County note shelf
Grand Traverse County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Grand Traverse County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 15 local stories.
19 notes
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- History and cultureInterlochenInterlochen brings a world-famous arts campus, Michigan's first state-created park, and lake-and-woods living to Green Lake Township.
- OutdoorsLong LakeLong Lake is Grand Traverse County's largest inland lake, with wooded islands, loon habitat, and in-demand lakefront west of Traverse City.
- Money and taxesNo city income tax in Grand Traverse CountyTraverse City levies no city income tax — none of the 24 Michigan cities that do is near Grand Traverse Bay; tiny Grayling, an hour east, is the closest.
- History and cultureThe Old Mission PeninsulaThe Old Mission Peninsula is Peninsula Township's scenic spine of orchards, vineyards, bay views, and old Grand Traverse history.
- OutdoorsWhitewater Township and Lake SkegemogWhitewater Township connects Williamsburg, Turtle Creek Casino, Lake Skegemog, Elk Lake, and the Chain of Lakes side of Grand Traverse County.
- History and cultureTraverse CityTraverse City is northern Michigan's regional hub, with downtown, Grand Traverse Bay, the restored Commons, and busy Garfield Township close together.
- History and cultureMichigan 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.
- OutdoorsMichigan's 3,288 miles of Great Lakes shorelineMichigan touches four Great Lakes. EGLE counts 3,288 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and calls it the nation's longest freshwater coastline; NOAA's chart-based measurement is 3,224 miles.
- History and culturePower Island: Henry Ford's Island GetawayA roughly 200-acre island in Grand Traverse Bay that Henry Ford once owned, now a quiet county park reached only by boat.
- History and cultureThe Dogman: A Monster That Was Invented as a Joke, Then Came TrueThe Michigan Dogman was invented by a Traverse City DJ as a 1987 April Fools' prank — then listeners started calling in to report they'd seen it.
- History and cultureThe Jilted Wife of Bowers Harbor InnThe Bowers Harbor Inn ghost legend paints a jilted wife who hanged herself — but the real Jennie Stickney died of natural causes, and the story does her wrong.
- History and cultureWine on the 45th Parallel: Michigan's Cool-Climate BoomOn the 45th parallel near Traverse City, two slender peninsulas have grown into Michigan's serious, Riesling-loving wine country.
- OutdoorsGrand Traverse Bay and cherry countryGrand Traverse Bay, Old Mission Peninsula, cherries, orchards, and wineries shape the county's bay-shore townships.
- History and cultureWhat Does "Up North" Actually Mean in Michigan?'Up North' isn't a direction in Michigan — it's a place and a feeling: cabins, lakes, and pine forests somewhere past the middle of the mitten, with a border no one can quite agree on.
- History and cultureKalkaska SandFew states have an official soil; Michigan does. Kalkaska sand is found nowhere else on Earth, covering close to a million acres of the state's glacial, sandy ground.
- History and cultureThe southern villages and countrysideSouthern Grand Traverse County centers on Kingsley, Fife Lake, rural townships, rail history, farms, woods, and more affordable country living.
- Home and propertyWell and septic in Grand Traverse CountyGrand Traverse County has a 2026 time-of-transfer well and septic rule for homes near surface water, plus township-level record checks.
- Money and taxesBuying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxesMichigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxesIn Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not oneMost Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.