Follow M-22 up the Leelanau Peninsula until it almost runs out of land and you reach Northport, a small village on Grand Traverse Bay near the northern tip. It's about 29 miles north of Traverse City and roughly 12 miles past Leland.
M-22 reaches its northernmost point here before it turns back south toward Suttons Bay. Past the village there's just a few more miles of peninsula and the state park at the tip. The 2020 census counted 496 people in the village.
I'm Taylor Brown. My mom and business partner, Janel, and I sell homes all over Northern Michigan, and Northport comes up with buyers who want bay water and a slower pace and don't mind a longer drive into town.
The bay and the tip. Town faces east onto the bay, and the peninsula runs out a few miles north.
Grand Traverse Bay: The G. Marsten Dame Marina sits at the edge of downtown. In summer the village holds Music in the Park, free concerts on Friday evenings down by the marina.
The tip itself: About 9 miles north of town, Leelanau State Park covers more than 1,550 acres in two units near the end of the peninsula. The Grand Traverse Lighthouse there was built in 1858 to replace an 1852 tower, and it's open for tours, generally April through October, including a climb up the tower. The park's southern unit holds its trail system, known as Cathead Bay, and a walk out to a sandy Lake Michigan beach.
Old roots. In June 1849, Chief Peter Waukazoo's Odawa band and Reverend George Smith arrived here and started a settlement called Waukazooville. Deacon Joseph Dame came in 1854 and renamed it Northport. Smith's farm is where the area's cherry industry got its start in 1853, and the village served as the Leelanau County seat from 1863 to 1883.
Downtown. The business district is small and easy to walk, a few blocks from the marina. Barb's Bakery is on Mill Street.
What buyers should know.
Village or township: The Village of Northport sits inside Leelanau Township, and they are separate governments with separate rules. Village homes pay village millage on top of the township and school levies. On the 2025 rates, that was about 26.4 mills for a primary residence in the village against about 18.6 in the township outside it (in the Northport school district). Most Leelanau County units also add a 1% administration fee to the bill. Our payment calculator shows what that means for a monthly payment.
Short-term rentals: The rules change at the village line. Inside the village, you register with the Village Manager before renting for less than 30 days, with no cap, and at least one 2026 rental went through a special use permit hearing under village zoning, so ask which applies to the address. Outside the village, Leelanau Township requires a permit: three guests per bedroom with a hard limit of 15, a local contact within 45 minutes, and a permit that does not pass to a buyer. Our STR Checker is a good place to start.
Schools: Northport Public School, on Wing Street, serves kindergarten through 12th grade.
The drive: Plan on roughly 45 minutes to downtown Traverse City. If you work from home, check internet service at the exact address before you write an offer.
Why our experience matters here. With fewer than 500 people in the village, Northport doesn't produce many sales in a year, and a bay-front cottage in town and a wooded parcel out toward the state park don't price alike. Before you offer, we'll find the closest sales we can and check whether the address falls under the village's rental rules or Leelanau Township's 15-guest cap.
Come see it. The drive up M-22 is part of deciding whether Northport works for you, so do it with us once. Reach out and we'll head up together, walk the marina and drive out to the lighthouse, and talk honestly about whether living this far up the peninsula fits.
Thinking about being on the water up here? Here are the current 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
