During your tour, sip a soda in the Hurry Back Saloon while nickelodeons spin old-fashioned tunes. Watch for roadside fruit stands along the route where you can purchase fruit pies and other harvest of the land. Just north of Acme, stop at Amon Orchards to sample cherry and apple jams, spreads and relishes. You can climb aboard a wagon for orchard tours, or pick your own fruit in season. Continuing north, the highway follows the lakeshore with occasional wide views of the lake and dips into valleys of wildflowers.
More small towns dot the route, along with more orchards and roadside stands.
The tree-shaded streets of Charlevoix complement the Victorian homes and shops along the shore of Lake Charlevoix. The highway bridge lifts for the Beaver Island ferry and for boaters moving in and out of the harbor. This is a strolling town where summer people and travelers more than triple the year-round population. In the lingering twilight of summer nights, folks amble along the waterfront and take in the line of shops. Petoskey and the neighboring community of Bay View rule like royalty over the head of Little Traverse Bay.