The Perfect 3-Day Road Trip Along Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula

Day 1

It was mid-September, autumn still just a hint, but there were already shorter days, cooler nights, the scent of woodsmoke even in town. Flocks of birds were heading south, the honking of Canada geese exceptionally noticeable.

Driving north on US 31 from my home near Grand Haven, Michigan, my high school friend Ginny and I arrived in Traverse City in about three hours, in time for lunch at Grand Traverse Pie Company. Yes, pie for lunch. We sampled both the cherry and the ABC pie with Michigan apples, blueberries and cherries. This region bills itself as the “Cherry Capital of the World” because most of the crops of the nation’s top tart cherry-producing state are grown here. (Most pie aficionados say tart cherries are the best for pies.)

Were we coming from farther away, we likely would have flown into Cherry Capital Airport, Michigan’s third busiest, with nonstop flights to 20 destinations. If you choose flying, you’ll need to rent a car.

After the pie, we strolled along Traverse City’s downtown. My Secret Stash offers Michigan mementos as well as lush houseplants. We bought coasters and a plant. The boutique Haystacks lured us in with its name, then surprised us with clever, upscale clothing. Why the name? Because owner/designer Lizzi Lambert’s family moved to the Leelanau Peninsula years ago to be hay farmers. She learned she’s a lot better at sewing clothes than making hay.

Day 2

Into the Leelanau Peninsula. Its calling card: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We drove 24 miles west from Traverse City on M-72 to Empire. The park’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center is there, at the junction of M-72 and M-22. The park covers 71,000 acres. That’s almost 111 square miles, so be sure to get a park map.

Sleeping Bear offers huge sand dunes, 35 miles of protected Lake Michigan shoreline, two islands, inland lakes and rivers, beaches, forests and historic farmland.

I’d been to the park years earlier, so we opted for a forest walk within the national lakeshore led by Julie Den Uyl, founder of Sleeping Bear Tour Company. A slow walk, with Den Uyl encouraging us to use all our senses.

Sunlight peeked through the still-green leaves of maples and beeches as well as the always-green needles of hemlocks and pines. A slight breeze fluttered the leaves gently, birds called from far above the forest canopy, the crack of a twig under our feet, surprising. We touched the rough bark of trees, the silkiness of leaves not yet autumn brittle, the unexpected softness of pine needles. We even tasted wintergreen and cedar. What I remember most clearly is that musty, earthy smell of the woods.

We then drove to a nearby spot for a walk through the sand to the lakeshore. The sand here is loose. Just walking, even on flat terrain, can be difficult because there’s no walking on the sand; it’s in the sand. And it’s slow going.

And then the shoreline, compacted sand. In comparison, like being on a sidewalk.

For me, a gotta-do is touching the water. The weather was cool, so instead of wading we just swished our hands in Lake Michigan.

Many of the park’s visitors—some 1.5 million annually—opt for looking. Just looking. My favorite way: a drive to Lake Michigan Overlook on Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. It’s a mind-boggling glimpse at an angled drop of 450 feet of dune sand that ends at the shore.

Some choose to hike down to the lake. It comes with a word of caution, on big warning signs: The climb back up, through all that sand, can be exhausting. If you need to be rescued, you’ll pay. So we just looked.

Then, to Grand Traverse Lighthouse in Northport, at the northern tip of the peninsula, open April through October. Climbing to the top is surprisingly easy—about 50 steps—because the lighthouse is high on a bluff. The view? Worthy of a climb even if there were many more steps.

We retraced our drive to stop at Fishtown, a historic neighborhood in Leland, 20 miles from the lighthouse. The village is peppered with weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses, and docks lined with early 20th-century fishing boats and modern charter boats.

And then, Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, 19 miles southwest of Leland. Everything in the store, more than 200 food items, contains cherries. Think pie, jam, salsa, coffee, wine... . We had dinner in the restaurant. Cherry chicken salad. And more pie.

M-22, which follows the perimeter of the Leelanau Peninsula, is considered Michigan’s most scenic fall drive. It’s pretty any time of the year, but its beeches and maples are vibrant with yellows and oranges in October.

At Empire, we turned east onto M-72 to return to Traverse City.

Day 3

Old Mission Peninsula, the Leelanau’s smaller sister, enticed us for one last sightseeing stop. We wanted to visit Mission Point Lighthouse, 19 miles north of Traverse City on M-37. Grand Traverse Lighthouse is substantial. This one, just so cute—and so relaxing with green Adirondack chairs in the yard. It’s on the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.

And then, back home. With pies for the freezer.