[Craneman]

Hello. I will be visiting St.Joseph in a few weeks for a bit of a vacation/ working vacation and was wondering if anyone on here could tell me if there are any decent bars, restaurants in St. Joseph ?
Also what kinds of activities are available in the area as i will be sitting around for a few weeks with nothing to do !!!

Regards, Stu.

[Craneman]

p.s I am travelling from England so have'nt got a clue !!!!!

Stu.

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by Craneman

p.s I am travelling from England so have'nt got a clue !!!!!

Stu.

Well, I can't be much help since I don't know that area at all (I'm not a native and in fact grew up on your side of the pond) but I thought I'd be neighborly and wave hello. I'm on the other side of the state.
You might just see the glimmerings of the first fall colours; and you are a fairly short drive to Chicago, which is a really wonderful city.
I just googled St Joseph MI and there's even a webcam site, though it's down right now.

[Craneman]

Cheers for that. googled it too. Found the usual local guide but i wanted to get an unbiased view and some genuine info about the area, although i dont have any choice about where i am staying!
I will be mobile though so will just drive around for 3 weeks !!!!!!

Regards, Stu

[sweetpea3]

Hi - your message caught my eye because ny mother is from France and for several years we lived in Three Oaks, Mi which is very close to St. Joseph. I love that area of the state! I havent spent a lot of time in St. Jo specifically but I was just in New Buffalo (also very close by) last weekend.

If you look on a map you will see how close it is. I think it's exit 3 off of 94. If you go to New Buffalo there were a couple cool bars downtown off Red Arrow Highway. Just walk west towards Lake Michigan once you are in New Buffalo ( very small downtown but building very fast ). It's becoming quite the trendy place to go especially for Chicago people while on vacation during the warm weather.

You may enjoy the Lake Michigan Beaches The sunsets are the best!! (Warren Dunes State Park, Weko Beach, etc). Or walk thru some very nice Marina's. There are places to rent bikes too.

That part of the state is known for their fruit - blueberries etc. and some vineyards.

Also there is a nice resturaunt called Hannah's - steak salad etc.

You could easily take a short train ride to get to Chicago. There is a stop right in New Buffalo up the street from Hanna's resturaunt. Only 2 departure times though so you might check into it first.

I would suggest to call the Chamber of Commerce in St. Jo or any of the nearby cities. Ask them if there are any events happening. This time of year it starts to slow down but there may be a festival with local bands, or art displays etc.

There is a website for the area but it's a bit hard to find. I think it's called Harbour county.

Good luck! And have fun.
I may not return to this site to check for a response so if you have any questions you may contact me at valschwinn@wowway.com.

[Southside Shrek]

Best of luck to you mate and hope you enjoyed St Joe. I believe it's nicer than Brighton....Lake Michigan rocks!!!

[Teacher D]

Hello. I will be visiting St.Joseph in a few weeks for a bit of a vacation/ working vacation and was wondering if anyone on here could tell me if there are any decent bars, restaurants in St. Joseph ?

Greetings from Stanwood! We've only been there a couple times but please allow me to spout off...there's a bar with about ten televisions if you're into the whole sports thing down south of town near Lake Michigan - it's called the Sandbar. They do Kareoke in the pm on weekends and it got pretty rowdy when we were there. (Sing Monkeys or Simon and Garfunkel and you're in trouble!) There are public beaches you have to pay to enjoy and then walk quite a ways to get to. The downtown area is nice with ample parking in the streets and lots of shops and restaurants to visit during your stay. Best of luck to you!

ALSO, you could drive north along the coast and see the beautiful Big Lake as it rolls into the different port towns...we love Manistee (huge beaches and quaint downtown) and recently had an outdoor hamburger and an ice cold Miller Lite on a deck bar in Grand Haven. Stay at the super-clean Bella Vista Motel up near Bear Lake and you can spend the next day visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and even Traverse City with it many fine shops and restaurants.

[hojodent]

I grew up in that area. The most beautiful sunsets you will ever see in your life. Take your camera. There are a few good bars around there. The names may have changed. There is one called Czar's....great live bands..blues last I knew.
Barney's Boathouse on the river. If you are downtown St Joe there are a bunch of nice little shops...all the bars in that area are nice.

Hope you enjoy your time there.

[Craneman]

Thanks for the replies guys ! Just got back ! And i mean just, landed in the UK about an hour and a half ago !
Unfortunately didnt get much time to do the sightseeing thing but had a good night in Czars, met some good guys in the Silver Dollar and bought a shed load of stuff from the small stores. The 5 O'Clock bar in Stevensville became my regular (nice and close ! ), and met some good folks there too.
Apparently my company is going to be sending me there on a regular basis so will slowly get around to checking the rest of the area out !
Thanks again for the replies, take it easy and oh yeah . . . . . ' Have a nice day !!'

[jerrilea]

Originally Posted by Craneman

Hello. I will be visiting St.Joseph in a few weeks for a bit of a vacation/ working vacation and was wondering if anyone on here could tell me if there are any decent bars, restaurants in St. Joseph ?
Also what kinds of activities are available in the area as i will be sitting around for a few weeks with nothing to do !!!

Regards, Stu.

Bar wise Czars 505 club is good they have live music.Mickeys is ok just your typical neighborhood bar.Restaurants w/bars in them there is the Pumphouse Grill, Clementines, Ricks boat house(i think this is the name it is on the water by clemintines).They also have a Chillis it is close to Benton harbor but I would not reccomend to much travel in that area if you are not familiar.You can also ask at the hotel you are staying at the locals will know of many more places.Too bad it is not summer St.Joeseph is beautifull then and there is something going on all the time.There are also a lot of wineries semi close 20- 45 minutes.You could fimd more info by looking up southwest michigan wineries.Good Lck!!
regards,
Edwardsburg,MI