North Manitou Island

North Manitou Island is located in Lake Michigan, approximately 20 miles west of Leland, Michigan. It is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Travel to the island is facilitated by .

Though it was the least populated of the Manitou islands, apple and cherry orchards were planted. Now uninhabited, the homesteads and buildings of the island's early settlers lie in ruins.

The island has a system of trails (some of them the remnants of the island's unpaved roads), with leave-no-trace wilderness camping permitted throughout the island. There are two inland lakes ideal for fishing: Lake Manitou and Tamarack Lake. The island is flanked by dunes on its northwest and southwest sides. Because of its distance from the mainland, a limited number of mammals are found on the island: beavers, deer, coyotes, mice, chipmunks, and raccoons. Numerous songbirds and waterfowl can be seen; of particular note is the endangered Piping Plover, which nests here.

The island is eight miles long and four miles wide, with 20 miles of shoreline. Smaller South Manitou Island lies to its southwest.

The Manitou islands are surrounded by over 50 known shipwreck sites, which are popular diving spots.

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