--- title: "Grand Rapids – what is there, and how you get there | Mixroutes" description: "Grand Rapids, United States: Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. Nearby: Diocese of Grand Rapids…" url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/grand-rapids" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/grand-rapids.md" image: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Meyer_May_House.jpg" --- City in Michigan, United States # Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. ![Grand Rapids](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Meyer_May_House.jpg) Grand Rapids · Wikimedia Commons The place Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. The city had a population of 198,917 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 201,183 in 2025. Grand Rapids is the second-most populated municipality in the state, after Detroit. It is the central city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of around 1.2 million and is the 49th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Adapted from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids%2C_Michigan), CC BY-SA 4.0. What is there ## Worth seeing in and around Grand Rapids 10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name. 1. Diocese of Grand Rapids The Diocese of Grand Rapids is a diocese of the Catholic Church in western Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Detroit. 600 m · diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Grand_Rapids) 2. Calvin University Calvin University is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition. 7.5 km · private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_University) 3. Van Andel Arena Van Andel Arena is a multi-purpose arena situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. 400 m · arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Andel_Arena) 4. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a 158-acre botanical garden, art museum, and outdoor sculpture park located in Grand Rapids Township, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1995, Meijer Gardens quickly established itself in the Midwest as a major cultural attraction jointly focused on horticulture and sculpture. 6.6 km · botanical garden and outdoor sculpture park located in Grand Rapids Township, Michigan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_Meijer_Gardens_%26_Sculpture_Park) 5. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is the presidential museum and burial place of Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, and his wife Betty Ford. It is located near the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1 km · presidential museum and library for U.S. President Gerald Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_R._Ford_Presidential_Museum) 6. Basilica of St. Adalbert The Basilica of St. Adalbert is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church and a parish church of the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. 1.9 km · church in Michigan, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St._Adalbert_(Grand_Rapids,_Michigan%29) 7. Cathedral of Saint Andrew The Cathedral of Saint Andrew is a Catholic cathedral located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. 600 m · church in Michigan, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_Andrew_(Grand_Rapids,_Michigan%29) 8. John Ball Zoo John Ball Zoo is located on the west side of the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The John Ball Zoo is situated on the ravines and bluffs along the west edge of the property. 3 km · zoo in the United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ball_Zoological_Garden) 9. Grand Rapids Art Museum The Grand Rapids Art Museum is an art museum located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, with collections ranging from Renaissance to Modern Art and special collections on 19th and 20th-century European and American art. Its holdings include notable modern art works such as Richard Diebenkorn’s 1963 Ingleside. 300 m · art museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids_Art_Museum) 10. Houseman Field Houseman Field is an 8,000-seat multipurpose stadium located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is named for former mayor and Congressman Julius Houseman and is the home of Grand Rapids Public Schools athletics and the Aquinas College Saints track teams. 1.8 km · stadium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houseman_Field) Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0. Go there ## Getting to Grand Rapids **Airports:** Gerald R. Ford (GRR), 15 km · General Mitchell (MKE), 181 km · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW), 207 km\ **Stations:** Rapid Central Station, 700 m\ - Chicago → Grand Rapids 204 km · quickest by road, 3h 34m · $23–31 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-grand-rapids) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Grand+Rapids) - Milwaukee → Grand Rapids 182 km · quickest by road, 5h 29m · $34–47 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/milwaukee-to-grand-rapids) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Milwaukee&to=Grand+Rapids) - Detroit → Grand Rapids 226 km · quickest by road, 3h 6m · $20–28 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/detroit-to-grand-rapids) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Detroit&to=Grand+Rapids) - From anywhere The planner compares every way there from wherever you are. [Plan a trip](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Grand%20Rapids) Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds. Not yet researched ## No local-transport research exists yet for Grand Rapids Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Grand Rapids. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more. The nearest places where the work is done 1. [Fire Island](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/fire-island) US 10 ways of moving, 19 sources 1,068 km 2. [Vinalhaven and the Fox Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/vinalhaven) US 9 ways of moving, 13 sources 1,361 km 3. [Bacalar](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/bacalar) MX 9 ways of moving, 41 sources 2,712 km 4. [Caye Caulker](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/caye-caulker) BZ 9 ways of moving, 42 sources 2,813 km 5. [Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/port-townsend) US 9 ways of moving, 17 sources 2,916 km If you know how people move in Grand Rapids – the stand, the rule, the fare – [tell us](https://www.mixroutes.com/report?key=blog%7Cgrand-rapids&title=Grand+Rapids&sub=Field+notes&back=%2Fnotes%2Fgrand-rapids), and the note gets an entry. Around it ## Next door to Grand Rapids - [Grand Rapids Symphony](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/grand-rapids-symphony) American community supported orchestra in Grand Rapids, Michigan 700 m - [United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/united-states-district-court-for-the-western-district-of-michigan) United States federal district court in Michigan 800 m - [Heritage Hill Historic District](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/heritage-hill-historic-district) historic district in Grand Rapids, Michigan 700 m [The place page for Grand Rapids](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/grand-rapids) [All the notes](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes) [Every note on United States](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes#c-US) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/grand-rapids, for search crawlers and AI assistants. The HTML page is the canonical copy. 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