Mike and Sarah Melcher celebrate 25 years of Captain Mike’s Fun Park

BRIDGMAN — “We’re family-oriented, and we cater to young families,” said Mike Melcher, who has been running Captain Mike’s Fun Park with his wife Sarah for the last 24 years. “This will be our 25th season.”

“It’s a place for all ages to have fun,” added Sarah. “All seven of my grandchildren have worked here over the years. There’s always a family member present at the park.”

In fact, on opening day, May 24, Mike and Sarah were joined by three of those grandchildren—Mikey, Perry and Alex.

Remembering the fun they had growing up at the Silver Beach and House of David amusement parks, the Stevensville natives opened the fun park to provide that same sort of experience for newer generations of residents and tourists.

“We started it from scratch, my husband and I did,” recalled Sarah. “We’ve been very happy. We’ve seen children grow up.”

Captain Mike’s Fun Park took its name from Mike and Sarah’s other passion—sailing.

“Ever since we’ve been married, we’ve loved sailing, and we’ve had all different size sailboats,” Mike explained. “We wanted a theme, so we decided that a nautical theme would fit in this area. The lake is right across the highway and Warren Dunes is just down the road.”

In keeping with that theme, the park includes a mini golf course decorated with a lighthouse and several freshly-painted, salvaged boats. Flowers from Barbott Farms beautify the landscape as well.

Besides mini golf, the fun park also offers go-karts, junior go-karts for kids ages 5 to 10 and bumper cars.

“The big draw is the go-karts,” Sarah pointed out.

Perfect for warmer summer days, a water-fun area includes bumper boats, which can be piloted by children as young as seven years old, and “Water Wars,” a game that involves launching water balloons at an opponent.

“We have a lot of repeat customers who come just for that,” Mike said. “They show up in their bathing suits. People love it on hot days!”

A well-stocked game room, two “jump-shot basketball” games and batting cages round out the list of attractions.

While Mike and Sarah estimate that about 75 percent of their business comes from tourists, they also offer packages for birthday parties and other group outings that would appeal to area residents.

Furthermore, since there are no admission or parking fees, visitors can stop in for just one round of golf or a go-kart race, or they can spend the whole day there.

“We have a picnic area, and they can bring their lunch in, or they can get food at our snack bar. We have hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, ice cream and ‘Snowies’—those are our snow cones,” Sarah said.

Located at 10975 Red Arrow Hwy., Captain Mike’s Fun Park can be reached at (269) 465-5747. They also have a website at www.captainmikesamusementpark.com.

The park is now open on weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. After June 9, they will be open daily during those same hours. Then, after July 4, the hours on Mondays through Saturdays will be extended to 7 p.m. On Sundays, the park will close at 5 p.m.

“We have a lot of repeat visitors, and they always remark on how clean it is here,” Sarah said. “That’s my thing. It has to be clean. It’s a safe environment, too. People can feel safe bringing their kids to have fun here.”