Garden Points of Interest

Here are some interesting spots on the peninsula, arranged from U.S. 2 at the north to the peninsula's tip:
♦ The VILLAGE of GARDEN is the peninsula's hub, on M-183 about 9 miles south of U.S. 2. It's a little farming and fishing village on the way to Fayette. Garden has looked a bit like a ghost town itself in recent years. The town's onetime role as an important commercial fishing center Big Bay de Noc, a celebrated fishery, is not evident. As small farms and orchards decline, so has Garden's year-round population. Still, there's a restaurant/bar and two small groceries, an active museum, and an artists' cooperative.
   A few remaining commercial fishermen take huge fall catches, mostly whitefish and lake trout, which can be purchased retail. Turn west off Van's Harbor Road just before you reach Garden and go down to the water to see the large facility of BIG BAY de NOC FISHERIES (906-644-2200). Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. if there's a catch to sell. Closed in bad weather. It's the only local fishery that sells retail, albeit in an informal way, without a real shop. Most fish is packed fresh or frozen and put on semis headed for places like Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Florida.
   Many of Garden's quaint frame storefronts are empty. Cottagers and retirees bring life to the place in summer, and much more goes on than meets the eye, says enthusiastic transplant Nancy Kane, who grew up in a suburb of New York City. She and her husband, a former professor at Miami University of Ohio, became acquainted with Garden when visiting Fayette Townsite. Book groups, investment groups, a quilting circle, a very active historical society, art projects, Brown Bags — there's always something to do, she says, and such friendly, helpful people! She never fails to be thrilled by the sun setting over the bay.
♦ VILLAGE ARTISANS and GARDEN GALLERYan attractive little art gallery and cooperative shop in the middle of downtown Garden, sells one-of-a-kind works by some 30 area artists. There are paintings in many media, photography, turned wood bowls, pottery, soaps, candles, vinegars, and knitted items. Ask about summer classes for children. Enrichment classes for area children are a big part of the mission here. The shop is open from late May into early Oct. daily from 10-5, Sun 12-5. (906) 644-2025. Wheelchair-accessible.
♦ At the summer-only GARDEN PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM, a new addition will allow much more of the society's collections to be displayed. Genealogy, especially French-Canadian genealogy, is a specialty. Canada was the leading birthplace of Fayette's immigrant workers, according to the 1880 census, and they were largely French. Fishermen were frequently French, too. Ar Fayette Townsite, a display at the worker's cabin shows how the population of French Canada exploded from 60,000 in 1763 to over a million in 1871. The high birth rate eventually created a mass exodus. Open from Mem. to Labor Day, Wed-Sat 11-3 and other times by appointment. (906) 644-2398 or (906) 644-2281.
♦ FAYETTE HISTORIC TOWNSITE
♦ FAYETTE STATE PARK..
♦ SAC BAY COUNTY PARK. This beach and picnic area are even less crowded than the state park's. The facilities are no match for those at the state park beach. But because Sac Bay is a bit farther south, there's a more interesting view, off to the string of islands between the Garden and Door peninsulas at the mouth of Green Bay. Sac Bay Park is off M-183 about five miles south of Fayette. Handicap accessible: no.
♦ FAIRPORT. Almost at the very tip of the Garden Peninsula, Fairport is an active commercial fishing village, one of the few left in Michigan. Some old piers remain. Like most fishing villages, it has a plain, utilitarian air. Fishermen still in business today typically make good money, to the point that Fairport shows up as a higher-income blip when U.P. incomes are mapped. There's no store or restaurant here. If you look carefully on the drive out here, you can spot some houses and barns made of logs partly shingled over.

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