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Inside the Grand Haven Area

To feel like a Grand Haven insider — even if you’re an official out-of-towner — one must read the news, views and reviews from area locales and tell-alls. Most love to share their thoughts on the best fishing holes, bike trails, beach hideaways and kiteboarding tricks.

Scroll through suggestions and observations from area business owners, restaurateurs and resident beachgoers, bikers and outdoor enthusiasts about where to go and what to do while in the Grand Haven Area.

Fishing

Captain Willis Kerridge

Thunderduck Charters

Captain Willis has been charter fishing for over 40 years and is the owner of Thunderduck Sportfishing Charters. While Willis has fished many ports along Lake Michigan, his homeport is Grand Haven.

Having fished the Great Lakes for over 40 years, Captain Willis has won over 25 fishing tournaments and has plenty of knowledge on salmon fishing. He shares his fishing knowledge with the fishing community as a member of the Grand Haven Charter Boat Association, Lake Michigan Task Force, and the Michigan Charter Boat Association. Captain Willis has served as a planning committee member of the Grand Haven Salmon Festival since its inception in 2003, volunteers with the local American Legion, and is a past board member of the Grand Haven Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

When not out on the big lake, you can find Willis at Fish On Bait & Tackle in Nunica where he is a co-owner. You can stop by to stock up on your gear & bait, ask him about the local hot spots for panfish, and meet his two yellow labs – Toebe & Gabbie.

Be sure to catch Captain Willis on 92.1FM WGHN’s daily fishing report during the Spring & Summer!

Likes: Tournament Fishing, Duck Hunting, Deer Hunting

Favorite Things to Do: Grand Haven Salmon Festival , Volunteer at the American Legion

Boarding

Tucker Vantol

MACkite Board Sports Center

Tucker has lived in the Grand Haven area for most of his life. Participating in the local action sports community for over 20 years has allowed him the privilege of being involved with the Surfrider Foundation, Skatepark Avocation, Mulligan’s Hollow Freestyle Club, and the Grand Haven Schools Outdoor Education. Tucker works at the MACkite Board Sports Center on Grand Haven’s East side, specializing in kiteboard sales, lessons, and logistics. When he is not working hard or riding boards, he spends time with his 4 kids and beautiful wife who also grew up in Grand Haven.

Likes: Wakeboarding, Surfing, Snowboarding, Kiteboarding

Favorite Things to Do: Seasonal events including the Farmer's Market, Artwalk, Salmon Festival, and Winterfest, Breakfast at Stanz Cafe , Hanging out in Grand Haven's Eastown, Wakeboarding at Placid Wake Park in Allendale

Biking

Tim Meyer & Matt Meyer

Rock 'n' Road Cycle

Tim has been at Rock ‘n’ Road Cycle in Grand Haven since 1985. His son Matt was born two years later, and has spent “most of his life” working at the store. While Tim grew up on road bikes and doing a poor job of racing, Matt took to mountain bikes in addition to road and has arguably been more successful in competition. Both work at Rock ‘n’ Road and do much of the repair work. Combined, they’ve been High Mileage Father/Son at National 24 Hour Challenge, and another time with two-thirds of High Mileage Family.

Likes: Matt's Likes: Photography, Mac & Cheese, Listening to Kenny Chesney, Drinking Red Bull, and Skiing.

Favorite Things to Do: Riding on the multi-use trail around Spring Lake and combining that with the new North Bank Trail, Going off-road at Bass River Recreation Area, Riding on Lakeshore Drive between Grand Haven & Holland State Park

Traveling With Dogs

Tonya Christiansen

Owner, Must Love Dogs Boutique & Spa

As the owner of Must Love Dogs in downtown Grand Haven, Tonya has worked closely with the City of Grand Haven to create city dog parks through fundraising and planning. She currently serves on the board of Parks & Recreation for the City of Grand Haven. Tonya appears regularly on FOX 17 and WZZM 13 and educates viewers on proper dog nutrition and training techniques. She is also the past president of the Muskegon Lakeshore Obedience Training Club, past vice president and secretary of the Greater Muskegon Kennel Club, and active in Sighthound Rescue. Tonya loves that the Grand Haven area is very dog friendly place to visit including the dog friendly lodging options, off-leash dog parks, on-leash parks, and dog friendly areas of the beach.

Likes: Her dogs - Hudson, Pumpkin and Elly

Favorite Things to Do: Dining at the many local restaurants , Hiking with her dogs in area parks, Walking the waterfront with her dogs

Weddings

Cassie Celestin

White Dress Events

Cassie Celestin is the owner and Creative Director of White Dress Events, a wedding planning boutique in Grand Haven. She has planned, coordinated and designed numerous weddings on the shores of Lake Michigan and beyond. Her knowledge of the wonderful resources in the area has made her the go-to expert for couples who choose West Michigan as the location for their wedding. Weddings are her passion and it is her joy to help plan the perfect day for every bride and groom!

Likes: Reading, Movies, Trying New Foods, Scouring shops and boutiques for the perfect items to decorate my home & studio

Favorite Things to Do: Spend the day at the beach, Walk the boardwalk, Spending time browsing the many one of a kind shops - especially the bookstores!

Bird Watching

Chip Francke

Interpretive Naturalist; Retired

Chip is a recently-retired interpretive naturalist who most recently worked at the Ottawa County Parks Nature Education Center. He has led hundreds of bird walks and bird programs and has also led numerous birding trips throughout the Great Lakes region as well as to Maine, Florida, Churchill, and Arizona. Chip is currently writing a book on Birds of Ottawa County expected to be printed in spring 2015.

Likes: Watching sports, Classic Rock, Motown, and Blues music, Playing guitar

Favorite Things to Do: Visit the Ottawa County Parks Nature Education Center, Ride the area bike trails, Walk the Grand Haven Pier and beach

Geocaching

Bill Morehouse

Local Geocacher

Bill and his family have lived in the Grand Haven area since 1992 where he has been geocaching since 2009. So far Bill has geocached in 8 states as well as Canada where he has logged over 5,700 caches on Geocaching.com

Bill assisted the Grand Haven Area Convention & Visitors Bureau with the creation of their very first geocaching series “The Road Less Traveled” with the help of his son Jeff in the summer of 2014. Together they helped place over 25 new caches in the area including Grand Haven, Spring Lake, West Olive, and Coopersville.

He loves that the Grand Haven area has over 1,200 hidden caches – from the very simplest finds to very difficult caches. The area has hidden caches of all varieties from traditional caches to mystery caches to wherigo caches and even a couple virtual caches.

Bill currently serves as Regional Vice President of the Michigan Geocaching Organization

Want more information about Geocaching and how to get started? Visit our Geocaching page or send Bill a message!

Likes: Bicycling, NASCAR, Country Music

Favorite Things to Do: Geocaching, Visiting Area Parks, Eating Dinner at The Stable Inn

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Inside the Grand Haven Area

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