County note shelf
Leelanau County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Leelanau County. This shelf has 11 practical notes and 23 local stories.
34 notes
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- History and cultureEmpire: Gateway Village to Sleeping Bear DunesEmpire sits at the entrance to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — a small village that outlasted the logging era and now anchors one of Michigan's most-visited parks.
- History and cultureEmpire's Asparagus FestivalEvery June, Empire's Chamber of Commerce fills downtown with an asparagus-themed street festival — a fun run, recipe contest, local food and drink, live music, and a community poetry contest.
- History and cultureGlen Arbor, Glen Haven, and Sleeping Bear DunesGlen Arbor sits at the M-22 and M-109 junction at the edge of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, where Glen Haven's historic buildings — including D.H. Day's once-multipurpose general store — are still open to visit inside the park.
- Home and propertyLeelanau Township's Private Road OrdinanceLeelanau Township has a formal ordinance governing private roads — a useful first stop for anyone buying property on a private road there.
- History and cultureLeelanau's History, Collected and Kept in LelandThe Leelanau Historical Society Museum holds more than 20,000 items — from Anishinaabek arts to Great Lakes shipwrecks — and a deep newspaper archive going back to 1858.
- History and culturePort Oneida: A Farming Village Frozen in TimeThe Port Oneida Rural Historic District preserves more than 3,400 acres of intact farm landscape from an 1860s German immigrant community, now protected inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
- Home and propertyShort-Term Rental Permits in Leelanau TownshipLeelanau Township requires a permit for any short-term rental, with guest limits tied to bedroom count and septic capacity.
- History and cultureThe Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa IndiansThe Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has roots in the Grand Traverse region going back to the 1830s; after two earlier denials, the federal government formally re-recognized the tribe on May 27, 1980.
- Money and taxesThe Principal Residence Exemption in Leelanau TownshipWhen you buy property in Leelanau Township as your primary home, filing for the Principal Residence Exemption — and a Property Transfer Affidavit — are the first tax steps to take care of.
- History and cultureNorthport, the lighthouse, and the tip of the peninsulaNorthport, Omena, Leelanau State Park, and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse anchor the quiet northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.
- OutdoorsFishing Sleeping Bear: Lakes, Fish, and the Rules That MatterSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore holds more than 90 native fish species and some great fishing spots — here's what licenses and permits you'll need, and which waters are worth your time.
- OutdoorsLake Leelanau: Two Basins, One LakeLake Leelanau runs as two connected basins — North Lake Leelanau near Leland and South Lake Leelanau — joined by the Lake Leelanau Narrows before draining to Leland's waterfront at M-22.
- OutdoorsThe Sleeping Bear Heritage TrailThe only bike trail in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — about 22 miles of mostly paved path through rolling hills, dunes, and forest, open to cyclists, walkers, and winter skiers.
- OutdoorsInland Leelanau: Cedar, Maple City, and the farm countryCedar, Maple City, orchards, vineyards, farms, and wooded acreage define the quieter inland side of Leelanau County.
- History and cultureLeland, Fishtown, and the Manitou IslandsLeland, Fishtown, Lake Leelanau, and the Manitou Islands shape the historic Lake Michigan side of the Leelanau Peninsula.
- History and cultureHow Many Great Lakes Does Michigan Actually Touch?Michigan touches four of the five Great Lakes (everything but Ontario) — the only state that does — and Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely inside the U.S.
- 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.
- OutdoorsSouth Manitou Island: ancient cedars and a shipwreck offshoreAncient cedars, a deep-water harbor, and a freighter wrecked just offshore on an island in Sleeping Bear Dunes.
- 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.
- OutdoorsGlen Lake: Two Depths, One Glacial StoryGlacier-carved Glen Lake sits inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, split into a 130-foot-deep Big Glen and a shallow Little Glen, with public access for swimming, paddling, and fishing at the Little Glen Lake Picnic Area.
- Home and propertyInland Lake Levels and Special Assessments in Leelanau CountyMichigan law can set a lake's water level by court order, and both waterfront and lake-access parcels may owe annual special assessments to maintain it.
- Home and propertySleeping Bear's Moving Shoreline: Bluff Erosion and Coastal LandslidesThe bluffs at Sleeping Bear Dunes are glacial moraines that erode continuously and can slide suddenly — and Lake Michigan's cyclical water levels mean the risk rises and falls over the decades.
- OutdoorsSleeping Bear DunesSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore protects Lake Michigan shoreline, towering perched dunes, inland lakes, historic villages, and a paved heritage trail.
- OutdoorsThe Leelanau wine peninsula and the bay shoreThe Leelanau Peninsula's Grand Traverse Bay shore, vineyards, orchards, Suttons Bay, Peshawbestown, and Greilickville shape this side of the county.
- Home and propertyBluffs, Dunes, and Erosion on Leelanau's Lake Michigan ShoreLeelanau's Lake Michigan bluffs and dunes are ancient glacial features still actively eroding — landslides, moving sand, and high-water years all matter if you're eyeing shoreline property.
- 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.
- Rules and licensesIn Leelanau County, Your Township Handles More Than You'd ThinkIn Leelanau County, your township — not the county — handles zoning, property assessment, STR permits, and private road rules, and each township sets its own policies.
- Home and propertyWell and septic in Leelanau CountyLeelanau County has a countywide time-of-transfer rule requiring well and septic evaluations before most property sales or transfers.
- 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.