Bay City welcomes visitors with many antique and specialty shops and fine restaurants and pubs that thrive in renovated 19th century buildings oozing with ambiance.

The Riverwalk is a scenic path that provides public access to the Saginaw River. The path is paved to encourage use by cyclists and roller-bladers. The pathway travels through Veterans Memorial Park, Kantzler Arboretum, Fitness Park and along the riverfront. A pier with a large gazebo extends into the Saginaw River.

Bay City State Recreation Area has one of the largest remaining freshwater, coastal wetlands on the Great Lakes, the Tobico Marsh. More than a thousand feet of sandy beach and over 2,000 acres of wetland woods, wet meadows, cattail marshlands and oak savannah prairies make it an ideal staging area for migratory birds.