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. It stretches 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. About 15 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails lace through it, plus the Old Baldy overlook high above the lake. Nearby, tucked on a small lake near the shore, is historic Watervale. The former 1890s lumber town has 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 protected natural beauty, Lake Michigan access, and affordable rural and farm land. All of it sits away from the busier resort towns. Properties here are on wells and septic (see the well-and-septic note).