Everything worth doing.Within 20 minutes.

Tie up on the Narrows and walk straight into the tasting room — the lake's actual boat-up winery, family-owned since 2009 and organically farmed. The covered deck sits at the water's edge, with live music some weekend afternoons through summer. Bring the boat instead of the car if it's an option; the dock is the whole reason to choose this stop over the Horn Road wineries inland.

A working tasting barn on Horn Road, minutes off South Lake Leelanau's shoreline — sparkling wine that's picked up real recognition against Michigan's bigger-name producers, plus estate reds built for the peninsula's cooler vintages. Small enough that the person pouring often farmed the fruit. The historic barn seats limited groups, so call ahead for a weekend tasting rather than assume a walk-in table.

Michigan's dedicated sparkling house, working exclusively in méthode traditionnelle for more than five decades from a tasting deck on Elm Valley Road east of the lake. No still wine on the list — just the cuvées, brut through blanc de blancs. The deck fills on a Saturday in July; a weekday visit gets the pourer's full attention instead of a crowd.

At the foot of the Leland Dam, where the river drops from Lake Leelanau to Lake Michigan through Fishtown's shanties — Rick's Cafe runs the casual deck downstairs, The Cove runs the dining room above it. The Chubby Mary here started a lot of imitators around the state; order it with a Great Lakes whitefish plate and take a dam-view table if one's open. Seasonal, trims hours into fall.

French-inspired dinners on the Leland River, upstream from Fishtown — a dining room, a bar, and a riverfront deck with a private dock for anyone pulling up by boat. Farm-to-table sourcing runs through most of the menu, not just the specials board. Open Wednesday through Monday, 4:30 to 9, closed Tuesdays even in peak July. Reserve ahead for the deck.

A craft distillery on Duck Lake Road, a block off the Narrows marina — Deer Slayer whiskey is the one that put them on liquor-store shelves statewide, poured here alongside a full cocktail bar and food menu. Live music runs Fridays. Closed Mondays; the Suttons Bay satellite location on St. Joseph Street keeps its own separate hours if the village spot is dark.

Leland Township's swimming beach on North Lake Leelanau, at the end of Pearl Street down the hill from the Leland Lodge — lifeguarded sand, a dock, grills, picnic tables, and a boat launch locals use more than visitors ever find. The Leelanau Conservancy helped double its size in 1998. Park at the top of Pearl and walk down; the lot fills by midday in July.

Seventeen miles of paved rail trail running from the edge of Traverse City up to Suttons Bay, tracing the old railroad grade past the DeYoung Natural Area's Cedar Lake overlook and the Fouch Road trailhead at Farm Club's front door. Flat enough for a beach cruiser, long enough to fill a half-day with a lunch stop built in. E-bikes have crowded the shoulder season more than the trail's builders planned for.

A working farm, brewery, bakery, and market on Lake Leelanau Drive south of the lake, seven miles from downtown Traverse City and directly on the Leelanau Trail — cyclists roll in mid-ride for lunch as often as anyone arrives by car. The market and bakery run 8 to 8; the restaurant and brewery side opens at noon. The bakery case empties fast on a Saturday morning.

Thursday mornings at the Immanuel Lutheran Church lot, a block off Leland's Main Street — cherries, farmstead cheese, and baked goods that sell out before the market's half over. Runs early June through the first week of September, 9 to 1. Get there by nine for the bread stalls; the good loaves are gone by eleven.

The rental counter and fuel dock at the center of the village, right where North and South Lake Leelanau pinch into the channel everyone just calls the Narrows. Pontoons, fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, and SUPs by the day; the fuel dock here runs pricier than the gas station up the road but saves the trip. Open 9 to 6 daily — walk over from Fiddleheads or Boathouse Vineyards once the boat's tied up.

A working Great Lakes fishing village on the Leland River, between Lake Leelanau and Lake Michigan — weathered shanties, smokehouses, and Carlson's Fishery, running since 1904 and still capable of a thousand pounds of whitefish an hour. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975, with an updated district designation in 2022. Buy the smoked whitefish off the dock rather than the gift-shop version two doors down.