I was finally able to get up North for the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan! I have never been in that part of the state and man oh man, what a beautiful weekend it was! I’m completely blown away by the sheer beauty of this peninsula and I’m so happy I was able to explore while I was up there. It was just a quick overnight trip but it was enough to make me start to consider getting property up there!
Cherry Fest was…interesting. We explored downtown first and went to Cherry Republic, American Spoon (their citrus and papaya curd has changed my life), and wandered in other little shops. Downtown is so insanely cute! We ended up getting a ton of cherry flavored products and decided to haul all the jars of delicious items back to the car before heading to the festival grounds. There were a ton of people there, of course, and if I can be honest I was a teensy bit disappointed by what they had there, as far as the fest grounds go. We arrived on Opening Day and I guess I was expecting a lot more cherry themed merchandise. What we got was mostly food stalls and carnival rides. While waiting in line for the mediocre food, we were able to see most of the air show which was kind of fun. We finally found the “market” and explored the very small amount of vendors (like 3 tables selling overpriced cherries, a couple beauty product stalls, a vinegar stand, and the longest line was for the cherry lemondae slushies) before calling it and heading out to check into our AirBnB.
While on our way out of town the Blue Angles showed up and they are always fun to see. We stopped by a lil farm stand and got to meet some chickens and get a couple more items. Where we were staying was in the back woods of the back woods and I was so excited. It was so beautiful there. So quiet and even had a stream in the back yard! I would definitely stay there again. *link to our stay below!
For dinner we headed up to Leland and wandered around the Famous Fish Town. Nothing really struck our fancy so we headed over to Suttons Bay and ended up eating at the V.I. Grill. Highly recommend. Their food and service was super top notch. The weather was finally cooling down and eating outdoors in the breeze was awesome!
The next day we woke up early and headed to the Arts and Craft Fair. This, ladies and gentlemen, was one of the best fairs I’d ever been to. There were easily hundreds of stalls and the vendors were all so sweet. The amount of creativity and craftsmanship there was mind blowing. I ended up getting so many things and honestly, I’d go back just for that part of the festival. On our way back to the car we ran into even more crowds (I blame the insanely cooler weather and car show) and a bit of traffic, but nothing we couldn’t handle.
We had decided to drive up the coast to Petosky where we would have lunch before heading back home. This was probably the best part of the weekend. We ended up stopping at Royal Farms Farm Market and listen, this is a must stop for anyone in the area. The market store is chock full of sweet little gifts and insanely yummy treats! The owner even brought fresh donuts out and ooph, they smelled and looked like a dream!
Just after that we were greeted with a beautiful roadstop where we spent a while looking for petosky stones (we didn’t get any) and admiring the beautiful scenery. I’ve seen photos of the area but truly nothing compares to experiencing it first hand. It legit looks like the Caribbean and the wind was strong enough to make some impressive white caps. I could have stayed there all day.
We grabbed a simple lunch in Petosky before heading back south to civilization. I was so happy I was able to get a taste of up north and can’t wait to return!
Have you been up around the Traverse City/Leelanau Peninsula? What is your favorite town to visit? Drop your recommendations on where I should visit next in the comments!
Links!
Airbnb: Creekside Hideaway https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23881441?source_impression_id=p3_1721073259_P3VBCMCXtHJyEisd
V.I. Grill Suttons Bay: https://www.vigrill.com/
Royal Farms Farm Market: https://www.royalfarmsinc.com/
Lake Michigan Shores Roadside Park: 9601 US-31, Charlevoix, MI 49720
Ah, it sounds like a great time, even if it was a but disappointing. You’ve got me wanting to visit Northern Michigan now!
The first day was def a lil disappointing, the second day made up for it tho! Would love to explore with you!