HARBOR COUNTRY
Michiana Grand Beach New Buffalo Three Oaks Union Pier Lakeside Harbert Sawyer
Eight lakeside towns make up the southwest corner of Michigan entitled "Harbor Country,” which has been referred to in the Chicago Tribune and New York Times as "the Hamptons of the Midwest". The towns that make up Harbor Country include: Michiana, Grand Beach, New Buffalo, Three Oaks, Union Pier, Lakeside, Harbert, and Sawyer (click for map). New Buffalo is the capital of Harbor Country and has been called "the gateway to Michigan."
New Buffalo was named when Wessel Whitaker (en route to Chicago, IL from Buffalo, NY) was caught in a storm and his boat was hurled onto the shore. He was marveled with the land and later returned to the area and built a community, he named "New" Buffalo. The main street in town was resultantly named Whitaker Street.
New Buffalo serves as a vacation retreat for many Chicago celebrities including Mayor Daley, Oprah Winfrey and Roger Ebert. Recently, the area has seen increasing tourism following the opening of two large Vegas-style casinos and increasing residential developments. Both tourists and locals relish the calm blue waters--great for kayaking, boating, fishing, and jet-skiing.
The town is a little over an hour from downtown Chicago, and also accessible by Amtrak trains and ferry (from Milwaukee). Please notice that New Buffalo runs on MICHIGAN TIME (EST). 5 minutes down the road in Michigan City (which is in Indiana) runs on CHICAGO TIME (CST).