Hessel harbor

The center of Hessel and its most interesting shops are near the harbor, which can be quite busy because so many summer residents must boat to their island homes. Downtown's frame commercial buildings and converted houses extend along Pickford Avenue (Three Mile Road) a quarter mile south from M-134 to the harbor.
Hessel's compact, intimate scale is one of its most attractive features. Thanks largely to small-business whiz Bonnie Stewart Mickelson, one of the many summer residents who have retired here, downtown is now spiffed up and more functional. Her Hessel Grocery & Deli is a year-round community hub that spares local people the drive to Cedarville to shop. Flowers, plants, and arbors adorn several buildings.

The funky headquarters of Woods & Water Ecotours

♦ WOODS & WATER ECOTOURS AND SHOP. (906) 484-4157. Tour operator Jessie Hadley draws on her many years of experience leading area tours, working for The Nature Conservancy, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, and the DNR in buying for her store. Tours from 2 hours to a week include kayaking and kayak fishing in and beyond Les Cheneaux and Drummond Island, mountain biking, hiking, dogsledding, skiing and snowshoeing. All kinds of people go on tours: family, school and business groups, and custom tours. The store in the red house sells kayaks, bikes and accessories and some camping gear. The store also does bicycle repairs.
In the red house. 20 S. Pickford Avenue at M-134. woodswaterecotours.com Open year-round. From Mem. Day–Labor Day open daily, Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-4. Other times by appointment. Wheelchair access: entrance lip.

♦ WOOLDERNESS FIBER ARTS STUDIO. (906) 484-1258. cedarville.net/woolderness. At Roxanne Eberts' complete wool workshop, visitors can schedule private or group classes in spinning, weaving, hooking, felting (learn to make and embellish mittens hats, bags, vests and such), knitting, natural dyeing, rag rugs, and tapestry. Classes are mostly $30 to $40 for two to three hours. Here are spinning wheels, a complete dye kitchen with mordants for dyes, and four harness looms, which learners can use at specified times over a week—enough time to weave a smallish piece. All kinds of wool are sold here: prewashed, washed, carded, dyed. Pat Wilson, who teaches here, recommends weaving to all sorts of people. It's relaxing, very good exercise, and blind people can do it, too. One-of-a-kind pieces are for sale here. 138 S. Pickford Ave. Open year-round. From Mem. to Labor Day open Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-2. Winter: Tues-Fri 11-4. On second floor.

Pickle Point 'Fun Things to Do' Shop

♦ PICKLE POINT ‘FUN THINGS TO DO' SHOP. (906) 484-3479. Here Bonnie Stewart Mickelson has assembled a shop of fun, time-tested things she had or wanted for her summer cottage with her blended family of 15 children. No batteries. No large, single-use toys. Instead, intergenerational activities for the whole family; multiple-function toys and gifts; and things to fit in small spaces. Highlights include puzzles and games, plus knitting needles and beautiful wool yarns. Art supplies for colored pencil sketches and painting are on hand, too. Signed copies of Bonnie's Hollyhocks and Radishes cookbook are for sale, personally inscribed with a few days' notice. (Pickle Point is the name of her publishing company.) Hollyhocks, first published in 1989, draws upon the Hessel produce stand of the late Judy Chard. It features her life wisdom, vegetables, and recipes using local produce, fish, and game. Bonnie added some of her mother's recipes for entertaining. Charming line drawings depict life in Les Cheneaux. 247 Pickford Ave. Open year-round. June-Labor Day daily 10-5. Otherwise open 11 to 3 or 4, closes 1 day a week. Handicap access: several steps.

♦ CLARK TOWNSHIP MARINA. The unusual number of wooden boats coming and going make Hessel's harbor an interesting place all summer. Picnic tables are for boaters and non-boaters alike. A boat launch is here. The marina is a central viewing point for July 4 fireworks (at dusk on the actual Fourth) seen from four Lake Huron towns: Cedarville, St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, and Mackinac Island. Check lescheneaux.org for concerts and art fairs: Music and Art Dockside in July and Art in the Park in September. For boaters there are restrooms with showers. At the foot of Pickford Ave. downtown. (906) 484-3917. Open Mem. Day thru Labor Day 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

♦ HESSEL BEACH. West of Pickford Ave. and the marina, just past Lakeview Cabins, the small, sandy Hessel public beach offers a fine view looking down the West Entry, with six islands in the distance. Kayaks and canoes can be launched here. Here are a bathhouse with showers, and some benches and picnic tables. The beach has a hardened boardwalk for wheelchair access. Buoys mark the safe swimming area. On Lake St. west of Pickford Avenue.
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