Western Michigan
When our original plans for the weekend fell through, Dan and I decided to explore other options. We were still eager to get away so did some brief searching online just a few days beforehand and made a last minute plan to drive out to the Saugatuck/Douglas area of Michigan for a weekend of relaxation and lots of tasting (beer, cider, wine, cheese, and pie!). Turns out that western Michigan is an awesome spot for a weekend getaway from Chicago. We wanted to write about it so that other people looking for a quick trip could get some ideas!
Highlights
-Staying at Hop & Vine Inn- Staying in downtown Saugatuck or Holland is SUPER expensive (but with the obvious advantage of being walkable to most things). We both enjoy bed and breakfasts, and Dan realized that the town of Fennville is a good alternative base for exploring the area. It’s only a ten minute drive to Saugatuck and a twenty minute drive to Holland from there. He found Hop & Vine, which ended up working out great! The owners, Dan and Amber, were super friendly and welcoming. They greeted us with a welcome glass of wine, upgraded us to a bigger room with a fireplace, and served delicious food for breakfast. They also provided us with lots of good tips on places to check out in the area. They shared that they had only bought the inn about a year ago and have done a lot of work fixing it up. In addition to the 18 rooms, there’s a fire pit, pool, and sand volleyball pit. It’s especially nice because you could go as a couple, a group of friends, or a family with children and feel very welcomed and accommodated. We would definitely return!
-Wine tour at Fenn Valley- Michigan isn’t very well known for wine, but there are a number of wineries, especially on the western side of the state. They’re more well known for sweeter wines and fruit wines, but we tasted some decent reds are well. We went on a tour through the wine making facilities, with many samples along the way.
-Cheese tasting at Evergreen Lane Creamery- We sampled about nine different kinds of goat and cow cheese at this tiny little spot in Fennville. The cheese was excellent, and the woman giving us the samples was very knowledgable. We also got to go meet the goats that live on the farm. Our hosts at the Hop & Vine said that often there will be no one working there and they just leave the cheese cooler and the cash drawer there so you can make your purchases (honor system!).
-Taste testing our way through town- Most of our Saturday consisted of trying out local brewing establishments. We started at Saugatuck Brewing Company, then did the tour at Fenn Valley Vineyards, then crossed the street over to Virtue Cider. After a brief break at our place, we headed back out to Holland and went to New Holland Brewing Company, Our Brewing Company, and Big Lake Brewing.
-Meandering around Saugatuck, Douglas, and Holland- Western Michigan is full of cute, small towns with fun shops.
-Playing board games with each other- Scrabble with wine at the Hop & Vine (unintentional rhyming there; also Dan won if you were wondering) and the digital version of The Game of Life while sampling beers in Holland (I won, but no skill involved there). It was nice to have the time and feel relaxed enough to while away time by playing a game together.
Bummers
-We didn’t end up getting to the beach (means we will have to come back again!). It wasn’t warm enough yet Saturday morning and was rainy and cool on Sunday morning.
- I got a nice sunburn on my back after just an hour of sitting at our first brewery.
Eats
-Cheese from Evergreen Lane Creamery- Needless to say, we bought some more to take home after tasting all they had to offer.
-Breakfast at Hop & Vine- Breakfast was lovingly crafted by our hosts at Hop & Vine. The first morning we had a ham and cheese omelet, cheese and artichoke pastry, fresh fruit, and yogurt and granola (so much food that we were able to skip lunch and just have a snack midday). The second morning they had a buffet style spread of breakfast food, including mini blueberry waffles. Super tasty!
-Comfort food at The Southerner in Saugatuck- Dan was brave enough to try the Nashville hot chicken biscuit with cheese, while I went with the honey butter fried chicken biscuit.
-Dinner at New Holland Brewing Company- Dan had a patty melt and I had an open faced turkey sandwich with sweet peppers that was drowning in beer cheese. It was sooo good but super gluttonous and had me ready to pass out by 10pm.
-Pie flight at Crane’s Pie Pantry Restaurant- Rhubarb, blueberry, cherry, and apple pie sampler. The apple pie was Dan’s favorite, while I enjoyed the blueberry (tasted like a blueberry poptart in the best possible way).
Drinks
-Wine at Fenn Valley- We had 10 samples- several whites, a rosé, a few reds, and a sparkling wine in a can (designed to be taken to the pool or beach). Fun fact- one can of wine is half a bottle- yikes! That’s a dangerous four-pack. Some of the wines were types we had never heard of, so it was an interesting, informative tour. Also, with such generous samples throughout, everyone was feeling a little tipsy by the end of the tour.
-Cider at Virtue Cider and Crane’s- We tried quite the variety of ciders at Virtue, ranging from bourbon barrel aged ciders to a Spanish style cider (very lemony and acidic). Prince Hal, a Welsh style barrel aged cider, was my favorite. We also did a cider flight at Crane’s and tried a cherry, blueberry, and bourbon barrel aged apple cider (and also a blueberry wine, The cherry cider was the best one that we had.
-Beer at New Holland Brewing Company, Our Brewing Company, Big Lake Brewing- There is definitely a push towards more New English style IPA’s (any IPA’s really). We were also exposed to a tiny brewery outside of Grand Rapids called Speciation, when I got one of their sour beers at The Southerner. It was excellent but unfortunately, very hard to get your hands on! They release bottles at their brewery once a month but do not brew much and you can’t get it at a random liquor or grocery store.
Tips
-Best to have a DD if you’re drinking your way through the area- there don’t seem to many ubers so it will take a while to get one and won’t be super cost effective. It worked well for us that Dan drove for the cider/wine part and then I drove to the Holland breweries in the evening.
We definitely recommend adding Western Michigan to your bucket list for quick, easy weekend trips from Chicago! With all of the different activities available (from breweries to beaches to shopping to fruit picking), there’s something for everyone. It would make for a fun friends getaway, a romantic vacation, or a family trip. Let us know if you head out there and have any tips for the next time we go!
