Leland is a picturesque little village located on a sliver of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau, on beautiful Leelanau Peninsula, a 25 minute drive north and west of Traverse City. This uncommon and charming village will mesmerize you with its beauty and amenities. Guests arrive by car, boat and bicycle. Once here, Leland is a great “walking around” town. All of the shops, restaurants, galleries and museums are located within a short distance. There is easy access to public beaches, boat launches on each lake and a river connecting the two.
Leland’s historical district, known as Fishtown, features rustic shanties and docks reminiscent of life and commercial fishing one hundred years ago. Today, galleries and unique shops fill these shanties, and charter fishing trips and the only public ferry to the popular Manitou Islands depart from those same docks. While you’re in Fishtown, wander over to see the new Leland Marina complete with over 70 slips and a new welcome center for our boaters…the perfect place for launching and mooring boats on Lake Michigan. One of Leland’s signature events is the annual Leland Wine and Food Festival held on the second Saturday each June. This festival features many of our region’s exquisite, award-winning wines as well as outstanding food and hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants.
Northern Michigan’s commercial fishing heritage remains alive today in Leland’s Fishtown! Walk along the docks, amongst the weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses, racks of drying fishing nets, and fish tugs on the Leland River, and you can imagine what it would have been like in the early 1900s to live and work in this small fishing village, nestled along the shore of Lake Michigan. Fishtown still operates as one of the only working commercial fishing villages in the state of Michigan.
Sources:
http://www.lelandmi.com/fishtown/
http://www.michigan.org/city/leland/