Harrietta and the birthplace of Michigan's brown trout

The tiny village of Harrietta sits in the southwest of the county, ringed by the Manistee National Forest. It started out as a logging town — it even briefly went by a different name, Gaston — but the thing that put Harrietta on the map is its fish hatchery.

The Harrietta State Fish Hatchery opened in 1901, which makes it the oldest hatchery still running in Michigan. It’s also long been known as the birthplace of brown trout in the state. Today the hatchery raises brown trout and steelhead by the truckload for rivers and lakes all over Michigan, and it’s open to visitors free of charge, with cold spring water running through long rearing ponds full of fish. If you’ve ever caught a brown trout in a Michigan stream, there’s a fair chance its ancestors got their start right here.

You can find visiting hours and directions on the Michigan DNR’s Harrietta hatchery page.