FREE Things To Do in Southeast Michigan in Winter

If the winter blues are starting to kick in, check out this list for some great FREE fun!

Paying 3 admissions {or 5 if you count my husband and I} anywhere we go adds up quickly. Visiting every cool place surrounding us just isn’t financially possible for us, so I have to carefully think through which ones we can budget for each month. Therefore, FREE things are always appealing!

Plan some fun with this list of FREE things to do in Southeast Michigan in winter. This covers the Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint and Lansing areas. Chime in with what I’m forgetting!

FREE Things To Do in Southeast Michigan in Winter

NATIONWIDE

• Check your local library for family fun programming from free crafts to family-friendly concerts.
• Visit Home Depot for a Kid’s Workshop {held once/month on Saturdays}.
• Check out a free story time/activities at Barnes & Noble.
• Go to Michaels Store for the FREE Make Break events {or $3 kid crafts}
• Visit one of our beautiful state parks for FREE with the Michigan Activity Pass or a Michigan Recreation Passport.
• Go to one of the area’s MANY free festivals

METRO DETROIT

• Visit Calder Dairy & Farm in Carleton and watch the cows milked at 4 p.m. daily.
• Visit the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit on the last Thursday of the month for free admission from 6-8 p.m.
• Schedule a visit to the Morley Candy Factory in Clinton Township for a free tour.
• Hunt for fairy doors in Northville {and duck into cute shops along the way}.
• Go to Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills on the first Friday of the month after 5 p.m.
• Walk through the Belle Isle Aquarium, Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit {free park entry with Michigan Activity Pass or the Michigan Recreation Passport – just check dates ahead of time}.
  
  

  Inside the Belle Isle Aquarium

• Check out the Old Streets of Detroit, Glancy trains and more at the Detroit Historical Museum.
• Visit the Detroit Institute of Arts for FREE if you are a resident of Macomb, Oakland or Wayne counties.
• Take the GM Renaissance Center tour in Detroit. Free tours are Monday-Friday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
• Check out the Heidelberg Project in Detroit for a unique art experience.
• Tour Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills {free admission for 4 with a Michigan Activity Pass; children 12 and under are always free}.
• Hop in the car and visit 35 of the best Detroit street art pieces.
• Visit the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills {free for 2 people with the Michigan Activity Pass}.
• Check out the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit in Detroit.

ANN ARBOR AREA

• Learn about mid-nineteenth century living at Cobblestone Farm.
• Tour the Jiffy Mix Plant in Chelsea.
• Visit the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville {free adult and child with a Michigan Activity Pass}.
• Visit the Museum of Natural History at University of Michigan
• Hunt for fairy doors in Ann Arbor
• Burn some energy at the indoor structures and soccer field inside 2|42 in Brighton or 2|42 in Ann Arbor.
  
  

  The play areas inside The Commons at 2|42 are free to access.

FLINT AREA

• Visit the Flint Institute of Arts on a Saturday for FREE admission.
• Check out the treehouse and free activities at For-Mar Nature Preserve.
• Keep an eye on the Flint Children’s Museum’s Facebook page for free days once/month.
  
  

  The adorable grocery store inside the Flint Children’s Museum. Check for free days about once each month!

LANSING AREA

• Go to a Family Day at the Broad Art Museum in East Lansing on the first Saturday of the month.
• Hike around the Harris Nature Center in Okemos.
• Look at dinosaur bones and more at the MSU Museum.
• Visit the farms at MSU in East Lansing to see farm animals.
• Learn about life “back in the day” at the Meridian Historical Village in Okemos on a Saturday.
• Take a winter hike and explore at the Fenner Nature Center in Lansing.
• Tour the state capitol in Lansing.
• Check out the Bug House at MSU for free open houses. 

What are your favorite freebies around the region? I’d love to add to this list!