Saugatuck, located on the states western shoreline, just south of Holland, blew our expectations out of the water on our first visit in July. We explored the night life, found the perfect vacation rentals, quaint peaceful private lakes, had the ultimate beach day, and enjoyed all that the downtown had to offer.
We happened to be there the last weekend in July with a festival scheduled to be occurring on that Saturday. A set up of beer and wine tents went on while endless rows of crafty artisans began to pitch their tents rumors of a firework show the next night gave us hope that this would be the perfect weekend away. The air was thick with summer bliss.
Friday afternoon we began with a visit to a local & old time favorite bar and restaurant located on the boardwalk. The view is of the Singapore Yacht Club and the summer vibes are happening around the octagon bar that sits outside overlooking the water. It is ‘The Butler.’
The walk there offered priceless moments like spotting an actual lady Bug vintage VW, watching the old time ferry, and snapping pictures in front of our dream boats on the large wooden piers filled with sea side wonder on one side and beachy bars with cute names, like ‘The Mermaid,’ on the other.
We explored the inns and outs of the small local owned shops, and settled for a quick bite to eat on the top of a newly finished restaurant, The Barge, as the sun set. We chatted and drank among glows from a chic fire pit while taking in rooftop views of the large dock that seemed to be spitting out boats full of happy people all through the night.
We took a small walk further and found ourselves at The Wicks. We had heard the music while wondering the streets. That was reason enough to explore.
We stayed there till close and in that time ended up being announced and congratulated by the band and danced till we all found ourselves outside as the place closed up. We ended up wandering off and found a little vintage place cranking out anything and everything fried you could think of. No surprise it also doubled as THE ONLY place around still serving food at 2 AM. With everyone in town in the same line, waiting for food ended up being another little party in itself. Saugatuck was changing and challenging everything we knew about northern Michigan summer beach towns.
We met and shared corndogs with the bands drummer, took selfies with local police officers, and walked home on a very nice and convenient paved path that lead all the way from town to our rental on the lake. About two miles. Sure it was because our taxi driver ditched us, but hey, it was a night for the books.
We were home still laughing at 4am in a cabin shadowed by tall tress with stars reflecting off of the lake. It was evident, we had no idea what fun Saugatuck had in store for us that weekend. Still left on our list was shopping, exploring and the inevitable Lake Michigan beach day. We will for sure be back.