Michigan State, Central, Western and Eastern Michigan in 4 Days: An East Lansing, Mount Pleasant, Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti Drive Trip
A parent-first plan for seeing Michigan State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan from one hotel on the MSU campus in East Lansing: official tour sign-ups, visitor parking at every campus, meals between tours, things for siblings and weather by season.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
Check before you go. Tour times, sign-up rules, parking and seasonal closures change often, sometimes weekly. Every campus section below links to that school's official visit page and shows when we last checked it. Confirm there before you book or drive. College Visit Guides is not affiliated with or endorsed by any college or university. Names are used only to identify them.
The short version
Trip at a glance
Schools
Michigan State University, East Lansing · Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant · Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo · Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti
Days
4: Michigan State, then Central Michigan, then Western Michigan, then Eastern Michigan on the way to Detroit Metro Airport. Arrive the day before.
Fly into
Capital Region International Airport (LAN), about 16 minutes from the hotel, or Detroit Metro (DTW), about 89 miles away. Fly home from DTW, about 20 miles from Eastern Michigan.
Best base
The Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, on the MSU campus, about a 16-minute walk from the MSU Office of Admissions.
Car or transit
Plan on a car: the base is about 67 miles from Central Michigan, 79 from Western Michigan and 70 from Eastern Michigan by road.
Registration
All four schools take tour registration online. Central Michigan visitors must also register their car before parking.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to see four of Michigan's public universities in one trip: Michigan State in East Lansing, Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, Western Michigan in Kalamazoo and Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti.
Instead of changing hotels, you sleep at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center on the MSU campus every night and drive out on the other three days.
Why this order
Day 1: Michigan State pairs an admissions information session with a 90-minute guided walking tour, and you can walk to it from the hotel. Brody Square, MSU's largest dining hall, is across the street from the Kellogg Center.
Day 2: Central Michigan's visit starts with a brief admissions presentation, then a student-led walking tour of academic buildings and residence halls. Plan on about 2.5 hours.
Day 3: Western Michigan's weekday visits combine a 30-minute admissions presentation, a 75-minute main campus walking tour and an introduction to the academic college for your student's major.
Day 4: Eastern Michigan's tours include a meeting with an admissions representative and a 75–90 minute walking tour. DTW is about half an hour from campus.
Register your car before Central Michigan
Every vehicle must be registered online before parking at CMU. Pick "Admissions Visit" on the CMU Parking Services site and enter the voucher code from your visit confirmation email to get a free event permit.
Cars without a registered permit may be ticketed.
Tour availability varies by season.
Exterior construction at the Kellogg Center runs from Sept. 28 to about Dec. 21. The main entrance may close at times, but the parking ramp entrance stays open.
Eastern Michigan's Explore Eastern open house is on Nov. 7, 2026. Western Michigan holds its open houses in the fall.
Eastern Michigan tours go on in rain, sleet or snow. Below 15°F they shorten to five stops, and below 0°F they may be canceled.
Central Michigan has fewer dining options on campus in summer.
2. The suggested 4-day plan
Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, using addresses geocoded with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Traffic and winter weather can make them much longer. Some legs were measured in one direction only.
East Lansing is on Eastern Time and observes daylight saving time.
Arrival day: fly into Lansing or Detroit and drive to the MSU campus
LAN → Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center (219 S. Harrison Rd., East Lansing)
Driving (no traffic)
~16 min, 7.4 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive (rental car); MSU puts a taxi at about $15
DTW → Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 42 min, 89 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive, or the Michigan Flyer bus (about $30, about 2 hours)
Check-in is at 4 pm and check-out is at noon.
One parking pass for the adjacent ramp comes with each room for every registered night, valid until midnight on your departure day, with in-and-out access. Pick it up at the front desk. Extra passes are $20 a night.
Day 1: Michigan State (walk from the hotel), lunch at Brody Square, then Impression 5
Hotel → MSU Office of Admissions (426 Auditorium Rd., Room 250)
Driving (no traffic)
Walk
Walking
~16 min walk, 0.8 mi
Office of Admissions → Brody Square (241 Brody W., in Brody Hall)
Driving (no traffic)
Walk
Walking
~18 min walk, 0.9 mi
Hotel → Impression 5 Science Center (200 Museum Dr., Lansing)
Driving (no traffic)
~8 min, 3.0 mi
Walking
Drive
Your confirmation lists the program location. MSU says parking on campus is challenging and recommends arriving early; walking from the Kellogg Center avoids that.
If you skip the guided tour, pick up a self-guided tour map at the MSU Union or the Office of Admissions, or download the PDF.
Day 2: Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, then the Ziibiwing Center
Hotel → Warriner Hall, Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 15 min, 67 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
Warriner Hall → Ziibiwing Center (6650 E. Broadway, Mount Pleasant)
Driving (no traffic)
~11 min, 4.2 mi
Walking
Drive
Ziibiwing Center → hotel
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 18 min, 70 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
Register your car with CMU Parking Services before you arrive, using the voucher code in your confirmation email.
If you're running late, call Admissions at 989-774-3076. Fall Friday morning visits include lunch.
Day 3: Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, then the Kalamazoo Valley Museum
Hotel → WMU Lot 41, behind Sangren Hall (Kalamazoo)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 37 min, 79 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
Lot 41 → Admissions Welcome Center (Student Center, second floor)
Driving (no traffic)
Park and walk
Walking
Walk through Sangren Hall to Sangren Plaza and the Student Center
Sangren Hall → Kalamazoo Valley Museum (230 N. Rose St.)
Driving (no traffic)
~7 min, 2.3 mi
Walking
Drive
Kalamazoo Valley Museum → hotel
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 32 min, 79 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
From I-94, WMU's directions say to take exit 74 north onto US-131, then exit 36 at Stadium Drive.
Admissions tour guests get an electronic parking pass to print before the tour.
Day 4: Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Depot Town, then fly home from DTW
Hotel → EMU Student Center (Ypsilanti)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 23 min, 70 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
EMU Student Center → Depot Town
Driving (no traffic)
~5 min, 1.7 mi
Walking
Drive
Depot Town → DTW
Driving (no traffic)
~27 min, 20 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive
EMU Student Center → DTW
Driving (no traffic)
~29 min, 20 mi (routing estimate)
Walking
Drive, if you skip Depot Town
Check out of the Kellogg Center before you leave; check-out is at noon.
EMU asks families to bring no more than two guests per student.
The first-year visit pairs an admissions information session with a 90-minute guided walking tour led by a current student. A tour-only option skips the information session.
Office of Admissions: 426 Auditorium Road, Room 250, East Lansing, open Monday–Friday 8–5.
A self-guided tour map is available at the MSU Union (Monday–Saturday 7–6, Sunday 9–6), at Admissions, or as a PDF.
Visitor parking
From the Kellogg Center you can walk; your hotel parking pass covers the ramp next door.
If you drive, MSU recommends lot 79 south of Spartan Stadium or lot 62 on the north side of the stadium. Both allow all-day parking at about $2 an hour.
Accessible, faculty/staff and metered spaces and loading zones are enforced at all times, and MSU won't pay or refund tickets. Special events can change lot access and fees.
Getting there
About a 16-minute walk from the hotel to the Office of Admissions.
The Capital Area Multimodal Gateway on campus serves Amtrak, Greyhound, Indian Trails and CATA buses.
What to know
Spartan Stadium, the Breslin Center, Munn Ice Arena and the MSU Union are all within walking distance of the Kellogg Center.
1855 Place (550 S. Harrison Rd.) has Sparty's Market, Starbucks and the Spartan Spirit Shop.
Contact
Admissions: 517-355-8332, admis@msu.edu
Last checked Oct 26, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
Visits start with a brief admissions presentation, then a walking tour with a current student through academic buildings, residence halls and more. Plan for about 2.5 hours.
Fall Friday morning visits include lunch. On select dates you can meet with an expert in your student's academic area.
Undergraduate Admissions Office: Warriner Hall, Room 102, Mount Pleasant.
Visitor parking
Register your vehicle online before you park: choose "Admissions Visit" on the Parking Services site and enter the voucher code from your confirmation email for a free event permit.
Permits are virtual and read by license plate. Backing in or pulling through isn't allowed unless the car has a front plate.
Meters are $1 per 30 minutes, quarters only, with a two-hour limit, Monday–Friday 6 am–5 pm. Permit rules don't apply weekdays 5 pm–2 am or on weekends.
Getting there
About 1 hour 15 minutes and 67 miles from the hotel by car (no-traffic estimate).
What to know
CMU's residential dining halls and retail dining spots are open to the public.
CMU points visitors to the Ziibiwing Center, Island Park and downtown Mount Pleasant, and lists discounted hotel rates for CMU families.
Contact
Admissions: 989-774-3076, cmuadmissions@cmich.edu
Last checked Oct 26, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
Weekday visits include a 30-minute admissions presentation, a 75-minute main campus walking tour and an academic spotlight matched to the major your student picks when registering. Select Saturdays offer the presentation and tour.
The Admissions Welcome Center is inside the Student Center's second-floor main entrance, to the right of the front desk.
Students who want to tour the College of Aviation must first register for a virtual information session.
Visitor parking
Admissions tour guests get an electronic parking pass to print in advance. It's good in Lot 41 behind Sangren Hall, Lot 28 behind the Student Center or the marked spaces in the Hilltop Village garage.
Visitor meters take quarters or Parkmobile and are enforced Monday–Thursday 7–5 and Friday 7–4. A daily guest permit is $5.
Getting there
About 1 hour 37 minutes and 79 miles from the hotel by car (no-traffic estimate). Kalamazoo is about midway between Chicago and Detroit.
What to know
The Student Center's first floor has Mi Pi, Fuego Verde, ReFresh Market, Starbucks and HÔU JIA.
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum downtown is free and about 7 minutes away by car.
Every campus tour includes a meeting or presentation with an admissions representative and a 75–90 minute walking tour led by current students. Tours run Monday–Friday and on select Saturdays during the academic year.
The tour stops at the Student Center, Halle Library, one or two academic buildings, a residence hall and the Rec IM.
Bring no more than two guests per student.
Visitor parking
When you visit the Admissions Office for an official appointment, Admissions validates parking in the Student Center lot for up to three hours.
Getting there
About 1 hour 23 minutes and 70 miles from the hotel by car (no-traffic estimate), and about 29 minutes to DTW. EMU says Ann Arbor is a 10-minute drive and Detroit 45 minutes.
What to know
EMU recommends historic Depot Town, Ypsilanti's shopping and restaurant district.
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Hotel · Our pick
Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center
219 S. Harrison Rd., East Lansing
Why here
It's on the MSU campus, so day 1 is a walk, and every other tour day starts from the same room: about 67 miles to Central Michigan, 79 to Western Michigan and 70 to Eastern Michigan by road.
Parking in the adjacent ramp is included: one pass per room for every registered night, with in-and-out access, even on football weekends.
Good to know
Check-in 4 pm, check-out noon. Wi-Fi is free, the fitness center is open 24 hours, and Pack 'n Play cribs are available.
The State Room restaurant and the Kellogg Market convenience store are in the building. State Room diners get 2.5 hours of ramp validation.
Four loaner bikes with helmets are available first come, first served, April–September, weather permitting.
Front desk: 517-432-4000. Reservations: 800-875-5090.
One hotel for all four nights means no repacking. Leave enough time on day 4: Eastern Michigan is about 1 hour 23 minutes from the hotel, and DTW is another half hour.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
At Michigan State and the hotel
Eat
Brody Square
Brody Hall, 241 Brody W., East Lansing
MSU's largest dining hall, across the street from the Kellogg Center. Public all-you-care-to-eat rates are $10 for breakfast and $14 for lunch or dinner, plus tax; children 2–9 are $7.50 and under-2s eat free. Cashless: cards or mobile pay.
CMU's residential dining halls and retail dining spots are open to the public; check the dining site for what's open that day. Options are more limited in summer.
All-you-care-to-eat at the door: adults $10 for breakfast and $15 for lunch, dinner or weekend brunch; children 12 and under $9 and $12; 2 and under free with a paying adult. Card or mobile pay only, no cash.
Hands-on science museum in a riverside warehouse downtown, about 8 minutes from the hotel. Open Tuesday–Friday 9:30–4, Saturday 9:30–5 and Sunday 11:30–5; closed Mondays. Admission is $15 for everyone 2 and older; under 2 free. Parking is limited, and downtown meters are free on weekends.
A center for Anishinabe culture and lifeways that CMU recommends to visiting families. Exhibits and the gift shop are open Monday–Friday 9–4:30. Phone: 989-775-4750.
Free general admission to exhibits on all three floors, in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo. Open Tuesday–Saturday 10–4 and Sunday 12–4; closed Mondays. Children under 16 need an adult.
At Michigan State, walk from the hotel; if you drive, lots 79 and 62 by Spartan Stadium run about $2 an hour.
At Central Michigan, register your car online with the voucher code before you park.
At Western Michigan, print the electronic parking pass Admissions sends before your tour.
At Eastern Michigan, Admissions validates up to three hours in the Student Center lot.
Hotel ramp parking is included for one car per room; extra passes are $20 a night.
Tour day comfort
MSU's walking tour runs 90 minutes, and EMU's tour is about 90 minutes of walking; wear comfortable shoes.
CMU visits may go ahead in rain and uncomfortable temperatures, so dress for the weather and bring an umbrella. Pets aren't allowed inside campus buildings.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Lansing and Detroit Metro airports)
Spring: April averages about 58°F/36°F in Lansing and 59°F/39°F at Detroit Metro, with about 1.5–1.7 inches of normal April snowfall.
Summer: July averages about 83°F/61°F in Lansing and 84°F/64°F at Detroit Metro.
Fall: October averages about 61°F/41°F in Lansing and 62°F/44°F at Detroit Metro; November highs drop to 47–49°F.
Winter: January averages about 31–32°F highs and 17–19°F lows, with about 14 inches of normal January snowfall at both airports.
Parent checklist
Register for all four visits online: Michigan State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
Once your CMU visit is confirmed, register your car with CMU Parking Services using the voucher code.
Print Western Michigan's electronic parking pass before day 3.
Book the Kellogg Center for all four nights and reserve a rental car.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Western Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 26, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
