Fishtown

Very picturesque and fun… Carlson’s Fishery, a working fishery that in addition to its retail operation provides a LOT of local whitefish to regional restaurants and markets… lots of little stores, housed in old fishing shacks, to explore during the tourist season and the first part of autumn… a couple of dining choices (the excellent Cheese Shanty; The Cove, which overlooks the village dam and where you can enjoy a Chubby Mary — a Bloody Mary served with a smoked chub from Carlson’s)…a marina and charter service to the Manitou Islands. One of our favorite times to visit is early October, when the salmon are running; you can stand on the pier and watch them jump the village dam, and it’s also fun when one of the many fisherpeople who come out for the run catches one of these large fish. Is it touristy? Yes. Tacky? No. And the commerce is what helps preserve this very special part of Michigan history.

Great little historic spot in Leland. Very picturesque and often photographed and seen in travelogues.
Right next to the public boat launch and protected by the breakwater.
More activity in the warm months than cool months, but always neat.

Fishtown is one of those places that are hard to imagine unless you actually visit them. This is a historic fishing site on the Leelanlau Peninsula, that has been preserved for hundreds of years.
The local businesses along the pier include a sandwich shop, fish market and craft gifts. Fishtown is one of the places my aunt would love to visit on Lake Michigan. Small, historic, quiet, with quality food and shopping.

We read about how they are trying to preserve this old historic area and just had to visit. It’s an amazing, quaint little area. There are lots of little shops and some of the old shanteys have been turned into shops. The prices are typical tourist but, if you know what you’re looking at you can still get something reasonable. There are several restaurants there so you can spend the day there. They also offer boat rides, when the weather allows during the season.

I am not trying to get redundant with re-​reviewing places but I waited a year to get back to Fishtown and I finally made it! This time I bought something for my wall at home for Leland and Fishtown to truly remember how amazing this place is!

Fishtown is a super cool historical fishing village on the tiny town of Leland, MI. Full of shops, restaurants, and, y’know, fishermen, it’s a great place to have dinner and spend an hour or so. If you’re coming out here anyway, you should plan to head over to the public beach to watch the sun set over Lake Michigan.

This is one cool town. We parked and walked down to the water. Went in for some cheese and smoked fish. It’s a must. Really you have to do it. Lots of nice shops.

An awesome historical part of Leland, located right on the river.
In fish town you’ll find a candy store, a sandwich shop, a fish market, and several clothing and art boutiques.
Find your way to fish town if you’re in Leland or Leelanau County at all.

Love this little area of Leland! The business «shacks» and the little water way/​waterfall make for fabulous pictures and a lovely spot to just sit and enjoy a sandwich or a snack from the Cheese Shanty or Carlson’s Fish.
The buildings are over 100 years old and they used to serve as support for the commercial fisherman (net-​mending sheds, smoke houses, storage, etc) but they’ve been repurposed to house the aforementioned eateries but also a handful of shops. The shops are really fun to pop into and specialize in more touristy stuff (you know, hats, neon sweatshirts with «FISHTOWN» written across, etc) to home décor, more fashionable items, snacks and even a candy shop.
It’s not really a place I can see myself spend a whole day at but it’s always a favorite spot to pop into when I’m zipping around Leelanau.