I would like to say I have enough self-control to drive past a roadside pie sign.
I do not.
In northern Michigan, that weakness gets even worse when fresh cherries are part of the deal. A seasonal fruit stop along the highway makes it easy to pull over for a bag and stay just long enough for the bakery to complicate things.
Then you see the pie.
Fresh cherries may be the reason you stop, but the bakery can change the tone fast. Add a strudel, a few donuts, or something warm from the case and suddenly the car has snacks it absolutely did not need five minutes ago.
That is the charm of a place like this.
It fits into the drive without taking it over.
So be honest: are you really stopping for cherries, or are you already thinking about pie?
The US-31 Fruit Stop Runs On A Seasonal Calendar
The US-31 Fruit Stop is open for the 2026 season, and its schedule is tied directly to northern Michigan’s growing months. King Orchards lists this Kewadin market as a May-through-October stop, while the company’s M-88 home farm operates year-round.
That distinction gives the US-31 location its own character. This is not a winter market waiting quietly beside the highway. It is built around the active growing season, when fresh produce and bakery goods share the same stop.
Memorial Day marks the opening period for the 2026 season. From there, the market stays open into fall, giving you a long window to visit without pretending every month looks the same.
Early summer may bring one set of choices, while September can look completely different. The point is not to memorize a harvest chart before leaving home. It is to understand that the market changes as the growing season moves.
That rhythm keeps repeat visits from feeling identical. One stop may be mostly about cherries and bakery treats; another may lean more heavily toward later fruit and pantry goods.
Sweet Cherries Give July A Clear Focus
Fresh cherries are one of the strongest reasons to time a summer stop carefully. King Orchards grows several cherry varieties in northern Michigan, including black sweet cherries, Montmorency tart cherries, and Balaton cherries.
Sweet cherries generally arrive first, with tart cherries following later in the season. Weather can shift those dates, so anyone making a special trip for cherries should look at the current crop update before heading out.
The Kewadin location also offers sweet-cherry U-pick when that crop is available. You check in at the market, pay for the picking container, and head into the designated orchard area. Reservations are not required, and the farm provides the appropriate container for picking.
That gives you two very different versions of cherry season. Already-picked fruit keeps the stop quick. U-pick turns it into part of the afternoon.
Picking also changes the pace in a way a market purchase does not. Instead of choosing a bag and moving on, you spend time among the trees and leave with fruit you gathered yourself.
If cherries are only one part of a longer road trip, the market counter keeps things simple. If the orchard experience is the point, give yourself more time and let the picking become the activity.
The Bakery Gives The Stop A Second Reason To Pull Over
Fruit may set the calendar, but the bakery makes the stop useful even when you are not filling a produce bag.
The US-31 location is home to King Orchards’ bakery, with pies, breads, pastries, donuts, muffins, cookies, and strudels among the goods made through the season.
Pies fit the setting naturally because the bakery uses orchard fruit, including fruit grown by King Orchards. Cherry pie is an obvious northern Michigan choice, but the bakery is not limited to one filling or one kind of sweet.
The market also makes small-batch jams and jellies using fresh fruit. Those are easier to carry through the rest of a trip than a warm pie and can stretch the orchard stop well beyond the day you visit.
If you arrive hungry, the bakery can handle several jobs. A donut or pastry works for a quick break, while a loaf or pie is easier to save for later.
Because the bakery sits at the US-31 location itself, there is no need to make a second farm stop just to find baked goods.
That matters when the day already includes lake stops, scenic driving, or another destination farther north.
The market can cover a snack, dessert, and fresh fruit in one pull-off, which is about as efficient as a roadside treat stop needs to be.
The useful part is that you do not have to choose between fruit stand and bakery stop. They are the same stop, and the order can be as simple as fruit first, pastry second, and pie only if there is room in the car.
The Harvest Keeps The Produce Table Moving
Cherry season gets plenty of attention, but King Orchards grows far more than cherries. Across its orchards, the family raises apples, peaches, pears, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, plums, nectarines, and other crops alongside its cherry acreage.
That wider harvest gives the US-31 market something to work with after the main cherry weeks have passed. Fresh produce changes as different crops become available, which keeps later visits from feeling like a quieter version of July.
Raspberries are another U-pick option specifically offered at the US-31 location when available. Elsewhere across King Orchards, other fruits are tied to different picking areas, so it helps to keep the Kewadin Fruit Stop separate from the larger M-88 farm.
For shoppers, the produce table does most of the explaining. What is available that day is more useful than a long wish list made weeks earlier.
That makes the stop easy to read. Cherries may lead one visit, raspberries another, and later fruit can shift attention again as the season moves forward.
The Highway Location Makes A Short Stop Easy
The Kewadin market sits directly along US-31, which is exactly what a fruit stop should do well. You do not have to turn a pie or a bag of cherries into a major detour when the road already runs past the front door.
You will find King Orchards US-31 Fruit Stop at 986 US-31 South, Kewadin, MI 49648. The highway location works easily for both travelers and local shoppers, and a picnic area gives you somewhere to pause before continuing the drive.
That picnic area gives the bakery another role. A donut, pastry, or other small treat does not have to wait until the next destination. Sit down for a few minutes, split something with the person riding shotgun, and let the highway wait.
For a family or small group, the compact setup also makes different choices easy. One person can head toward the bakery while another checks produce, then everyone can regroup outside before getting back on the road.
The market works well as one piece of a longer northern Michigan day because the bakery, produce, and picnic area are all concentrated in one stop. You can spend ten minutes or settle in a little longer without changing the whole schedule.
Jams And Seasonal Treats Travel Easily
Fresh fruit is temporary by nature, but some of the market’s easiest take-home items are made to last longer. King Orchards produces small-batch jams and jellies from fruit, giving you a shelf-stable option when fresh produce is not practical for the rest of the drive.
Depending on the season, the US-31 shop can also carry caramel apples, fruit breads, muffins, cookies, strudels, and other bakery goods. That gives the market a different feel from a simple produce stand.
Jam is the easy traveler. Pie is the stronger same-day temptation. A few baked goods can handle breakfast the next morning without asking much from anyone.
Those choices keep the stop useful even when the car is already full of plans. You can leave with something meant for today, something meant for tomorrow, or something that can wait on a pantry shelf.
The best part is not having to turn every counter into a decision. Pick one or two things that fit the day, then keep moving.
Current Hours Leave Plenty Of Room For A Road-Trip Stop
For the 2026 season, the US-31 Fruit Stop lists market hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Those hours give you enough flexibility to stop in the morning, break up an afternoon drive, or swing through before dinner plans take over.
Morning works well if the bakery is the priority. You can make the stop early and still have most of the day ahead. An afternoon visit makes sense when you are already moving between other plans and only need a quick pause.
Fresh-fruit availability is the one detail that remains less predictable than the clock. Weather and harvest conditions can change what is ready, especially during short crop windows.
For everything else, the visit can stay pleasantly uncomplicated. Use the posted hours, see what is on the produce table, and let the bakery make the final decision harder than it needs to be.
You may leave with cherries, a pie, jam, a pastry, or something completely different from what you expected. That small element of surprise is part of what makes a seasonal roadside stop worth pulling over for.