Lake Leelanau Webcam – Watch a Leelanau Peninsula Village

The Lake Leelanau Webcam looks out from the front of Dick’s Pour House, a family-run pub on East Philip Street, across the main crossroads of Lake Leelanau, a small village on the Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan. M-204 runs through the frame where it meets Saint Mary’s Street, with a painted crosswalk on the left, a stop sign on the far corner and a pink-painted building set against a line of hardwoods and evergreens across the road. A planted bed of tall grasses and a bike rack fill the foreground. The view changes most with the seasons. In mid-October the leaves across the road turn red and orange, and through the winter the corner can sit under snow for weeks. The camera stamps the date and local time in the top left corner.

About Lake Leelanau

Lake Leelanau is an unincorporated village and census-designated place with 229 residents at the 2020 census, split between Leland Township and Suttons Bay Township in Leelanau County. It stands at 188 meters (617 feet) above sea level on the Narrows, the slim channel where North Lake Leelanau meets South Lake Leelanau. M-204 passes through the center of the village and crosses the channel on the Lake Leelanau Narrows Bridge, a 1939 steel stringer bridge of three 18 meter (60 foot) spans that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

The narrow water gave the place its names. Native Americans called the area ke-ski-bi-ag, meaning narrow body of water, and French settlers who arrived from Canada in the middle of the nineteenth century knew it as Le Naro. A lumberyard built in 1864 sold wood to the lake steamers. The post office opened as Provemont on May 10, 1871, a play on the word improvement, and the village and post office took the name Lake Leelanau on March 31, 1924. Saint Mary of the Assumption school was founded in 1887, and after the first wooden building burned down a brick school went up in 1928. The church and school stand about 200 meters (660 feet) from the camera along Saint Mary’s Street.

The lake itself, once called Carp Lake, covers about 8,608 acres (35 square kilometers) and runs 26 kilometers (16.3 miles) from end to end. The north basin reaches 37 meters (121 feet) at its deepest and the south basin 19 meters (62 feet). It drains through the Leland River to Lake Michigan, and a dam built on that river in 1854 raised the water by 3.7 meters (12 feet) and greatly enlarged both halves. Dick’s Pour House opened on July 1, 1935 and is still run by the Plamondon family, who also hold a Big Buck Contest for local deer hunters each fall.

Weather and Climate in Lake Leelanau

The closest long-term weather records come from Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, about 29 kilometers (18 miles) away. Winters are cold and snowy. January averages a high of -1.5 C (29 F) and a low of -8 C (17 F), and Traverse City records about 84 centimeters (33 inches) of snow in that month alone, so the crossroads on the Lake Leelanau Webcam can show snow piled along the curbs. Spring arrives slowly: April highs average 12 C (54 F) with lows near freezing, and by May the afternoons reach about 20 C (67 F) as the trees across the road leaf out.

Summer is warm and pleasant, with July highs around 27 C (81 F) and nights near 15 C (59 F). Days are long here, with about fifteen and a half hours of daylight in late June, and because the village sits near the western edge of the Eastern time zone, the sun sets close to 9:30 pm at midsummer. Autumn brings the color seen on the camera in October, when highs fall to about 15 C (59 F) and lows to 5 C (41 F). October is also the wettest month of the year in Traverse City, with about 91 millimeters (3.6 inches) of rain. By late December daylight shrinks to under nine hours.

Things to Do Near Lake Leelanau

Much of the village is within a short walk of the camera. Boathouse Vineyards is only a few steps from the pub, and Northern Latitudes Distillery is about 300 meters (1,000 feet) away. Leelanau Pie and Pastry and the Amoritas Vineyards tasting room are a little farther on. The Narrows DNR boat ramp puts boats into the lake right in the village, and the Narrows Natural Area lies about 650 meters (0.4 miles) from the crossroads. Grove Park and the Narrows Yacht Club are close by as well.

A short drive opens up the rest of the peninsula. Provemont Pond Recreation Area is about 1.4 kilometers (0.9 miles) away, and Blustone Vineyards is just over 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) from the village. Leland, about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the northwest, is where the Leland River meets Lake Michigan beside the old fishing shanties of Fishtown. Glen Arbor, the gateway to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, is about 24 kilometers (15 miles) to the southwest, and Traverse City on Grand Traverse Bay is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) to the south.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

These cameras cover more of northern Michigan and another small Great Lakes town.

• Leland Webcam
• Traverse City Webcam
• Caseville Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lake Leelanau located?

Lake Leelanau is a village in Leelanau County, Michigan, on the Leelanau Peninsula between Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. It sits on the Narrows between North and South Lake Leelanau, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Traverse City and 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) southeast of Leland.

What can you see on the Lake Leelanau Webcam?

The camera faces the crossroads of East Philip Street (M-204) and Saint Mary’s Street from Dick’s Pour House. The intersection, its crosswalk, a pink-painted building and the trees beyond fill the frame.

Does the Lake Leelanau Webcam show the lake?

No. The water at the Narrows is only a few minutes’ walk from the pub, but the camera points at the village crossroads, so the lake stays out of frame.

What is the weather like in Lake Leelanau?

Summers are warm, with July highs around 27 C (81 F), and winters are cold and snowy, with January highs near -1.5 C (29 F).

Why is the village called Lake Leelanau?

Its post office opened as Provemont in 1871, and the village and post office adopted the name Lake Leelanau on March 31, 1924. Earlier French settlers called the place Le Naro, after the Narrows.

How big is Lake Leelanau?

The lake covers about 8,608 acres (35 square kilometers). North Lake Leelanau is up to 37 meters (121 feet) deep and South Lake Leelanau up to 19 meters (62 feet).

How far is Lake Leelanau from Traverse City?

Downtown Traverse City is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) south of the village in a straight line, at the foot of Grand Traverse Bay.

Source: Dick’s Pour House