Ann Arbor is expensive until you realize how much of it is free. The best museum in the city? Free. The arboretum with the peony garden? Free. A month of outdoor concerts and movies? Free. The farmers market, the river, the street art, the campus architecture – all free, all summer, all worth your time.
Here’s everything that costs exactly zero dollars and fills up a summer in Ann Arbor.
Nichols Arboretum (The Arb)
University of Michigan Nichols Arboretum is 123 acres of rolling hills, forested trails, river overlooks, and one of the best peony gardens in the Midwest. The peonies bloom from late May through mid-June – hundreds of varieties in a semicircle overlooking the Huron River. It’s genuinely stunning, and it’s genuinely free.
Beyond peony season, the Arb is open sunrise to sunset year-round. The trails range from flat riverside walks to steeper climbs that give you panoramic views of the river valley. Enter from the Geddes Road entrance near the hospital or from Washington Heights off Washtenaw.
Bring water. There’s more elevation change than you’d expect.
Argo Cascades
The Argo Cascades are a series of nine small rapids on the Huron River, and riding them in a tube or kayak is the most fun you can have in Ann Arbor for the price of a rental (roughly $10-15, but floating on your own tube is free if you’ve got one). The cascades themselves are free to access and free to watch – plenty of people just sit on the rocks and enjoy the spectacle of other people getting wet.
Argo Park and the surrounding nature area are free to walk, bike, or picnic in. The river through here is calm above and below the cascades, and the whole stretch connects to the Border to Border Trail.
Ann Arbor Summer Festival – Top of the Park
The Ann Arbor Summer Festival runs daily from mid-June through late June, and the outdoor Top of the Park concerts on Ingalls Mall are the centerpiece. Live music, outdoor movies, kids activities, food vendors, and the particular energy of a few thousand people enjoying a Michigan summer evening on a university campus.
Top of the Park is free. They suggest a $10 donation per visit, but nobody checks and nobody judges. The programming covers jazz, folk, rock, world music, comedy, and films. Check the daily schedule – some nights are better than others, but most are worth showing up for.
University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA)
The University of Michigan Museum of Art is free, always. The permanent collection includes works spanning centuries and continents – European paintings, Asian ceramics, African sculpture, contemporary installations. The building itself is beautiful, with natural light and clean sightlines.
UMMA is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 AM to 5 PM and Sunday noon to 5 PM. The rotating exhibitions keep it interesting even if you’ve been before. This is a legitimate art museum that happens to charge nothing.
525 South State Street, by the Diag.
University of Michigan Museum of Natural History
The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History moved into a new space in the Biological Sciences Building a few years ago, and the upgrade is significant. Dinosaur skeletons, a planetarium, interactive exhibits, and a mastodon. All free.
This museum is especially good with kids, but it holds up for adults too. The planetarium shows have a small fee, but everything else in the museum is open to all.
1105 North University Avenue.
Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley stretches from East Liberty to East Washington, and it’s one of the most photographed spots in Ann Arbor. The murals change constantly – what you see today will be different in a month. The art ranges from political statements to abstract color explosions to detailed portraits.
Go during the day for the best light. The alley is narrow, so wide-angle helps if you’re shooting photos. It’s a 30-second detour from the main downtown shopping streets, and it’s completely free.
Kerrytown Farmers Market
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market runs Saturdays year-round and Wednesdays through the warmer months, and walking through it costs nothing. The people-watching alone is worth the trip – dogs, strollers, professors in sandals, teenagers eating crepes.
The market sits in the Kerrytown Market & Shops district, which is its own little neighborhood of independent food shops, restaurants, and specialty stores. You can browse for free. Whether you leave without buying anything is between you and the cheese vendor.
Gallup Park
Gallup Park is Ann Arbor’s riverside playground – walking paths, picnic areas, a canoe and kayak livery, and enough open green space to throw a frisbee without hitting anyone. The park sits along the Huron River and connects to the Border to Border Trail in both directions.
Free to enter, free to walk, free to lie on the grass and stare at the sky. Tube rentals and boat rentals cost money, but the park itself is always open and always free.
The Diag and Campus Architecture
The Diag is the central gathering space on the University of Michigan campus, and walking through it connects you to some of the most impressive architecture in the state. The Law Quadrangle looks like it was lifted from Oxford – Gothic stone archways, a courtyard with a reading room visible through leaded glass windows. Free to walk through and admire.
The Wave Field on North Campus is a Maya Lin sculpture – yes, the same artist who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It’s a lawn shaped into rolling waves, and it’s the kind of thing you have to see in person to appreciate. Free, always.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Matthaei Botanical Gardens charges for the indoor conservatory, but the outdoor gardens and trails are free. The property covers acres of native plantings, a gateway garden, and trails through wetlands and woods. The Matthaei trail system connects to a network of paths along the Huron River.
1800 North Dixboro Road, on the east side of town.
Bandemer Nature Area and Bird Hills
Bandemer Nature Area sits along the Huron River on the north side of town, with trails, fishing access, and views of the river that feel surprisingly remote for a city park. It connects to Barton Nature Area if you want a longer walk.
Bird Hills Nature Area is one of Ann Arbor’s best-kept secrets for a quiet hike. Forested trails, steep ravines, and almost no crowds. Enter from Newport Road or Bird Road on the west side.
Michigan Theater
The Michigan Theater is one of the most beautiful movie theaters in the country – a restored 1928 movie palace with a Barton pipe organ and a ceiling that makes you forget you came to watch a film. While the movies themselves have a ticket price, the lobby is free to walk through and gawk at. Summer programming often includes special screenings and organ concerts.
603 East Liberty Street.
Leslie Science and Nature Center
Leslie Science & Nature Center offers free outdoor trails and periodic free family programming. The center focuses on environmental education and houses native Michigan animals. The raptor enclosures are the highlight for kids – seeing a red-tailed hawk up close stays with them.
Wrapping Up
Ann Arbor in summer is one of the best free experiences in Michigan. Between the parks, museums, festivals, and river access, you could fill every weekend from June through September without spending a dollar on admission. Explore the full list of things to do on MIAnnArbor.com.
