Where to Stay in Saugatuck? 8 Amazing Areas
- Updated: 10/29/2024
- Janice
Planning a visit to Saugatuck, Michigan—and looking for where to stay? This article can help! We have visited Saugatuck repeatedly over the years on weekend getaways from our home in Chicago and have stayed in town and nearby neighboring communities. To help you find your perfect place, I break down the top eight areas to search for lodging, share links to recommended accommodation, and detail four things you should know before you go.
Table Of Contents
For families visiting Saugatuck, find my list of specific lodging recommendations welcoming to kids, and in some cases, pets too, in this article.
About Saugatuck: Getting Oriented
Saugatuck is an attractive, welcoming, and cultured river town on the west coast of Michigan—approximately a three-hour drive from Chicago and Detroit.
Curious about flying or taking the train to get to Saugatuck? Check out this section of my article, covering the best fall family things to do in town.
Surrounded by water on three sides, Saugatuck offers exceptional restaurants, shopping, and activities that appeal to visitors including artists, foodies, boating enthusiasts, adult travelers, and families. Most in-town locations are walkable within 20 minutes or far less. Though, some routes east of Butler Street include hills, which may be helpful to know for those with limited mobility.
The Kalamazoo River curves around the north and west sections of town, while Kalamazoo Lake—which the river feeds into—rounds out its south. And to the east, the Blue Star Highway, a 42-mile byway paralleling the coast of Lake Michigan, contains the town proper.
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Although you cannot see nearby Lake Michigan from the town of Saugatuck, you can get to it in a short 10-minute drive around Lake Kalamazoo. Cross the residential and dune headland to the west to gain access to the lake via the award-winning Oval Beach or quieter, smaller, and ideal for sunset-watching, Douglas Beach Park.
Why do we love Saugatuck, MI, and return every fall? Check out why here.
4 Things to Know Before Booking a Saugatuck Stay
1. Minimum Night Requirements
If you are traveling to Saugatuck during the summer high season, your accommodation—especially if it is a short-term rental—may require a seven-night stay. Though, in the fall, this requirement may shrink to two or three-nights or drop altogether—one of several reasons we like to visit this time of year instead.
2. Lodging (In)Affordability
Staying in Saugatuck can beexpensive. However, by employing some patient searching and planning, or flexibility on location, you can find an affordable place to stay for your group. And when I mean “affordable,” I am strictly speaking to properties costing under $300 per night for a family or four+. On the lowest end of affordability, expect to pay a minimum of at least $150 per night.
See my recommendations for several affordable family lodging options in this article detailing family-friendly places to stay in and around Saugatuck.
3. Where to Park in Town
When your Saugatuck accommodation is not within walking or biking distance of town, you will want to drive to the restaurants and businesses you want to visit. This means you will need to find a space to park your car. During our fall Saugatuck visits, we can typically find a parking spot quickly along Saugatuck’s Water Street, adjacent to the Kalamazoo River. However, expect more traffic and hassle for spaces during the summer high season.
4. No Children, Please
This tip is especially for parents. Walk down nearly any street in Saugatuck, and you may see a stately inn or lodge, like the pretty Wickwood Inn, with outdoor verandas and pastel hydrangeas. These Saugatuck B&Bs may look like the perfect place for a weekend escape. However, for adults with kids—do not get your hearts set on staying at them. Although many of these inns and resorts refreshingly welcome people of all types and stripes, they do not want your children.
Check the policies of any inn or resort you may want to book a stay. A quick search may show you that it is an adult-only establishment. Or if children are permitted, they must be 12+, or possibly even older.
And if you do not see a “Child” option drop down in the reservation section of the inn website to indicate the number of children traveling with you, then this is a solid indication kids are not allowed. And that you should bump this property to your wish-I-could-stay-here back burner until you can get a babysitter and return to town without the kids.
8 Areas to Search for Saugatuck Lodging
Find an overview of eight communities in or around Saugatuck that you may want to consider exploring, particularly if you find in-town lodging pricey or availability scarce, when looking for Airbnbs, VRBOs, Bed & Breakfasts, hotels, or motels to book for your visit.
The areas include:
Town of Saugatuck
Without a doubt, finding a place to stay within the core of Saugatuck—between the Kalamazoo River to the west and the Blue Star Highway to the east and Kalamazoo Lake and North Street/134th Avenue—is the most desirable.
And the most pricey. The closer you stay to the commercial hub of Butler Street or the water—either on Kalamazoo Lake or River—the greater the premium you can expect to pay, depending on the property, for your proximity to shops, galleries, and restaurants, or your view. Most locations within this zone are walkable within twenty minutes or far less.
However, before you get sticker shock on rates for these areas of town, know good deals still abound. Over the years, we found our Saugatuck lodging sweet spot to be the northeast end of town, where we can book affordable rental accommodation within close walking distance to (less than five minutes) The Southerner, one of our favorite restaurants, and to town (10 or 15-minutes).
Expect to find a mix of rentals and independent bed and breakfasts, inns, resorts, and motels in Saugatuck in your searches for lodging options. And for visitors looking for the most affordable pricing, direct your search east of the Blue Star Highway. On this side of town, you will find several motels, motor lodge-style inns, and a limited number of rentals. Although you forgo walkability staying on this side of the two-lane byway, the amount of money you save on your lodging could be worth it.
See my Saugatuck lodging recommendations here. Or search for more Saugatuck options on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb.
West Saugatuck/Peninsula
Distance from Saugatuck commercial center: seven to 10-minute drive. In summer, travel via hand-cranked passenger ferry across the Kalamazoo River.
The borders of the town of Saugatuck include the parcel of land I describe in the section above and the area sandwiched directly west of the Kalamazoo River and east of Lake Michigan. For easy reference, I will call this second section of town West Saugatuck. I circled it in orange in the map above.
Here you will find a handful of boutique-style motel lodging options and more rentals—including several pricier ones with higher-end finishes or larger homes that can accommodate big groups. The price premium on this side of town is due to the closeness to Lake Michigan and the beaches—such as Oval Beach or Douglas Beach Park—which are big draws for vacationers.
The one major drawback with staying in West Saugatuck is that to get to the commercial area of town, you must drive approximately 10-minutes around Kalamazoo Lake. That is unless you visit during the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day when you can skip the drive and catch a ride across the Kalamazoo River on the passenger-only Saugatuck Chain Ferry. It is a hand-cranked ferry, and the last of its kind in the U.S. and in operation since 1857, for $3 per passenger fare. Expect to find home rentals and a small collection of resort-style motels in West Saugatuck.
See my West Saugatuck lodging recommendations here. Or search for more options on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb.
Douglas
Distance from Saugatuck commercial center: three to eight-minute drive.
Lodging in the next-door town of Douglas, which spans both sides of the Blue Star Highway, could mean staying either in its commercial hub east of the highway and on the shores of Kalamazoo Lake or west of it—and possibly within walking distance to Lake Michigan. Like West Saugatuck, you will find the rentals and inns on the west side of the Blue Star Highway to cost more due to being closer to Lake Michigan and its beaches.
If you do happen to rent west of the Blue Star Highway, be sure to admire the spectacular sprawling mansions on Lake Shore Drive complete with stunning Lake Michigan views. Or be within walking distance of this beautiful coastline by focusing your search for a place to stay a block or two behind it. We stayed in this area (see it circled on the map below) on a recent trip and loved it.
See my Douglas lodging recommendations here. Or search for more Douglas options on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb.
Goshorn Lake
Distance from Saugatuck commercial center: four to seven-minute drive.
Another Saugatuck rental spot to consider is north of town, off Holland Street, and around Goshorn Lake. This area, which has easy access to the Beeline biking trail, got on my radar for its luxe log cabin-in-the-woods rentals. I have always had a soft spot for this rustic style, so one year, even though the nightly rate was on our high end, we decided to rent one.
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If you choose to look here, know not every home has water access to Goshorn Lake—ours did not. Though for those rentals that do, you will get a view and water access for a lower price than for similar houses on Lake Michigan, and you will still be able to ride a bike or drive to town in minutes.
See my Goshorn Lake lodging recommendations here. Or search for more Goshorn Lake lodging on the Saugatuck results pages of Booking.com (move your map results to focus on the area north of town and around the lake), VRBO, or Airbnb.
Fennville & Hutchins Lake
Distance from Saugatuck commercial center: 12 to 18-minute drive.
If you love being on the water, but do not appreciate the high prices that come with renting a place with dock access and a view, consider expanding your search south and east of Saugatuck to check out the area around Hutchins Lake, next to Fennville. Although the rentals here are not bargain-basement priced, expect to find more value for your lodging money, especially given the large home sizes and excellent access to nearby local favorites, Virtue Cider and Crane Orchards.
When considering this area, also search the town of Fennville and the area extending west to Lake Michigan. Barring a few exceptions, you may not be on the water as you would be with a Hutchins Lake property. Though, you will enjoy the same benefits of a great location and be close to much loved Fennville eateries like Salt of the Earth. Plus, Saugatuck will be an easy drive away.
See my Fennville & Hutchins Lake lodging recommendations here. Or search for more Fennville area lodging, that includes Hutchins Lake, on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb.
Holland & South Haven
Distance from Saugatuck commercial center: 16 to 36-minute drive.
When planning a Saugatuck trip, especially on short notice, you may find your available rental, hotel, and motel options, particularly those at reasonable prices, extremely limited. If this is the case, consider expanding your accommodation search to include the towns of Holland and South Haven, respectively, north and south of Saugatuck. And, in most cases, no more than a 20 or 25-minute drive away.
Given its larger size, you may have more lodging luck in the atmospheric town of Holland, which hugs the southern, eastern, and northern shores of Lake Macatawa, and nudges up next to Lake Michigan. Here you will find several well-known chain hotels and motels that are likely to have more availability. These properties may even offer complimentary breakfasts, and could be only be a 20-minute drive to Saugatuck if on the south end of town. Plus, if you stay in Holland, you will have two terrific Michigan coastal towns to explore.
Or direct your search south of Saugatuck to South Haven, which sits directly on the shores of Lake Michigan. At 3.5 square miles, this coastal town with a population of 4,000 full-time residents, gives you that small town I-can-walk-everywhere feel. Expect to find a mix of rentals and inns and some recognizable hotel and motel chains here.
See my Holland & South Haven lodging recommendations here. Or search for more Holland options on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb. Or in South Haven, also on Booking.com, VRBO, or Airbnb.
Related Reading
For families traveling to Saugatuck, Michigan, and the US Midwest, check out these related articles to help you get the information you need to plan your best trip.
- 31 Things to Do in Saugatuck, MI, You Will Love
- Meals to Love in Saugatuck, MI: 10 Best Restaurants
- The Best Places to Stay in Saugatuck for Families
- Fall Trip: 10 Wonderful Family Things to Do in Saugatuck
- Oval Beach in the Fall: Your Complete Guide
- Saugatuck Dunes State Park: What You Need to Know
- Douglas Beach Park, MI: Everything You Need to Know
- Hiking Mt. Baldhead in Saugatuck, MI: What You Need to Know
- Saugatuck, MI Best Walks: Crow’s Nest Trail
- Your Family Will Love These 30 Road Trips Near Chicago
Or view this Michigan book list, including guidebooks, biographies, histories, and fiction set in place—that covers the Mitten State on Bookshop.org.
Additional Trip Planning Resources
To further help you with travel planning, I share my go-to resources for every trip below.
Google Flights. My first research stop for affordable flights for every trip. Learn why here.
Google Hotels. Use its “Where to stay” button to discover the best neighborhoods to base your visit.
Booking.com. For hotel and rental bookings, I appreciate its flexible cancellation, candid user reviews, discounts, loyalty program, and easy-to-use interface.
Viator, Get Your Guide, & Airbnb Experiences. Quickly find and book highly-rated tours and activities on these sites.
Google Travel Things to Do & Google Maps. Find more things to do in your destination on Google Travel, then record where you want to visit on a custom Google Maps list.
AllTrails. Love to hike? Me too. I religiously use AllTrails to discover hiking and biking trails and download its offline maps to manage my hikes.
Guide Along. 5-star self-guided audio tours that are GPS-compatible for US road trips and national parks. We loved the Glacier National Park tour.
Insure My Trip. I never travel internationally without trip insurance. Learn why here. My preferred place to shop and compare policies is InsureMyTrip.com.
Plus, check out the 15 travel apps I use on trips, my preferred guidebooks, and my free customizable travel itinerary template, downloadable in four file formats.
About the author: Janice Moskoff is a travel writer and blogger who loves hiking, exploring the world, and reading. She writes to inspire travel-loving families, adult friends, and couples on her blog, Gather and Go Travel. After attending the University of Michigan undergraduate business school and following a career in retail strategy and event management, she returned to focus on her first love—travel. Read her bio, learn how she became a blogger, and discover how to work with her. Sign up for her monthly Discovery Newsletter for travel recs and how-to’s. Or follow her on social media (@gatherandgotravel).
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Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend products and companies I use. And the income goes to keeping the site community-supported and ads minimal.
Welcome to Gather and Go Travel, a blog inspiring families, adult friends, and couples to explore US and international destinations and to get outdoors. I am Janice, a world traveler to 50+ countries, a travel writer/blogger, and a book lover. Learn more about me, read our story, and how to work with me. Get my latest updates, how-tos, and trip ideas in my monthly Discovery Newsletter.
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