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Many Michiganders don’t know about the cute but quiet small town of Sawyer in southwest Michigan. If they have, it’s probably because they momentarily stopped off at the TA Truck Stop off I-94 for gas or a quick bite to eat. Beyond this exit is a world of beauty and adventure just waiting to be enjoyed! So slow down and explore a little further off exit 12. Better yet – take a relaxing getaway to Sawyer. Within this small town alone, there are several scrumptious independently owned restaurants, a brewery that cooks up phenomenal BBQ, and towering sand dunes along Lake Michigan.
Interested in learning more about what to do in Sawyer, Michigan? I’ve got you covered!
~ History of Sawyer ~
Sawyer is just one small town that makes up Chikaming Township. The three other small towns consist of Harbert, Lakeside, and Union Pier.
Originally, southwestern Michigan was settled by the Potawatomi tribe. Then in 1828, they ceded their land to the US government. Silas Sawyer, a judge from Ohio, was one of the first residents in the area to begin commercial farming. When Chikaming Township was formed, Sawyer was elected its first supervisor. Shortly after, Sawyer moved out of state.
The town that is Sawyer received its name after the Chicago and Western Railroad named it that. From then on, the community began to grow in popularity – particularly among Chicago residents looking to get away during the summer. Summer cottages were built and the area continues to draw a sizable number of visitors from Chicago and northwestern Indiana.
~ Getaway to Sawyer Map ~
~ Getaway to Sawyer Summary ~
When: Overnight stay during summer.
Why: Visiting Southwest Michigan has always been on my Michigan bucket list. Instead of going ‘Up North,’ as many Michigander’s like to do in summer, there are a few area’s in Southern Michigan I wanted to check out – like the Warren Dunes and Greenbush Brewing.
Time Traveled (one way): 1.5 hours from Grand Rapids, 3 hours from Detroit, 1 hour from Kalamazoo, 2 hours from Lansing, 4 hours from Traverse City, 1 hour 15 minutes from Chicago, 3 hours from Indianapolis
Time Spent at Destination: overnight stay and 2 days
Budget: $$$ – overnight stay, food, wine tasting, gas, Michigan state park pass (if you don’t already have one)
What We Did During the Getaway to Sawyer
Arriving at 11:30 am, we got to Sawyer right as Greenbush Brewing opened. After a delicious lunch of BBQ and beer, we checked into the Wandering Soul Cabin Airbnb, which is a 2 minute drive away. Once Winston got his wiggles out and we unpacked, Winston took a nap. This allow my mom and I time to relax and explore all the features of the Airbnb. After Winston’s nap, we drove 8 minutes away to the Warren Dunes State Park to play at the beach and go on a hike. Following that, we enjoyed dinner at The Stray Dog in New Buffalo before walking down to the beach and back.
To kick off day two, we enjoyed a takeout breakfast from The Peasant’s Pantry. Then we packed, checked out and enjoyed wine tasting at the Round Barn Winery and Lemon Creek Winery – about a 15 minute drive from Wandering Soul Cabin.
Where We Stayed – Wandering Soul Cabin
During our getaway to Sawyer, we stayed overnight at the Airbnb The Wandering Soul Cabin. This modern farmhouse has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and sleeps up to 8 people. From the moment we pulled up to the cabin, we were stunned by its charm. Beautiful foliage and flowers frame the front entrance and there are also a couple adirondack chairs to relax at and take in the view.
Inside Wandering Soul Cabin
Once inside, the home is even more charming! All the décor is still in that modern farmhouse style with all new kitchen appliances, a farmhouse sink, ship lapped half bath and more. While we didn’t stay long enough to need to cook, the kitchen is fully equipped with every tool one may need. Besides a coffee pot, they also have an espresso machine, which was a pleasant surprise for me!
Now onto the bedrooms. Each room has its own design theme. The primary bedroom located on the main floor has a French countryside vibe with a comfortable four poster bed. Attached to the primary is its own spacious bathroom with a walk in shower. Upstairs are two other rooms – one with a mid century modern feel and the other is decorated with classic Americana elements. This last bedroom also has bunkbeds and is closest to the adorable play area. Speaking of the play area, there is a teepee with a ton of children’s books, games and toys.
Upstairs there is a shared full bathroom with a bathtub should you have smaller children. The hosts of Wandering Soul truly thought of everything. Inside this bathroom’s closest is a basket full of bath toys, which my son enjoyed playing with!
The Porch and Outside
Attached to the dining room is the entrance to the screened in porch. The porch is one of my favorite places in the cabin. The furniture is modern and cozy with plants and fairy lights decorating the space. There’s also a fan up top to help keep the space cool on hot summer days.
Exiting the porch to the backyard there is a grill available for those wishing to grill during their time here. Further into the backyard there is a bonfire pit with seating for up to 8, a hammock, and a trail leading to a pond. Catch and release bass fishing and canoeing are available for you to enjoy. If you don’t want to bring your own fishing poles, the cabin has poles in their front closet along with extra bait.
Also outside is a community garden. The Wandering Soul’s plot is the last plot on the right. Feel free to use any herbs or vegetables in your cooking at the cabin from their plot. It is also at the shed in the community garden where the canoe, life jackets, and orr’s are kept.
Entertainment and Recreation at The Wandering Soul Cabin
Besides the design and style, you’ll also notice just how much entertainment is available to you without even leaving the Airbnb. There are numerous games for all ages located in the living room and in the upstairs play area. Two yoga mats are available for any exercise or meditation you may wish to do.
Want to play outside? Use the bags/cornhole board located just to the front of the screened in porch.
Is it a rainy day? The Smart TV is subscribed to all the major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Disney Plus. If you aren’t into TV, there are a considerable number of interesting books throughout the house to read.
Other Things to Explore in Sawyer
- Ice Cream – The Beach Bucket, Oinks Dutch Treat, Beachside Scoops
- Grocery Store’s – Sawyer Home and Garden
- Other Beaches – Cherry Beach, Weko Beach
- Other Restaurants – Susan’s Sawyer, Harbert Swedish Bakery, Black Currant Bakehouse, Mario’s Pizza, Whistle Stop, Jakes Pizza Shack is behind Timothy’s restaurant, Beer Church Brewing, Infusco Coffee Roasters
- Antique Shopping – Sawyer Antique Mall, Harbert Antique Mall, Dunes Antique Center, Alchemy Antiques
- Parks/Splashpads – New Buffalo Township Park & Splash Pad, Harbert Community Park
- Nature Trails and Hiking – Mt Tabor Trails, Galien River Country Park
Recommended Items to Carry
With the number of useful items at the Airbnb, you won’t need to worry about carrying much to enjoy your time in Sawyer. However, I do recommend carrying sunscreen, a beach towel, and shade umbrella if visiting the beach. And I cannot recommend these Sketchers hiking sandals enough! I bought them just before my trip and now they’re coming everywhere with me this summer. They helped make hiking the Dunes more enjoyable.
~ Getaway to Sawyer Details ~
~ Day One ~
Greenbush Brewing
We arrived in Sawyer right as Greenbush Brewing opened at 11:30 am. A couple years ago, a coworker raved about dining at Greenbush during a trip back from Chicago. It’s always been on my bucket list so it was exciting to finally eat here! You can choose to dine inside either at the bar or a table, or sit outside on the patio. When we visited, there was also an overflow area decorated with old school lawn chairs and pink flamingos – so much fun! To the right of the restaurant is its annex with a bar to just order drinks as well as a store to buy swag or cold bottles to go.
If you’re interested in dining in, their menu is mostly BBQ foods like chicken, brisket, and pork with a variety of sides. They are also kid friendly and have high chairs, a kids menu and offer crayons to keep the kids busy. I ordered the two pieces of dark fried chicken with a side of rice and beans and cajun corn – both were extremely delicious! The beans even had a little kick to it. My son got the mac and cheese which also came with a side of curly fries.
The meal was plentiful and kept us so full that we only had a small dinner later on!
Airbnb Things to Do
Once we wrapped up lunch, we drove two minutes to the Airbnb to check in. It was also around Winston’s nap time. So we popped out the Pack and Play Wandering Soul keeps in the upstairs bedroom closet and set it up in the Americana room. I carried his white noise sound machine and his monitor as well.
While he napped, my mom and I explored the cabin’s main floor and outside – noticing all the little details mentioned above. I even dozed off for a bit on the hammock!
Warren Dunes State Park
Once my son was back up and at em’, we drove 8 minutes from the cabin to the Warren Dunes State Park. This state park has also been on my bucket list for awhile! Earlier this year I pledged to myself to see as many of Michigan’s Dunes as possible. And this state park is exceptionally big and mesmerizing!
Our first stop within Warren Dunes was to the beach, which is huge! There is plenty of parking so that is one thing you won’t have to worry about. In fact, there are about 4 separate lots to choose from, all that bring you right to the beach. Speaking of beach, there is a lot of sand to spread out on. Plus there are modern restrooms, concessions, and food trucks. There’s even a kayak and stand up paddleboard rental, which is an additional perk.
Once finished (or before) visiting the lake, you can cross the parking lot and try to hike up one of the dunes. We saw several people doing this when we visited. And if my son was any older, I know he’d totally join in! As a point of reference, if you’ve ever been to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Warren Dunes aren’t as steep a climb.
We then took the easy route and drove and parked at the lot nearest the trails to do a little hiking. It was way too hot to wear Winston so we let him walk between and in front of us. He did a great job for being only 18 months (I’m sure he’s getting used to this). The trail we did wasn’t too difficult – fairly flat but with sections full of sand.
The Stray Dog
After exploring the beach and dunes, it was around dinner time so we traveled about 15 minutes south to New Buffalo, which is the largest town in the area. While we weren’t super hungry (again, thank you Greenbush Brewery), we knew we should eat a little something and cool down. So we chose to eat at The Stray Dog. The bar and grill has its own parking lot behind the building with a decent number of parking spaces. There is also street parking throughout New Buffalo.
When we arrived right at dinner time, we had about a 20 minute wait. We were also told they were not doing any to go orders at this time. So we used the wait period to walk around the block to check out the little town and look at the menu online. Once we were seated, we quickly ordered frozen smoothies and our dinner. The smoothies were extremely refreshing for a hot summer day. I had about three brain freezes as I sucked mine down, but did not care. 🙂 For dinner, I ordered the Lakeside salad which includes lettuce, napa cabbage, chicken, dates, goat cheese, corn, avocado, grape tomatoes, almonds, croutons, and a dijon vinaigrette dressing. The salad was crisp, cool, and delicious.
If you are over 21 years, you may dine upstairs on the rooftop, which I noted for the next time when my husband and I visit just the two of us.
Walk to New Buffalo Beach
After dinner and before heading back to the Airbnb to relax and go to bed, we went on a small stroll to New Buffalo beach and back. The walk takes you up over the bridge and past a couple statues. At this beach, there is also a paid parking lot for visitors, playground, concessions, and a replica to the original lighthouse that once stood here. Another nice feature at this beach is a sidewalk that extends out onto the sand a considerable ways. While it doesn’t go all the way to Lake Michigan, it does go past the lighthouse making for an enjoyable walk pushing Winston in his stroller.
~ Day Two ~
The Peasant’s Pantry
On to day two of our getaway to Sawyer! Before jumping into breakfast, I’d like to take a minute and let you know how amazing it was waking up at the Wandering Soul Cabin. The beds were comfortable and waking up is a lot easier when an espresso machine is only a few steps away. I even woke up early just to have some peace and quiet before my son woke up.
Now that I got that off my chest, let’s fast forward to breakfast! When researching where to go, I instantaneously knew to go to The Peasant’s Pantry. Not only is it a breakfast and lunch joint, it is a café and bakery or in my sweet tooth’s opinion – breakfast for now and later! When we reached, I ordered their waffle flight which is a large waffle with four different topping flavors: 1. maple syrup and bacon, 2. fresh blueberries and lemon curd, 3. fresh strawberries with cream, and 4. bananas and Nutella. The flight is also served with bacon or sausage. For later (or Winston), I ordered a blueberry muffin. To drink, I ordered an iced mocha. My mom ordered an omlette which came with toast and a bowl of fruit.
Behind the restaurant there is a gourmet shop with cheese, wine and other grocery items. We ordered everything to take back to the Airbnb to enjoy from there. Thankfully The Peasant’s Pantry is only 5 minutes from the Airbnb so all of our food was still hot once we reached! And boy was everything scrumptious!
Round Barn Winery
Once we packed up and checked out, we stopped by a couple wineries in the area to do some wine tasting. Our first stop was to the Round Barn Winery – which was always on my bucket list. This winery features a beautiful historic, white round barn that was built in 1912 in Northern Indiana. In 1997, the Moersch family found it, rehabbed it and turned it into the beauty it is now. Since then, Round Barn expanded into growing and producing wine and also brews beer and spirits. All of which can be sampled and purchased right here.
The Round Barn Estate is open daily from 11am to 6pm and until 7pm on the weekends. From Friday through Sunday, there are food trucks and live music to enjoy. Chances are, it’s bound to be busier on the weekends so the winery does accept reservations.
During our visit and tasting, I tried the prearranged sweet wine flight which included their Gewürztraminer, Redel Doux (a phenominal sweet red), and Farm Market Cranberry, which is one of their most popular wines. Gewürztraminer is my favorite type of wine. Theirs is a deliciously sweet but subtle version while the Redel Doux is their version of Lambrusco with lots of sweet fruity concord grape flavor.
After wrapping up our tasting, we walked around the estate and vineyards. There’s even a trail that leads to its sister winery Tabor Hill. During the weekends, its possible to purchase a glass of wine or cocktail to go to take on the trails between estates. Before leaving, I purchased a bottle of the Gewürztraminer and Redel Doux.
Lemon Creek Winery
The final stop of our getaway to Saywer was to Lemon Creek Winery in Berrien Springs. I’ve visited the Lemon Creek Tasting Room in Grand Haven numerous times so was excited to check out the actual vineyard. This winery and the family running it has a longstanding history in southwestern Michigan. In 1834, the Lemon family moved to this area and set up a farm here in 1855. Overtime, the creek flowing through the town of Berrien Springs was named Lemon’s Creek. And when the road was built beside it, it was named Lemon Creek Road. Then in 1984, the Lemon family transformed their farm into a vineyard. And here’s a fun fact: Lemon Creek Winery was the first winery in Michigan to plant Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
The winery is open Monday to Saturday from 10am-6pm and on Sunday from noon to 6pm. When we visited, there was a selection of 12 different prearranged flights with 5 samples each. Each flight had a theme such as ‘dry white’ or “semi sweet” so there are tons of options! I ordered their “semi-dry & semi-sweet” flight which consisted of their Great Lakes Blanc, Great Lakes Rose, Great Lakes Rouge, Lighthouse White, and Lighthouse Red. The color’s of this flight were beautiful, and the flavor range of each suburb! Each flight costs $15 and comes with a wrapped souvenir glass.
If you prefer, you can order a bottle or glass instead and enjoy it outside. There is lots of shade and different seating options. Before leaving, stop by the store to pick up a bottle for later as well as any other wine gear you may need. Lemon Creek’s raspberry spumante is my all time favorite dessert wine!
~~~
What is your favorite small town along Lake Michigan? When will you plan your getaway to Sawyer?
from Michigan with Love,
Jackie
