Aerial view of the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, looking south.

Ask Dan Plamondon of Elmwood Township where to find the prettiest view in Leelanau County, and he needs a qualifier.

“From land or from water?” he asked.

Plamondon, an avid fisherman of the county’s inland lakes and Lake Michigan, has a quick answer for the water view.

“Out on Lake Michigan, just north of North Manitou Island, at sunrise. When the sun comes up over the top of the county, and the water is still, there is nothing more beautiful,” he said. Plamondon had just been to the spot on Wednesday morning, where he and a group of family and friends caught king salmon and lake trout.

“It was a beautiful morning,” he said.

Leelanau County is filled with many geological oddities and wonders. Its rolling hills, deep valleys and hundreds of miles of shore line provide vast opportunities for geographic discussions. To help settle some bets, or start a whole new line of arguments, we have compiled a list of some of Leelanau County high and low points — figuratively.

Leelanau Highest Point

The official answer is 1,140 feet above mean average sea level. You’ll find that spot on a hill located between Hoxie Road and Harry’s Road, in southeast Solon Township. According to county Road Commission engineer James C. Johnson the hill is unofficially known as Mt. Killman, as the man who originally owned the property was Harry Killman. The elevation was recorded by surveyors and engineers with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1957. Johnson said those elevations did not change as USGS topographical maps for Leelanau County were updated, but their unit of measurement did.

“They switched to Metric sometime in the 1970s. I like using the old feet and miles measurements,” he said.

Other high points in Leelanau County, as recorded “above sea level”:

• 1,120 feet, Fouch Hill, just south of Fouch Road in eastern Elmwood Township;

• 1,100 feet at the tallest point of a plateau overlooking Big Glen Lake. It’s located about one-third of a mile south of Burnham Road and just east of M-22 in Empire Township;

• Highest point on South Manitou Island at 1,014 feet is just west of the Valley of the Giant Cedars. On North Manitou, the highest point is 960 feet on a bluff on the south west side of the island;

• Shauger Hill, near the top of the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, 1,082 feet;

• Sugar Loaf Hill, 1,059 feet;

• Braman Hill, just west of Northport, 740 feet.

Lowest Point

According to the USGS topographical maps, the county shoreline with Lake Michigan is 580 feet above sea level. Lake Leelanau at 589 feet is the second lowest point; Glen Lake sits at 596 feet.

Other low spots in the county: Cedar at 600 feet and Leland, 620 feet.

Straightest Road and Steepest Road

You would think the Road Commission would have this information on file, just in case some newspaper guy gave them a call. Not so, according to Johnson.

“A lot of this kind of information, the straightest road or steepest, is not something we keep track of,” he said. If the commission is working on a road and runs into a grade problem, Johnson said, engineers determine grades.

“But, we don’t really keep all that on file,” he said.

So, to answer the straightest road question, two roads come to mind. When considering the straightest stretch of road, we were talking a lack of curves, not steep elevation. The straightest, flattest stretch of road in the county is Beeman Road in Empire Township between County Roads 677 and 675.

“Even on that run there is a slight elevation,” Johnson said.

The straightest section of road in the county? County Road 677 from the Benzie County line north to the bottom of the Glen Lake Narrows, 5.2 miles. The second longest stretch, County Road 651, from the private road called Tool Shed Lane north five miles to the private road Good Harbor View.

For the steepest road, Johnson had a few suggestions:

• Wilco Road just south of the Village of Empire. “It’s where they used to hold the Empire Hill Climb race,” he said.

• Miller Hill Road, off of County Road 675. “It’s a seasonal road. It starts steep and keeps getting steeper,” Johnson said.

• The north end of Tower Road, where it comes into County Road 616, just east of Maple City.

• Mikowski Road, off of County Road 645.

Largest and smallest township

• The largest is Leelanau Township at 25,114 acres, but keep in mind that the size includes North and South Fox islands.

• The smallest is Elmwood township at 12,288 acres. Information was provided by the county Community Development and Planning Department.

Snowiest place

If this question were asked of year-round home owners, he or she might say “My front step.”

But statistics kept at the Midwest Regional Climatic Center, which is part of the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), pinpoint Maple City as the snowiest place in Leelanau County.

According to data compiled and recorded at the center between 1971 and 2000, the average annual snowfall recorded at Maple City was 151.3 inches. The data was also provided by the county Community Development and Planning Department.

Windiest and Warmest place

We struck out on the windiest. The National Weather Service does not keep track of wind data, so no information was available.

But the Midwest Regional Climatic Center came through for the highest temperature ever recorded in Leelanau County. In Maple City on July 14, 1995, a temperature of 102 degrees was recorded.

Average temperatures were not provided on a community basis.

Prettiest view

Subjective? You bet. But trying to pinpoint Leelanau’s prettiest view can be fun.

While Plamondon has his opinion, Mary Lyons of Leelanau Township has her personal favorites.

“The view coming down Onomonee Hill toward’s Gills Pier Road is just gorgeous. It has everything: water, open fields and woods,” she said.

Lyons also favors Kolarik Road, heading west from St. Wenceslaus Church. "You can see N. Lake Leelanau and out into Lake Michigan and some cherry orchards. It’s just beautiful,” she said.

Perhaps her favorite view, an opinion shared by Johnson, is County Road 637 as it slopes down to M-22 in Leelanau Township.

“The view is phenomenal You can see N. Manitou Island and the Fox Islands. You can’t beat that view,” Johnson said.

“I like it not just for the view, but because the property around it has been preserved by the Leelanau Conservancy, and that makes me feel good, “ Lyons said with a laugh.

Other prettiest views, as suggested by Johnson:

• Bugai Road, between Hoxie Road and Lincoln Road. “As you come over the top of the hill by Ardith Bugai’s house, you get a clear shot of S. Lake Leelanau. When I see it at 5:30 or 6 a.m., there is mist or fog over it. It is really quite stunning,” he said.

• The Denver Johnson Turnout off County Road 677. “On a good day you can almost see all the way into Empire. You can definitely see the radar dome for the old Air Force base,” he said.

• The Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the Peninsula. “When the conditions are just right, when the air is clear and cold, you can just see the top of the lighthouse on Beaver Island,” Johnson said.

What’s your prettiest view in Leelanau County? We’re always looking for pictures of beautiful spots in Leelanau. Email your picture to John@LeelanauNews.com, and we may use it in a future Diversions.