Northport

Northport is the village at the end of the Leelanau Peninsula: a small harbor town on Grand Traverse Bay with two beaches beside the marina and a state park, a lighthouse and quiet Lake Michigan trails a few miles north. One day covers the village and the tip. Come for a summer Friday or a festival weekend if you can, when the village is at its liveliest.

Getting there and getting around

M-22 reaches the village from the south, and County Road 629 (Lighthouse Point Road) continues north to Leelanau State Park. By our routing estimates, the drive takes about 3 hours 25 minutes from Grand Rapids, about 5 hours 35 minutes from Detroit and about 6 hours 45 minutes from Chicago. See getting here and the M-22 route.

The nearest airline airport is Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, which our estimate puts about 50 minutes away by car. Private pilots can use the turf strip at Woolsey Memorial Airport just outside the village.

Downtown, the beaches and the G. Marsten Dame Marina are a short walk apart. You need the car for the state park.

Where to eat

For a village this size, Northport has a good small run of places, and several now stay open through the winter. Check days before you go.

• Faro. Italian cooking led by wood-fired pizza, with small plates and a full bar, inside the Northport Inn on Nagonaba Street. It stayed open through the past winter.
• Jeannine’s. A newer breakfast and lunch restaurant in the old Tribune building on Nagonaba Street, opened in late 2025. Breakfast is the focus, with a frittata that changes often; at lunch, the patty melt on focaccia is the dish to know.
• New Bohemian Cafe. The year-round coffee and breakfast stop downtown, with Italian-style espresso, a breakfast sandwich called the Kev McMurphin, house-made cinnamon rolls and sandwiches at lunch.
• Barb’s Bakery. The village bakery and morning gathering spot, with a communal table and old-fashioned doughnuts. Ask for the cinnamon twist. It has taken a break in late winter, so check before an early-spring visit.
• The Big Hot Woody at Mitten Brewing. A wood-fired pizza wagon parked at the brewery’s covered patio, open from late May.
• Yard & Lake. A lake-themed shop on Mill Street with a beer and cocktail garden, local wine and cider, and small plates.

Where to stay

Our listings do not include a Northport property yet. See places to stay in Northport for rentals, or camp at Leelanau State Park, which has a rustic campground and two mini cabins. For inns and hotels, look at Suttons Bay or Leland, each a short drive south.

Our picks

The beaches in town. South Beach on Bay Street has a sandy swimming area, restrooms, picnic tables and a playground. Haserot Park, just north of the marina, is a grassy downtown beach with a pier.

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse. At the tip of the peninsula inside Leelanau State Park, with exhibits and a gift shop. It is open to visitors from May through November. You need a Recreation Passport on your car; see our licenses and passes guide.

Cathead Bay. About four miles of marked trails a few miles south of the lighthouse. One loop follows a quiet stretch of Lake Michigan beach and low dunes; another winds through wooded old dunes beside Mud Lake.

Music in the Park. Free Friday night concerts at the Marina Park pavilion in summer, a tradition since 1986. Bring a chair and come early.

Downtown. Shops, galleries and a farmers market near the marina on Bay Street. The village visitor center on Nagonaba Street is listed as open daily from Memorial Day weekend through October.

One day

Coffee and a cinnamon roll at New Bohemian, then drive up to the lighthouse and walk the Cathead Bay beach loop. Back in town, swim at South Beach and finish with pizza at Faro or on the patio at Mitten Brewing. On a Friday in summer, end at Music in the Park.

With kids, and on a rainy day

South Beach has the playground and the gentlest swimming. On a rainy day, tour the lighthouse exhibits, check the Leelanau Township Library on Nagonaba Street for story times and talks, and see what is on at the Northport Community Arts Center in the school auditorium.

Best time to go

Summer is the season, and mid-May brings cherry blossoms and orchards in bloom along M-22. In August the village turns out for the Northport Dog Parade, with a new costume theme every year. In late September, Leelanau UnCaged closes downtown to cars for a free day of music and dance, and it is the best reason to come back after Labor Day. We’d pick that weekend for a first visit if you like a crowd, or a weekday in September if you do not.

Winter

Northport is very quiet in winter, but not shut. Leelanau State Park lists 8.5 miles of trails for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. In town, New Bohemian Cafe is open year-round, and Faro and Yard & Lake stayed open through the past winter; call ahead.

For more of the peninsula, see our Leland and Suttons Bay guides.

Hours, menus and schedules change, so check with each place before you go.