Nub's Nob and The Highlands

A few miles north of Harbor Springs, in Pleasantview Township, sit two of the Midwest’s best-known ski areas, right across a valley from each other. Nub’s Nob is a beloved, family-owned hill famous for its grooming and snowmaking (the snow guns it uses were invented on-site). The Highlands — known as Boyne Highlands until 2021 — is a full Boyne resort with skiing, golf, lodging, and dining. Together they get this corner of Emmet County a steady stream of winter visitors, with plenty of natural snow on top of the machine-made.

The same hills are busy in the other seasons too, with golf, mountain biking, and hiking, and the surrounding township is rolling, wooded country dotted with chalets and resort condos. The Tunnel of Trees (M-119) runs along the Lake Michigan shore a short drive to the west.

For buyers, this is ski-and-golf country: you’ll find slope-side condos and chalets built for weekend and seasonal use, plus quieter wooded lots and homes a bit farther out. If you want easy access to the lifts — or a rental-friendly place near them — this township is the spot. Homes here are on wells and septic (see the well-and-septic note).