Most people look at a map of Leelanau County and follow the shoreline: Leland, Northport, Suttons Bay. Cedar is in the middle, a small unincorporated community in Solon Township near the south end of Lake Leelanau, about a 14-mile drive from downtown Traverse City.
I'm Taylor Brown. My mom and business partner, Janel, and I sell homes all over Northern Michigan, and Cedar comes up with buyers who want some land and a little distance from the busier shoreline towns.
Where it came from. A lumberman named Benjamin Boughey founded the town around 1885 and called it Cedar City, because it sat in a cedar forest. The Cedar post office opened in 1893. Cedar is known for its Polish heritage, and that's easiest to see in late summer.
Polka Fest. The Cedar Polka Fest is the big weekend here. The 44th annual festival ran August 27 to 30, 2026, with live polka bands, a parade, an arts and crafts fair, a car show and a race called the Run 4 the Kielbasa. Close to 10,000 people were expected, in a town that counted about 100 residents in the 2020 census.
The Rod & Gun Club. The Cedar Rod & Gun Club on South Sullivan Road has been around since 1936. It has a rifle range out to 275 yards and a 15-station pistol range, plus trap, skeet, 5-Stand and sporting clays. Skeet, 5-Stand and sporting clays are open to the public, and the calendar on the club's site shows which ranges are closed for events on a given day.
Land, not lakefront. Real estate around Cedar looks different from the coastal towns. A lot of what comes up is rural: houses on acreage, wooded parcels and vacant land, with Lake Leelanau a short drive north and Traverse City close enough for a daily commute.
What buyers should know.
Township rules: Cedar has no village government of its own, so Solon Township's zoning applies. If you're planning a pole barn or another outbuilding, check the setbacks and permit requirements with the township before you buy, not after.
Property taxes: On the 2025 rates, a primary residence in Solon Township paid about 19.7 mills in the Traverse City Area Public Schools part of the township and about 17.1 in the Glen Lake Community Schools part. The school district depends on the exact parcel, so check the tax record. Our payment calculator shows what the difference means month to month.
Short-term rentals: Solon Township is in the middle of a change. In June 2026 its planning commission approved a licensing ordinance and a zoning amendment that would cap licenses at 60 to start, with no more than two per license holder. The township board has carried it as tabled since July. For now there's no license or cap in place, but if rental income is part of your plan, assume rules are coming and confirm where things stand before closing. Our STR Checker is a good place to start.
Wells, septic and vacant land: Ask about the well and septic system on any rural property, and test both during inspections. If you're buying vacant land to build on, find out what a septic system will need before you commit. The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is the place to ask, and a soil evaluation up front can save you a lot of trouble later.
Why our experience matters here. Rural property gets priced on things a listing photo won't show you, like what the soils will support and what Solon Township will let you build. Janel has more than 21 years in this market. Before you offer on land around Cedar, we'll look into the septic question and the township zoning so the plan you have for the property actually works.
Come see it. Cedar is a back-roads place. Reach out and we'll drive the roads around town and up toward the south end of Lake Leelanau, walk a few parcels, and talk straight about whether rural living works for you.
Thinking about being on the water around here? Here are the current Lake Leelanau homes for sale, checked against the MLS every day.
Janel & Taylor Brown
The Brown Team | Real Estate One
(231) 360-1510
