bowling alleys around Grand Rapids you visit, you'll be sure to strike up some fun with friends and family.

Escape Rooms

One team. One hour. Countless puzzles.

This is the challenge that awaits at Escape Michigan and The Great Escape Room. Escape rooms give teams one hour to discover hidden clues and solve puzzles in order to win their freedom.  Escape Michigan challenges you to find the antidote to the zombie apocalypse in the Viral Outbreak Laboratory or channel your inner 007 to stop a renegade spy in the Secret Agent Apartment. Think you can outsmart the greatest detective in literary history? Dust off your deerstalker hat and try to break free from Sherlock Holmes’ library or Professor Moriarty’s Gameroom at The Great Escape Room.  

Museums and more

Why be bored on a rainy day when you can dig for fossils, visit dinosaur habitats, examine creatures of light, journey into space, or explore artwork by local and national artists? Grand Rapids has no shortage of museums and galleries to keep people of all ages engaged, curious, and entertained year-round, rain or shine. Here is a list of current and upcoming exhibits:

• Grand Rapids Art Museum: Billy Mayer: The Shape of Things (through February 20), David Wiesner & The Art of Wordless Storytelling (through January 12)
• Grand Rapids Public Museum: Newcomers: The People of This Place, Bodies Revealed (opening November 16)
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Extraordinary Circumstances: The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (through November 3)
• Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts: SPECTRA (through December 20), Kennedy Yanko: Before Words (through January 26)
• Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture (through January 6)
• Grand Rapids Children's Museum: Amazing Dinos, Little GR, The Live Hive

Bounce off the walls

A rainy day is the perfect chance to race through inflatable obstacle courses, jump into giant foam pits, or play dodgeball on trampolines. Rebounderz, Airtime, and Sky Zone all offer exciting activities for all ages. Jester's Court, West Michigan's largest indoor child entertainment center, offers inflatable slides, obstacle courses, interactive games, and much more for your little ones.

Chill at a coffee shop

Another perfect rainy-day activity? Duck into one of Grand Rapids' local coffee shops and sip your favorite cup of joe as you wait for the storm to pass. Places like Madcap Coffee, Ferris Coffee, Rise Bakery and Squibb Coffee, the Lantern, the Bitter End Coffeehouse, or Mayan Buzz Cafe boast cozy chairs and large windows for watching raindrops fall or when you need to warm up on a brisk day.

Brewery Tours

Find out why Grand Rapids earned the title of Beer City, USA by visiting some of the city's award-winning breweries on a guided tour. Grand Rapids Beer Tours provides various public and private tours, each including rides to the breweries, samples of craft beer, a food break at one of the breweries, and meet-and-greets with local brewers. Grand Rapids Beer Tours boasts six different tour experiences that visit varying combinations of over 18 breweries, including Founders Brewing Co., Brewery Vivant, Rockford Brewing Company, Grand Rapids Brewing Company, and Perrin Brewing Company.

Before your tour begins, swing by the Welcome Center at the Grand Rapids Art Museum to pick up your free Beer City Brewsaders® passport. Collect eight stamps at any of the 40+ participating breweries and you'll receive an exclusive Brewsader® t-shirt to commemorate your escapades. Visit over 40 breweries to become an ultimate Brewsader®, which earns you exclusive deals and discounts.

Walk the Skywalk

Imagine this scenario: you've got tickets to see a Broadway Grand Rapids show at DeVos Performance Hall and want to grab a bite to eat beforehand. But, it's torrentially downpouring outside and you're parked too far away from the venue to avoid getting soaked. You can avoid the rain completely with the Grand Rapids skywalk that stretches nearly a mile long to reach various city hot spots. Stops along the skywalk include DeVos Place Convention Center and DeVos Performance Hall, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, JW Marriott, Downtown Courtyard by Marriott, and Van Andel Arena. You can access the skywalk through any of these venues as well as the stairwell at the intersection of Fulton Street and Monroe Avenue near The B.O.B.