Leland sits on a narrow strip of land in Leelanau County, with Lake Michigan to the west and North Lake Leelanau to the east. The Leland River runs about a mile between the two, right through the middle of town, and the town grew up around it.
Leland is an unincorporated community in Leland Township, about 25 miles from Traverse City, with 410 residents at the 2020 census. It was the Leelanau County seat from 1883 until 2004.
I'm Taylor Brown. My mom and business partner, Janel, and I sell homes all over Northern Michigan, and Leland comes up with buyers who want Lake Michigan and an inland lake within walking distance of each other.
Fishtown. The weathered gray shanties along the river are Fishtown, a designated historic district. Commercial fishermen started working out of the harbor around 1880. Today the nonprofit Fishtown Preservation Society owns the old settlement along with two fish tugs, the Joy and the Janice Sue. It still works as a fishery: Carlson's Fishery rents its shanty from the Society and sells fish to the public, and the Joy still brings in whitefish.
The island ferry. Manitou Island Transit has run ferries from Leland to North and South Manitou Islands since 1917. Both island docks are closed for all of 2026 while the Park Service rebuilds them, so there's no regular ferry this year. The Park Service expects the docks to reopen in 2027, so check before you plan a trip.
Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau. The big lake is on one side of Main Street and the inland lake is a few blocks the other way.
Lake Michigan: Van's Beach is a public beach right in downtown Leland, reached from the end of Cedar Street.
Lake Leelanau: This long inland lake runs about 16 miles down the middle of the peninsula. Its water level was raised in 1854, when a dam and sawmill went in on the Leland River. On the north basin, Bartholomew Park (also called Nedow's Beach) at the end of Pearl Street has a public beach, a dock and a boat launch.
Leland Blue. Keep an eye on the beach for blue and gray stones. From 1870 into the mid-1880s, an iron works here burned charcoal to smelt ore, and the leftover slag was dumped into Lake Michigan. The waves still wash pieces of it back up, and people here call it Leland Blue.
Around town. The Blue Bird reopened in October 2025 in a new building on River Street, with big windows and a patio facing the river.
What buyers should know.
Short-term rentals: With no village government, the township rules are the only local rules. Leland Township has had an ordinance since 2020 that requires short-term rentals to register, mainly to count them and keep emergency contacts on file. The township hired a new zoning administrator in August 2026, so confirm the current rules with the township before you count on rental income. Our STR Checker is a good place to start.
Property taxes: On the 2025 rates, a primary residence in Leland Township in the Leland school district paid about 21.1 mills. A smaller part of the township falls in the Suttons Bay school district at about 20.1. Our payment calculator shows what that means for a monthly payment.
Water access: A lake view and the right to use the water are two different things. Check the deed or association documents for any access a listing mentions.
Why our experience matters here. In Leland, a few blocks can separate a house with frontage from one with no water rights at all. We'll line up sales from the same side of the river and the same lake, and read the deed or association papers on any access a listing claims, before you put a number on paper.
Come see it. Leland is small enough to walk end to end in an afternoon. Reach out and we'll park once, walk the Fishtown boardwalk down to the harbor and over to Lake Leelanau, and talk through whether it's the right fit for you.
Thinking about being on the water around here? Here are the current Lake Leelanau homes for sale and Lake Michigan homes for sale in Leelanau County, checked against the MLS every day.
Janel & Taylor Brown
The Brown Team | Real Estate One
(231) 360-1510
