Arcadia Dunes and the southern corner

Benzie’s quiet southwestern corner is anchored by one of the region’s great conservation success stories: Arcadia Dunes, the C.S. Mott Nature Preserve. Stretching along Lake Michigan and into the hills of Blaine Township (and on into Manistee County), it’s the largest preserve of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy — thousands of acres of dunes, forest, and farmland laced with about 15 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails, plus the Old Baldy overlook high above the lake. Nearby, tucked on a small lake near the shore, is historic Watervale, a former 1890s lumber town that’s been run as a summer resort for over a century.

The rest of this corner, including Joyfield Township, is rolling farm and orchard country — cherries, apples, and woods — inland and uncrowded.

For buyers, the southwestern townships offer a mix of protected natural beauty, Lake Michigan access, and affordable rural and farm land away from the busier resort towns. Properties here are on wells and septic (see the well-and-septic note).