Leelanau.com Blog
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This week's photo is Fall Folly by StacyN - MichiganMoments. She took it near Maple City and we featured it this week over on Michigan in Pictures. Check it out bigger and in her Generic Fall Images slideshow.

We've had an absolutely SPECTACULAR week of weather - sunny and 60s, into the 70s today with more 70s and sun through the weekend!! As if that wasn't enough, fall color is popping right now! We will likely hit peak this weekend or the middle of next week. The good news is that there is a wide range of color with some areas at full color right now but many others showing significant green. That means we will continue to have color the weekend of the 15th and very likely the following weekend as well.

Visit thirteen of Leelanau’s galleries during the FALL FOR ART in LEELANAU gallery tour this Friday, October 7 & Saturday, October 8 (10-5 PM) and Sunday, October 9 (10-2 PM). Start your tour by picking up a descriptive brochure at any participating gallery displaying a bright yellow FALL FOR ART sign. Each gallery will be happy to sign your tour brochure to insure your entry in the prize drawing at the end of the tour.

During FALL FOR ART the Glen Arbor Art Association is having an exhibit of work by GAAA members and will host a reception Friday evening from 6-8 PM.

Fall for Art will conclude with another reception and prize drawing Sunday, October 9, 3:00 p.m. at Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor.

The following galleries are on the tour: (more...)

See the comments for color updates, add your own and also get the latest color on the Leelanau Almanac.

Fall color season is a great time to visit the Leelanau Peninsula. Our roadsides are lined with maple and oak and while the hillsides catch fire in late September of every year, the pace slows down and gives visitors a little more elbow room to slow down and enjoy it all. Here's a few of our favorite fall features and websites...

• Leelanau Webcams There's a few webcams that can give you a live look at the state of fall color in the region. If you turn the Cove Cam in Leland to the right, you can see some of the color on Lake Street in Leland. Inland Seas has a webcam on Suttons Bay. You can also check in on downtown Traverse City.
• Fall Events There are all kinds of great events to enjoy in Autumn - click that link to see some of them through the Leelanau Calendar.
• Fall Color Photos You can get some great fall color photos from the Leelanau.com photo group and also through the Leelanau blog's Fall archive. There's some nice fall backgrounds as well!
• Antique Apples at Kilcherman's Farm offers a unique tasting experience over 100 apples!
• Wine Touring The Leelanau peninsula is home to over 20 wineries, many of them off-the-beaten-path. Visit tiny tasting rooms like Chateau Fontaine in Lake Leelanau, or explore the impressive Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay. Each as diverse and interesting as the award-winning wines they produce.
• Fall Surfing! You might not be aware that Leelanau boasts some excellent surfing in the Fall. Click that link to check out Northern Michigan Surfing on Facebook!
• The M-22 Color Tour explores 116 miles of scenic highway winding through the countryside of Benzie, Manistee, and Leelanau Counties.

Over at Michigan.org their fall color tour for Leelanau/Traverse City/Benzie features Leelanau:

"Land of Delight" is the English translation of the Indian wood "leelanau," and it's easy to understand the reason for so naming the Leelanau Peninsula, especially in fall. Circling the perimeter of the place many call Michigan's "little finger" is a color tour that has been popular for decades. An easy and interesting route, M-22 takes you along the shoreline through the quaint villages of Suttons Bay, Peshasbestown, Omena and Northport, with water views almost the entire way. North of Suttons Bay the sign reads: Northport 12 miles. Northport, situated near the tip of Leelanau Peninsula, overlooking Grand Traverse Bay, is a picture-perfect town, with a marina, waterfront, unique shops, galleries and restaurants.

Each port town has its own unique charm, and each is a perfect place for shopping, dining, trying your luck at the casino or just breathing the crisp fall air. Tour the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, a living museum. Along the western coast, Leland and Glen Arbor offer still more options, and spectacular autumn color can be expected in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a 71,000-acre national park that includes 35 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. Go barefoot "one last time" when you encounter the massive sand dunes and stunning sunset beaches.

According to the National Park Service, many of the best spots for viewing fall colors at Sleeping Bear are easily reached by car or by a brief hike. The park's popular Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, for instance, gives motorists a bird's-eye view of areas like Alligator Hill, where brilliant fall foliage is set off by Glen Lake's tropical shades of turquoise, jade and cobalt blue.

Get more at puremichigan.org and add your own color touring tips below!

Photo credits: Scenic drive Sleeping Bear Dunes by creed_400 and glen lake colours 2 by Pettman's Photographic Memories

This week's photo is Sundrenched by jakphoto. See it bigger and in his slideshow and see more photos from this week in Leelanau in the Leelanau(dot)com group slideshow on Flickr.

Thanks to the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor's Bureau for this news!

This Saturday (Sep 24) is National Public Lands Day. NPLD is the nation's largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands in the United States, and last year. The impact is huge, especially in this era of declining budgets and last year's 170,000 volunteers worked at over 2,080 sites in every state:

• Removing an estimated 450 tons of trash
• Collecting an estimated 20,000 pounds of invasive plants
• Building and maintaining an estimated 1,320 miles of trails
• Planting an estimated 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants
• Contributing an estimated $15 million to improve public lands across the country

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is inviting you to be a part of this by helping to clean up beaches in the Lakeshore on Saturday from 12-3 PM. Admission to all national parks, including the National Lakeshore, is free Saturday, and volunteers will receive a voucher to use for entrance to various parks at a later date.

The Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland Chamber of Commerce, and Old Art Building hold their annual celebration of Leland's history next Saturday (Sep 17). Via the Leland Michigan website:

The annual Leland Heritage Celebration takes place September 17. This annual event is free and open to the public. Highlights include the Leelanau Historical Museum's "Wooden Boats on the Wall", Van's Garage antique car show, and the Fishtown Preservation Society offering music and festivities in Fishtown.

There will also be an exhibit titled "Windows on Leelanau; Past, Present, and Future" will be the featured for the Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building. Exhibit hours are 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 12 to 4 pm on Sunday. The exhibit will feature original works of art using the window as a view on Leelanau. Artists will use the window as a metaphor beyond its mere architectural aspect. This will be a fun and creative exhibit by Leelanau artists.

The Leland Township Library gets into the act as well with their annual Fall Used Book Sale on the lawn at the Library. They will be featuring a display of the books of Leelanau County authors and books about Leelanau County. Library Director Sylvia Merz says, "We are always amazed at the number of authors who either currently or once upon a time called Leelanau County home. We’ve pulled as many volumes as we have and they will be featured on Saturday for visitors to browse and check out as they enjoy the events!"

Also check out the Leland Heritage Celebration photo gallery for photos from past celebrations.

The third annual Michigan Schooner Festival sets sail September 9-11, 2011 on West Bay in Traverse City at Open Space Park and Clinch Park Marina. The festival will feature eight tall ships including the Appledore V, Madeline, Welcome, Manitou, Pier Wisconsin's S/V Denis Sullivan and Leelanau's own schooner Inland Seas aka the Great Lakes Schoolship.

It kicks off Friday night (September 9) with the Grand Parade of Sail as the eight vessels sail down West Grand Traverse Bay together and dock at Clinch Marina. Other weekend highlights include ship tours, wine & beer tastings, food, entertainment, the Ring of Steel pirate reenactment troupe, artist vendors, kids games, and ticketed sailings aboard the schooners.

Read more from the Grand Traverse Insider and check out some footage from last year in the video below!

Photo credit: The Welcome by ETCphoto

I finally realized that I should post the great photos we have each week in our Almanac with a little more of an eye for posterity!

This week's photo is a panorama of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse by Ken Scott. Ken says that Sunday was an 'awesome cloud day'.

Check it out bigger or in his fantastic light'house's slideshow.

The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association's annual Harvest Stompede Vineyard Run & Walk and Wine Tour takes place Saturday September 10 & Sunday September 11. It's considered one of the most scenic running & wine touring events in the Midwest and is returning to the Leelanau Peninsula for the tenth year.

The race itself happens Saturday morning at 9 AM at Ciccone Vineyard. Race registration is is down to less than 100 slots, but it's a great event for spectators as well with a ONE OF A KIND course that winds through vineyard rows.

The Harvest Stompede Wine Tour follows the race and offers a special pour and food pairing featuring local food at each of the 18 Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association member wineries. Recognizing that nothing goes better with local wine than local food, the 18 wineries of the Leelanau Wine Trail will each be featuring local items in their food pairings!

Win some tickets!

On Absolute Michigan there's a chance to win 2 pairs of tickets - click through for the details!

Photo: Sprint to the Finish by lpwines. View the 2007 Gallery and the 2008 Gallery for a taste of how cool this event is!

Photographer Ann Teliczan took this photo near Glen Arbor and writes:

If you drive around the Leelanau Peninsula for any length of time, you’ll happen upon  historic looking little places that make you feel like you’ve gone back in time. I have no idea what is at the end of this trail. I do know that I think this is cool. I want an arch like this over my driveway!

It’s private property and I really wanted to go back there, I’m imagining some big old haunted mansion, what do you think?

Head over to her site to check out & purchase many more photos she's taken of the Leelanau Peninsula. If you know the story behind this arch, share it here and on her blog!