Quaint Michigan Town Named for Best Main Street Shopping in the State

There are so many adorable, quaint downtowns in Michigan to score some great finds. One in particular is getting national attention as the best in the state.

As Cheapism says,

With big-box stores, megamalls, and online sellers dominating the retail landscape, the pleasure of shopping at mom-and-pop stores in a quaint, small-town Main Street shopping district is getting harder to find.

Where are your favorite hometown places to shop? Being from South Haven, I'm partial to all the cool towns along Lake Michigan and their cute downtowns: Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Traverse City.

In particular, Cheapism looked at towns across the country with populations fewer than 90,000 residents to determine the best main street shopping scene in each state.

Cheapism's pick for Michigan? Calumet!

The motto of Calumet in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is "respecting our past, building our future" — evident in the friendly Sixth Street downtown hub. In summer, Pasty Fest celebrates the Cornish food devoured by miners a century ago. In winter, Christmas in Calumet typically features caroling and horse-drawn carriage rides. No matter what time of year, there's dining and shopping in this town of about 650 people.

Looks like Calumet has a ton of fun events as well, like an annual Dogsled race through downtown, called the Copper Dog 150.

Calumet also hosts a celebration of the Michigan staple, Pasties, each year. In 2023, the village dialed it up, with a full on Pasty Olympics.