Photo is by Jim Boismier

If there is a more wonderful walk in Michigan, I can't imagine it. The forest inspires, the barrier dune landscape motivates geological inquiry and the "bench underneath the tree" is a unique place to calm the soul. Thank you.

– Joel Poor, Columbia, MO

P.S. Bobbie Poor (a Conservancy Docent) is my aunt who recently gave me, my wife Kelly and daughter Sarah a guided tour on this trail. We just returned from a 10-day vacation in Leland and this hike was a highlight (we've visited the area many times, but this was our first visit to the Houdek Dunes Natural Area).

Leelanau is a great place to slow down and appreciate the things that so many take for granted. They didn’t show up in this picture, but I was surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes while taking the picture.  It was worth it.

My wife Hillary and I live in Olathe, Kansas.  She’s spent every summer of her life in Leelanau, and probably always will.  It’s hard for most people to understand the connection she has with the place.  It’s almost like it’s magical to her.

Her grandparents, Raymond and Flora Heine, have lived on Lake Leelanau for years, until her grandmother passed away last October.  Her grandfather is still there.  His house is just north of the Narrows, on the west side.  He was the pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Northport for a while.  I took the picture on the lane that runs to his house.

– Brad Raple, Olathe, KS

This is my favorite view in Leelanau County: Brahmin Hill in Northport.

– Julie Knode, Northport, MI

The old cottage next to Inspiration Point.

– Harvey Warburton, Empire, MI

From a distance, the landform locally known as Whaleback stands out prominently on the Leelanau shoreline south of Leland. Just try to imagine a large whale rising up out of Lake Michigan!

– Jack Schultz, Leelanau Conservancy Docent, Lake Ann, MI