The Leelanau Peninsula stretches northwest of Traverse City between Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan, and it is considerably larger and more varied than its neighbour Old Mission. This is one of the loveliest corners of the Lower Peninsula: rolling hills, inland lakes, forested ridges, cherry orchards, and a shoreline that shifts between sheltered bay and open Great Lake. Locals sometimes call it "the little finger" of Michigan's mitten, and a day spent driving it is one of the best ways to spend time in the north of the state.
Wine is the peninsula's calling card. It was slower than Old Mission to develop its identity, but it now has more than 25 wineries and has arguably overtaken its neighbour in breadth of style. The varied topography — sandy to clay soils, lake-effect snow in winter — produces wines with more character variation than the flatter Old Mission. Black Star Farms is one of the anchor producers, with both a winery and an inn. L. Mawby near Suttons Bay, the region's first dedicated sparkling-wine producer, helped establish Leelanau's reputation for quality and still makes excellent méthode champenoise bottlings. The Leelanau Wine Cellars near Omena is one of the oldest in the region.
The peninsula's small towns each merit a stop. Suttons Bay on the eastern shore is full of shops and good restaurants; Leland, on the Lake Michigan side, has its weathered fishing village of Fishtown; and Northport sits near the tip beside a lighthouse at Leelanau State Park. A day spent here might string together two or three wineries, lunch in Leland near the historic docks, and a late-afternoon drive back to Traverse City with the bay glowing on your right.
For cyclists, the flat, paved Leelanau Trail runs 27 km from Traverse City to Suttons Bay through orchards and vineyards, a car-free way to sample the southern end of the peninsula.