Leelanau County, Michigan
Leelanau County | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: "Michigan's Little Finger" | |
Location within the U.S. state of Michigan | |
Michigan's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 45°08′N 86°02′W / 45.13°N 86.03°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| Founded | 1840 (created) 1863 (organized) |
| Named after | Leelanau Peninsula |
| Seat | Suttons Bay Township |
| Largest settlement | Greilickville Suttons Bay (incorporated) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,532 sq mi (6,560 km2) |
| • Land | 347 sq mi (900 km2) |
| • Water | 2,185 sq mi (5,660 km2) 86% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 22,301 |
• Estimate (2023) | 23,019 |
| • Density | 63/sq mi (24/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Leelanau County (/ˈliːlənɔː/ LEE-lə-naw) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,301. Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Township, one mile east of the unincorporated village of Lake Leelanau. Before 2008, Leelanau County's seat was Leland. Leelanau County is included in the Traverse City metropolitan area of Northern Michigan. The largest settlement in Leelanau County by population is Greilickville, itself a suburb of Traverse City.
Leelanau County is coterminous with the Leelanau Peninsula, a roughly triangular-shaped peninsula that extends about 30 miles (50 km) off Michigan's Lower Peninsula into Lake Michigan. East of Leelanau County is Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan.
In 2011, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, located in the county, won the title of "Most Beautiful Place in America" in a poll by morning news show Good Morning America.