FARM-TO-TABLE PARADISEFARM-TO-TABLE PARADISE

All summer and fall, travelers in Northern Michigan can layer beach visits and swims with stops at every roadside farm stand in sight—particularly on Old Mission Peninsula north of Traverse City, where stands range from apple-red shacks to sleek modern buildings selling fruits and vegetables, but also flowers, gourds and firewood. At Local Yokels Farm Stand on Center Road, you can hardly find a patch of grass between the pumpkins in autumn. Trust is the name of the game at these stands too: many offer a wooden box for depositing your bills or check.

At the region’s larger farmers markets, growers arrive with armloads of asparagus and morels in spring, cherries in July, corn in August, as well as products that will travel well—maple syrups, jams, goat’s milk soups, honey. A few locations of special note: 

Cheboygan Farmers’ Market
Charlevoix Farmers Market
Old Town Emmet Farm Market
Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market
The Village at Grand Traverse
Commons Cadillac Farmers Market

While majestic vistas of Grand Traverse Bay and its proximity to the Sleeping Bear Dunes have put a fresh shine on the region’s lakeside hub, Traverse City still feels like a big small town. The 10-story Park Place Hotel remains the only “tall” building, and a jog to the top of Wayne Hill grants views of the entire city and bay. Head south a few blocks to The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a bazaar of shops and restaurants on the grounds of the former Traverse City State Hospital. Tour the old asylum—equal parts haunting and mystifying—followed by Italian at Trattoria Stella or PepeNero. Have a nightcap at Earthen Ales by the Grand Traverse Commons’ old water tower, or head downtown to The Little Fleet, where food trucks, live music and creative folks keep the parking lot buzzing.wooden box for depositing your bills or check.

Choose your path to choice Northern Michigan dining stops

Morning
BARB’S BAKERY
Northport
A doughnut kingdom. We recommend a variety pack of maple, blueberry and cinnamon twist.

Lunch
SCALAWAGS WHITEFISH & CHIPS
Mackinaw City
Fried fish and chowder by the Straits.

Dinner
FARM CLUB
Traverse City
Chic, light-filled space, co-owned by farmers.

Wildcard
LEGS INN
Cross Village
A storied throwback to summers past. Emerge from the Tunnel of Trees for kielbasa and other housemade Polish delights.

Geography and wine meet on the 45th parallel. This line—halfway between the Equator and the North Pole—runs through Italy’s Piedmont region, France’s Rhone Valley and Bordeaux and, for that matter, Oregon’s Willamette Valley pinot country. It also bisects the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas in Northern Michigan. Wine visionaries Bernie Rink (Leelanau) and Ed O’Keefe (Old Mission) planted grapes here in the 1960s and ’70s. Protected by the temperature-moderating waters, today’s Northern Michigan wine scene has blossomed and matured in recent decades.

Leelanau Peninsula
Leelanau County boast more than 20 wineries, from the Sleeping Bear loop in Glen Arbor and west of Lake Leelanau, to the northern loop near the top of Michigan’s pinky finger, to the wineries grouped close together near M-22, the scenic coastal highway between Traverse City and Suttons Bay. 

Truth be told, it all could take a few days to see. Booking a driver helps (Scenic Wine & Brew Tours takes private or small groups). Better yet, bike on a self-guided path through Suttons Bay Bikes or up the Leelanau Trail, an old railroad line converted into a paved mulituse path. A glass of sparkling at Mawby is a must (one option: a rosé called “Sex”—it’s a statement!). A citrusy pinot grigio pairs well with local whitefish, and don’t shy away from hearty reds, which are improving with each season. Others to hit: Black Star Farms, Shady Lane Cellars, Left Foot Charley.

Old Mission Peninsula 
Some viticulturists have observed that grapes are more resilient than cherries to dramatic weather fluctuations—potentially a harbinger for local agriculture. On Old Mission Peninsula, the finger of land just north of Traverse City, former apple orchards and potato farms have yielded 10 wineries and tasting rooms with stunning vistas. 

The outdoor deck at Bonobo Winery, co-owned by actors Amy Smart and Carter Oosterhouse, looks out toward west Grand Traverse Bay. Up the road at Brys, an east-facing deck looks over rows of vines. Then over at Chateau Chantal, it’s more than the wine that has a good story: the founders, Robert and Nadine Begin, were formerly a Catholic priest and a nun.