M-22 Scenic Route Drive Guide

M-22 is the most beloved stretch of asphalt in Michigan — so beloved they turned its highway shield into a sticker and a clothing brand you’ll see on cars three states away. The route runs about 117 miles up and around the Leelanau Peninsula, curling along the Lake Michigan shore, through Sleeping Bear Dunes, and past the fishing-village-turned-resort-town of Leland with its weathered “Fishtown” shanties. It’s all hills and hairpins and sudden turquoise-water reveals, and it’s why Chicago and Detroit empty into this peninsula every fall for the color. Do it slow, top down if you’ve got it, and don’t fight the folks who pull over every mile — you’ll be doing it too.