A Day in Fennville, Michigan

The great thing about our vacation to Michigan was that we took it slow and simply enjoyed where we were at. While visiting my brother in Saugatuck, we kept it local by spending an entire day in and around Fennville, which is just ten miles away, Fennville is a picturesqu artisanal farming community, with plenty to see and do. Our first stop was at Evergreen Lane  Farm and Creamery, 
well known for it's award winning goat cheese.

The store is self service with a small refrigerator with cheese samples and wrapped cheese for sale. There is a notebook with instructions on pricing and payment. Out back is the barn with the goats who are more than happy to make new friends.

After buying some cheese (fortunately we remembered to bring a cooler), we headed back the way we came, stopping at a small memorial park we saw on the way to the creamery. It turned out to be a historic marker for the site of a farm owned by Herbert Hudson. Plaques at the site describe the history of the Hudson family and identify the trees surrounding the land. The Hudson family's roots in America date back to 1640 when Daniel Hudson settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Herbert Hudson, who was born in 1861, became one of the founders of  Hudson & Thurber Company, an agricultural supply distributor, and later, manufacturing company. The site is also stop #13 on the Allegan County Heritage Trail.

Day Lilies surround the site of the original home of Herbert and Delia Hudson

We continued down 124th Avenue/MI89. On this road is Michigan State University's Trevor Nichols Agriculture Research Station, which specializes in pest management research for fruit orchards, a significant source of income for many farmers in the mid-west. Our next stop was the Gary Crane Farm, also known as "Cranes U-Pick."  We had been tasked by my brother to pick some fresh peaches. Although the U-Pick was not open, the store did have fresh peaches for sale which we added to our cooler.

It was approaching lunch-time, so we headed downtown on main street to Roof Coffee House. Most of the food is locally sourced and may even be grown on their own Fernwood Farm. The coffee was rich and the food satisfying. I nice place to eat, read a book, or work on your laptop.

Food and drink were definitely the themes of our day. Following our sandwiches for lunch, we headed back down 124th Avenue to Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant for dessert. The restaurant is located in the family's 150 year old barn, and provides that old town welcoming feel the minute you

 walk in the door. The successful restaurant, expanded it's repertoire by adding a fruit winery in 2014. We ordered a sampler of their cider to accompany our dessert.

Cranes is not the only winery in Fennville, Fenn Valley Winery boasts a 55-acre vineyard which  has been in business since 1973. It has an impressive wine-tasting room where you can sample their wide selection of award winning whites, reds, fruit and specialty wines.

As we departed Fennville, we followed the signs for river access. We had to travel quite a way, but eventually turned right at the boat launch sign which led to a nice park on the Kalamazoo River. A trail leads to a 422 foot bridge is open for pedestrian traffic only which provides a nice view of the river. It's a great spot for fishing, a picnic, or to take a stroll.

This was the perfect spot to end a near perfect day experiencing the vibrant agritourism industry in Southwest Michigan.