Michigan Grows Nearly Three-Quarters of the Nation's Tart Cherries (and Throws a 100-Year Party for Them)
Michigan grows nearly three-quarters of the nation's tart cherries, and Traverse City throws its 100th National Cherry Festival in 2026.
If you’ve ever bitten into a tart cherry pie, odds are very good those cherries grew within a stone’s throw of Lake Michigan. USDA data shared by the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center says Michigan accounted for “nearly 74 percent of tart cherry production (NASS, 2022).” Michigan State University Extension puts it at “about 75 percent of the nation’s tart cherry crop.” To picture the scale: in 2021, Michigan grew 96.6 million pounds of a 172.1-million-pound U.S. total. The heart of it all is Traverse City — the self-proclaimed “Cherry Capital of the World.” The city’s airport is literally named Cherry Capital Airport.
Why here? It’s the lake. Lake Michigan acts like a giant temperature buffer. It holds off late frosts in spring and cools the orchards in summer. Cherry trees love it. The story goes back to 1852. That year a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty planted cherry trees near Old Mission. Locals thought he was crazy. Then the trees thrived. By 1900 the region was a cherry powerhouse.
That bounty gets celebrated every July at the National Cherry Festival. It began way back in 1925 as the “Blessing of the Blossoms.” Today it draws an estimated 500,000 visitors over its eight days. They come for parades, air shows, pie-eating contests, and a cherry-pit-spitting competition. And here’s the timely part. 2026 marks the 100th National Cherry Festival, running July 4–11 in Traverse City. A century of cherries.
Where to see it
The 100th National Cherry Festival, July 4–11, 2026, along the Open Space and Clinch Park in downtown Traverse City. During the season you can also pick your own at orchards around the Grand Traverse region. Details at cherryfestival.org.