The Old Mission Peninsula

The Old Mission Peninsula is a long, narrow finger of land reaching up the middle of Grand Traverse Bay. Orchards, vineyards, farmsteads, and homes share the ridge, with water on both sides. Center Road, M-37, runs north to Mission Point Lighthouse near the tip. The U.S. Coast Guard’s history places the lighthouse on the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole.

The landscape is closely tied to cherries and wine grapes, but the name “Old Mission” reaches farther back. The Rev. Peter Dougherty arrived in 1839, and the community near the tip grew around the mission. The Dougherty Mission House is the last remaining local structure tied to those early years of European settlement. Mission Point Lighthouse followed in 1870 and guided mariners until 1933.

There is also a current property rule to know. Starting in January 2026, Grand Traverse County requires an evaluation before the sale or transfer of a home that has a well or septic system and sits within 300 feet of surface water. The county provides a parcel-map layer because the rule depends on the home and its systems, not simply an Old Mission mailing address.