East Lansing

Understand

East Lansing has a population over 46,000 and is a mix of college students and well-educated affluent citizens. Downtown East Lansing is a vibrant college town opposite the country's largest single university campus. The city is the cultural and educational center of Mid-Michigan. It is just east of Lansing, Michigan's capital. The Michigan State Capitol dome can be seen from East Lansing. The city offers excellent public transportation, cultural events, and parks. East Lansing's position in Mid-Michigan makes travel to the state's other major cities convenient.

Get in

By car

• East Lansing is easily accessible from Detroit and Chicago. Interstate 96 directly connects East Lansing to Detroit and Grand Rapids. US-127 to Interstate 94 connects East Lansing to Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. Interstate 69 connects East Lansing to Flint and Fort Wayne.

By bus

• Greyhound Lines serve Lansing and East Lansing, with direct connections to Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo (with transfers to Chicago). Owosso, Michigan-based Indian Trails Bus Lines provides daily service to Chicago. Michigan Flyer Motorcoach Service provides multiple daily connections to Detroit Metropolitan Airport with stops in Jackson and Ann Arbor.
• East Lansing can also be reached from the Greater Lansing Area through Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) bus routes that run throughout the capital area.

By train

• Route stopping at East Lansing:

• Blue Water operates daily between Port Huron and Chicago including stops in Flint, East Lansing, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Niles, and New Buffalo. The train reaches speed of up to 100 mph.

By plane

Capitol Region International Airport is in DeWitt Township on Grand River Avenue (Business Route 96) northwest of downtown East Lansing. Capital Region International Airport offers non-stop domestic flights to Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. Non-stop international flights are available seasonally to Cancún, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. A concierge travel center in the airport terminal offers the ability to book airline tickets, cruises, tours, car rentals, and hotel rooms. The airport is serviced by Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) bus line 14, which provides direct service to downtown Lansing.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Flint Bishop International Airport, and Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford International Airport are other nearby airports which serve the region.

Get around

By car

• East Lansing is served by a number of highways. Travel by car to any part of the city normally takes very little time. Traffic is generally light in the region. Nearly all parking downtown is paid meter or paid lot parking. While there are many parking structure, lot, and street options, parking can be difficult during MSU games and festivals.

By taxi

• Taxi service in East Lansing is very good. Taxi service is available curb side in downtown East Lansing on Albert Street. If looking for home pick-up, allow approximately 30 minutes. Though, on weekend evenings, allow additional time.

Or use an iPhone or Android app called Cabulous to track a taxi to you. Taxi Service - iCab Inc. +1 517-215-7910

By bus

• Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) provides local bus service to the Lansing-area. CATA enjoys high ridership along lines serving MSU.

By bike

• East Lansing provides many of miles of bike lanes, which make for quick commutes around the city. Bikes are also permitted on city sidewalks, which adorn nearly every street. MSU employs bike lanes and bike-specific pathways that parallel pedestrian sidewalks. Most CATA buses are equipped to carry bikes, making access to every corner of the Lansing-area accessible without a car.

On foot

• East Lansing is pedestrian friendly. Sidewalks are laid along most streets, and most intersections have some form of pedestrian crosswalks with signals. Downtown East Lansing and MSU's campus receive heavy foot traffic, especially in the warmer months. Walking is the best way to see downtown East Lansing and the MSU campus.

Learn

• The [https://law.msu.edu/ MSU College of Law] is located on the Michigan State University campus.

Go next

Located in Mid-Michigan, East Lansing provides convenient access to all of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Michigan is a wonderful state to explore in all seasons. In the summer, get out and kayak the many rivers, take a sailboat out on the thousands of lakes, or enjoy a day along the Great Lakes and the thousands of miles of sandy beaches. The fall is perfect for hiking through the woods and taking a camera to document the leaves as they change from vibrant green to golden yellow. Fall is also a time for enjoying Michigan's abundant crop of Michigan apples and Michigan sweet corn. Michigan is one of the country's largest wine growing regions. Get out and explore!

• Detroit: Visit Michigan's first state capital. 1½ hours away from Lansing is Michigan's largest city. The city is home to a metropolitan of combined statistical area of nearly 5.5 million people. Founded in 1701 as a French outpost, the city boats North America's tallest hotel, the busiest international crossing in the country, world-class museums, and all the major sports. Detroit has become a gaming center, with three major casinos and one major casino across the river in Windsor, Canada. Visitors will enjoy the sights and tastes of Greek Town and Mexican Town, which have long been staples of the Detroit restaurant scene. The city is also home to many of the best examples of art deco architecture in the world. A visit to the Detroit-area would not be complete without checking out a number of the suburban cities. Dearborn is home to the world headquarters of Ford Motor Company and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. The Collection includes the chair President Lincoln was assassinated, the car Present Kennedy was assassinated, a replica of Liberty Hall, Thomas Edison's last breath, Thomas Edison's childhood home, and the Wright Brothers bicycle shop.
• Grand Rapids: Michigan's second largest city is on the west side of the state, or as it is known locally, "the other West Coast." The city has not suffered as greatly from the decline of the auto industry as other Midwest cities, and has a modern class skyline. The city is home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library. The city has an impressive art collection and located nearby is the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, which includes a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's massive sculpture, Horse. The gardens receive over 600,000 visitors annually.
• Ann Arbor: is Michigan's academic and cultural center. The city is home to the University of Michigan, many of the State's high-tech jobs, museums, and many fine restaurants. The high population density, lively downtown, and good public transportation system, make the city one of the best in Michigan. It is also close to Detroit, providing easy access to major events in downtown Detroit.
• Traverse City is the largest city in the northern regions of Michigan's lower peninsula. Situated on the Grand Traverse Bay, the setting is idyllic and popular tourist and vacation destination for people in the Chicago and Detroit-areas. The area is the largest cherry producing area in the world, and one of the largest wine-producing regions in the country. The area has also begun growing hops to provide the growing number of local breweries. The city is comparable to smaller version of Ann Arbor.
• Mackinaw City is the northern most point of the Lower Peninsula and gateway to Michigan's rugged wilderness in the Upper Peninsula. To the west is Lake Michigan and to the east is Lake Huron. In the middle are the Straits of Mackinaw. In the center is the Mackinaw Bridge, or Mighty Mac. The bridge is one of the largest in the country and links Michigan together by a thread of steel and concrete.
• Mackinac Island is a small paradise in Lake Huron, just offshore from Mackinaw City. The historic island is protected by a stone fort built by the British to control the trade routes of the Great Lakes. Historic homes, including the governor's mansion, dot this island. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, so tourists must get around by horse, on bike, or by foot. The island is noted for its beauty, fudge, and the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel, built in 1887, still maintains the record for the largest porch in the world.