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    Visit & Plan

    Coming to the St. Joseph River valley What to see, where to eat and stay, and what’s on.

    Cassopolis and the towns around it, from Kalamazoo to Lake Michigan and down into northern Indiana, are an easy trip from Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis. Here is what to see, where to eat and stay, what’s on, and how to get here, all in one place.

    Ready-made days outThe valley map

    Ready-made days out

    Days planned for you, each in an order that saves driving. Open any of them in Google Maps for the route, or print it. Museum hours below are worked out from each place’s posted hours; they don’t know about holidays, so check before you go. Every place’s posted hours were last checked in October 2026.

    The map of the days opens here.

    1. Broadway Looking South, Cassopolis, Mich, on an old postcard
      Broadway Looking South, Cassopolis, Mich · 1909

      A day in Cassopolis and Dowagiac

      Best on a Tuesday or Friday, when both Dowagiac museums are open; the log cabin keeps summer hours.

      1. Morning Walk old Broadway in Cassopolis, eleven stops with the 1860 plan underfoot.
      2. Morning The Local History Branch, in the 1909 Carnegie library: county histories, maps and family files (Mon–Thu).
      3. Morning The Pioneer Log Cabin Museum on South Broadway, built in 1923 (open through the season; check its website).
      4. Lunch Holden Green Tavern, in the old post office storefront on Broadway.
      5. Afternoon Drive about 11 miles to Dowagiac: the Dowagiac Area History Museum, for the Round Oak stove story.
      6. Afternoon Walk Front Street, thirteen stops, with the Heddon Museum’s lures on the way (Tue and Fri; call ahead).
      7. Treat A soda at Caruso’s, on Front Street since 1922.
      8. Supper The Wounded Minnow, in the 1913 Elks Temple, or the Old Tavern Inn at Sumnerville, opened in 1835.

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    2. Public Library, Cassopolis, Mich, on an old postcard
      Public Library, Cassopolis, Mich · 1914

      A research day for family historians

      Monday to Thursday, when the Local History Branch is open. Bring names, dates and places, a notebook and a pencil.

      1. Morning The Local History Branch, in the 1909 Carnegie library: county histories, old directories, maps and family files. Ask at the desk where to begin.
      2. Late morning The Cass County Clerk/Register office, upstairs in the old courthouse at 120 N. Broadway, for birth, death and marriage records and the deed books. Call ahead (269-445-4464) to ask what you can see in person.
      3. Lunch Holden Green Tavern, two doors down Broadway in the old post office.
      4. Afternoon Prospect Hill Cemetery, the village cemetery on Disbrow Street, with burials going back to the 1830s. Take our guide to reading old gravestones.
      5. Before you go home Stuck on a name? Write down what you found and where, and bring us your mystery.

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    3. Niles, Berrien County, Michigan (bird's-eye view), on an old postcard
      Niles, Berrien County, Michigan (bird's-eye view) · 1868

      Niles and the river

      A half day; the Fort St. Joseph Museum is open Wednesday to Saturday.

      1. Morning The Fort St. Joseph Museum and the Niles History Center.
      2. Morning The Four Flags City sites around downtown, mostly seen from outside.
      3. Lunch The Old Tavern Inn at Sumnerville, opened in 1835 as a stagecoach stop.
      4. Stay The Morris Estate, a riverside estate kept as a bed and breakfast.

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    4. Beckwith Building, Dowagiac, Mich, on an old postcard
      Beckwith Building, Dowagiac, Mich · 1912

      A day that costs nothing

      Wednesday to Friday, when both free museums are open. The two walks are free at any hour.

      1. Morning Walk old Broadway in Cassopolis.
      2. Late morning The Dowagiac Area History Museum: admission is free.
      3. Afternoon Walk Front Street in Dowagiac.
      4. Afternoon The Fort St. Joseph Museum in Niles, also free.
      5. Worth the money If you spend a little, spend it on a soda at Caruso’s.

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    5. Michigan Street, north from Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana, on an old postcard
      Michigan Street, north from Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana · about 1930–45

      A rainy day in South Bend

      Any day of the week: the two museums sit side by side on one campus, open Monday to Saturday 10–5 and Sunday 12–5.

      1. Morning The Studebaker National Museum: wagons, carriages and cars from the company that began in a South Bend blacksmith shop.
      2. Lunch Sunny Italy Cafe, South Bend’s oldest Italian restaurant, opened in 1926.
      3. Afternoon The History Museum next door, with the Oliver Mansion on its campus.
      4. Supper Café Navarre, in a restored bank building at the old center of downtown.
      5. Stay The Oliver Inn, the 1886 house James Oliver built for his daughter.

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    6. Old Berrien County Courthouse (engraving), on an old postcard
      Old Berrien County Courthouse (engraving) · 1880

      A fall drive to the orchards

      Late September to late October; the color is usually best around the middle of October. Best Wednesday to Saturday, when the museums are open.

      1. Morning Start in Niles at the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
      2. Lunch Follow the river north to Buchanan: Thistledown & Row, with house-made ciders in the 1884 Redden Building.
      3. Afternoon The History Center at Courthouse Square in Berrien Springs (Wed–Sun; closed in winter).
      4. Afternoon Jollay Orchards near Coloma, farmed by one family since 1857: cider and doughnuts at the fall market.
      5. Supper Blackbird Waterhouse near Coloma, a roadhouse since the late 1920s.

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    7. Grading and assorting peaches near Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan, on an old postcard
      Grading and assorting peaches near Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan · 1913

      A weekend in the fruit belt

      Blossom time from late April, blueberries in July, apples and cider in the fall.

      1. Saturday Jollay Orchards near Coloma, farmed by the same family since 1857 (fall market).
      2. Saturday The Morton House Museum in Benton Harbor (Wed and Sat 11–2). On a weekday, the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma instead.
      3. Saturday The St. Joseph pier lights; inner tours on summer Saturdays, weather permitting.
      4. Supper Grande Mere Inn at Stevensville.
      5. Sunday The Region of Three Oaks Museum (spring to October, Fri–Sun afternoons).
      6. Stay The Inn at Union Pier or Gordon Beach Inn, near the lake.

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    8. St. Joe River bridge, Bristol, Ind, on an old postcard
      St. Joe River bridge, Bristol, Ind · 1912

      Elkhart County and the Amish country

      Best Tuesday to Saturday, when all three are open; many businesses close on Sundays. Mind the buggies.

      1. Morning Bonneyville Mill near Bristol, the old grist mill (mid-April to mid-November, Tue–Sun).
      2. Morning The Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol (Tue–Sat).
      3. Lunch Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, or the Blue Gate in Shipshewana.
      4. Afternoon Menno-Hof in Shipshewana (Mon–Sat 10–5).
      5. Afternoon Coppes Commons in Nappanee, the old kitchen-cabinet factory.
      6. Stay Market St. Manor in Nappanee.

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    9. Main Street looking west, Kalamazoo, Mich, on an old postcard
      Main Street looking west, Kalamazoo, Mich · about 1906

      Kalamazoo and the Gilmore

      A full day, Monday to Thursday, when the Kellogg Manor House is open; the Gilmore keeps longer hours from April to November.

      1. Morning The Gilmore Car Museum at Hickory Corners.
      2. Lunch George & Sally’s Blue Moon Diner, a 1941 diner on the Gilmore grounds.
      3. Afternoon The W.K. Kellogg Manor House (Mon–Thu; call ahead).
      4. Supper Bell’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo.
      5. Stay Henderson Castle or The Kalamazoo House.

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    Download the pocket guide (PDF, to print and fold)

    Build your own day

    Pick museums, places to eat and stay, and the walks. We’ll put them in a sensible driving order, and you can open the route in Google Maps, print it, or send it to someone. Your day is kept on this device only, and it is the same list as “My trip” on the museums page.

      My day 0 stops

        Nothing yet. Search above, or press “Add to my day” on the food and lodging page.

        Coming up

        1. Flags of Valor Berrien Springs
        2. Paint Day of the Dead Cascarones Niles (Howard Twp.)
        3. Gallery Talk: Mrs. B – Cara Jean Baldwin and Elkhart County Elkhart
        4. Christmas, Vintage & Craft Bazaar Shipshewana
        5. Gingerbread Village at E&S Sales Shipshewana
        6. Goshen Light Parade (First Friday) Goshen
        7. Lighting of Shipshewana Festival Shipshewana
        8. Belle Gunness: The Mystery Continues La Porte
        9. Día de los Muertos Celebration Concert South Bend
        10. Shipshewana Lights of Joy Shipshewana
        11. Veterans Day at Ruthmere Elkhart
        12. Lecture: USCGC Mackinaw – A Tale of Two Ships South Haven
        13. Holiday Lights on the Diamond South Bend
        14. Benton Harbor Preservation Awards Benton Harbor

        The whole year Add the calendar to your phone

        Getting here

        • By car. Cassopolis is about 2 hours from Chicago, 3 from Detroit, 3 from Indianapolis, an hour and three-quarters from Grand Rapids, an hour from Kalamazoo and half an hour from South Bend. Times are approximate and vary with traffic.
        • By air. South Bend International Airport is the nearest, about half an hour from Cassopolis. Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International is about an hour; the Chicago airports about two and a half.
        • By train. Amtrak’s Michigan trains between Chicago and Detroit or Port Huron stop at Niles and Dowagiac, and at Kalamazoo. Amtrak’s long-distance trains stop at South Bend and Elkhart, and the South Shore Line runs from downtown Chicago to the South Bend airport. Check current schedules before you plan.
        • Mind the clock. The Michigan towns and South Bend, Elkhart and Goshen keep Eastern time, but La Porte County, Indiana, including La Porte and Michigan City, keeps Central time: an hour earlier.

        When to come

        • Spring. Maple syrup festivals in March, then the orchards in bloom from late April, with Blossomtime in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.
        • Summer. The county fairs, the National Blueberry Festival in South Haven, u-pick berries and the lake towns. Most small museums keep summer hours, roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day.
        • Fall. Apples and cider in the fruit belt, the straw-bale art trail around Shipshewana, and the fall colour along the St. Joseph River.
        • Winter. Candlelight parades and lights in December, and ice festivals in St. Joseph, South Haven, Dowagiac and Shipshewana.

        Good to know

        • Check before you go. Many museums are run by volunteers and open only a few days a week, some only in summer. Each card on the museums page links to the place’s own site; ring ahead if you are travelling far.
        • Amish country. In and around Shipshewana and Middlebury, many businesses close on Sundays, and you will share the roads with horse-drawn buggies: slow down and pass wide.
        • Save the walks. The Broadway and Front Street walks keep working without a signal once you have opened them; phone coverage can be thin between towns.
        • Be a good guest. Many old buildings on the walks are homes and businesses: look from the sidewalk, and never go onto private property without leave.
        • Plan a day. Take one of the days above, or build your own from the museums, the places to eat and stay, and the walks.

        Visitor information

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