Harbor Trolley System

My comments are regarding the 2 Harbor Trolley lines that operate during the Summer in the Spring Lake/Ferrysburg/Fruitport/Grand Haven area.

The way it is set up is that there are two trolley loops that operate. One on each side of the bridge, but both lines do pick-up and drop off at the Spring Lake Holiday Inn parking lot. So you can transfer there to continue your commute from one side of the bridge to the other.

The trolleys cover popular places on each side of the bridge
SL loop called Laker stops at North Ottawa Beach, North Ottawa Pier, Coast Guard Park, A La Mode Ice Cream and Pamona Park.
The GH loop called Bucaneer stops at Grand Haven State Park and the City Beach.

There is no cost to the riders.
The service runs all day and into the evening.

Now on paper this all looks great. You can get from Fruitport to Grand Haven beaches and it is free.

Here's the downside....it is not commuter friendly.
There is no timetable, no schedule and no driver accountability.
This is a tax payer/government funded agency. Non-profit.

Here is my story:
My group is in Fruitport and decide we want to visit the GH beach. Someone suggests we take the trolleys. We head over to Pamona Park. We ask someone there how often the trolley comes by. We're told about every hour.
We then asked did you see it when it last came by? She says it was there about 45 minutes ago when she arrived at the park. So we thought we'd only have to wait 15 minutes. Unfortunately we had to wait 40 minutes.
When we were seated in the air conditioned vehicle I asked the driver how long a loop takes, he says the SL route is about an hour. When I told him we thought we were there more than an hour, he explained he "took a break."

I also asked is there any timetable, he casually explained...."no, it's just when we get the loop completed. Sometimes we take a break and sometimes we break off the loop, so times vary.

Okay, I'm used to public transportation in Chicago, GR and Detroit where drivers do their best to stick to a timetable. Not here apparently.

From the park to A La Mode, the ride was probably 10 minutes. I then asked when we will be at Holiday Inn so we could transfer to the other trolley. He said probably 30 minutes. It was at that point we decided to walk to Holiday Inn instead. It took us about 12 minutes or so to hike over the SL bridge and wait for the Grand Haven trolley.

Half hour later a trolley finally shows up. Only thing....it was the trolley we were on 30 minutes ago! We talked to our driver and he said "Grand Haven should be there shortly." Another 20 minutes goes by and the GH trolley finally shows up.

We ride it into Grand Haven, it stops at the State Park and then our destination the city beach.

Total travel and wait time: 2 hours!

We took an Uber back.

Well , two years in a row- no trolley. Very poor information via phone or website and I am soooo disappointed. We made a special trip out here because it looked like it was operational this year

We were staying in Holland and decided to drive up to Grand Haven for the day. I was hoping to find something that would entertain my little boy and stumbled upon this. It was perfect! He's in love with trolleys and trucks and trains. We parked at the Chinook Pier and saw the train. Then we hopped on the trolley. It picked us up right by the little ice cream window in that strip mall. But apparently it will pick you up anywhere along its route if you just flag it down. All tickets are under $2, so this is a super affordable activity. I think the whole ride around town was only about 20 minutes. And I think I you're welcome to ride it around more than once. Our guide/driver was the most soft spoken and funny guy. We really enjoyed hearing him speak about the history of the town and little details you'd only know as a local. I'm sure we'll be visiting Michigan again next summer and we'd gladly do this again!

We rode this in Grand Haven and cost us less than $8 for a family of four. The mini tour was cute. It took us from the lighthouse to town. We enjoyed the slow ride. It helped our younger kids to relax some. Thank you for providing this!

Trolley fare is 75 cents for 60 years and older. Same price for under 18. In between is $1.50. Kids under 2 are free.

Driver was entertaining - a little morbid, but otherwise good. Lots of puns. Worth riding once.

It really is a tour as opposed to something you would use to get around Grand Haven.

If I could rate this place a zero I would!! I've come from California to visit my parents and I've gone once on the trolley two years back and which I enjoyed as I could remember. This time around I have not only a 7 year old but a NEWBORN and we had waited about ONE HOUR ON A DAMN HOT HUMID DAY. Finally the wait was over we all assumed this female driver for the trolley pulls up and says she " informed the ice cream workers" that they are not doing anymore rides for the day due to short staff because the " other worker had called out" so when I had asked the female blonde driver on the truck for the number to complain she laughed and insisted that I was basically lying for waiting for about an hour! Maybe have the workers learn not to argue back with customers.

This is one of my favorite things to do in Grand Haven. My son (and father-in-law for that matter) also love it. The trolley (it's free!!!) goes from downtown, along the beach/state park, up into the historic neighborhoods, and back.

Somehow whenever I ride it, I get the bad pun-telling driver. He cracks me up. Maybe they all do the same routine, but I swear it's the same kid.

The bus has huge, open windows and a portion on the back where you can stand up outside, you know, like the kids on the Polar Express--whatever that's called.

It's a fun ride and a great way to either see the town and learn a little history (the Sears & Roebuck houses are interesting) or get to the beach. Lots of fun for kids and those who just enjoy a nice ride.