Inland Leelanau: Cedar, Maple City, and the farm country

Away from the water, the southwestern corner of the county is quieter farm-and-forest country — rolling fields, orchards, vineyards, and woods, tucked between Traverse City and the dunes. The heart of it is Cedar, a small community in Solon Township settled in the 1880s and known for its Polish roots; its Cedar Polka Festival, going strong since the 1970s, packs the town every July. Nearby Maple City anchors Kasson Township, and the hills around here are full of farms and cherry orchards. Just to the northwest stand the slopes of the long-closed Sugar Loaf resort — a local landmark people still talk about.

This part of Leelanau trades lake frontage for elbow room. It’s a short drive to Traverse City’s stores and jobs in one direction and to Lake Leelanau, the wineries, and Sleeping Bear Dunes in the other, which makes it a practical, more affordable home base in an expensive county.

For buyers, this is where you look for acreage, a building site, orchard or hobby-farm land, or simply more house for the money. Lots are larger and prices gentler than along the water, and properties run on private wells and septic systems (see the well-and-septic note), so check the well, the drainfield, and where utilities run.