Glen Arbor's Off-Season Gains a Hill This Year

Every fall in Glen Arbor, things close. Patios shut, a river-bend kitchen stops serving, and the Lakeshore's seasonal sites go quiet. On Friday, Oct. 9, the Leelanau Conservancy opened the Sugar Loaf Scenic Area in Cedar to the public. The former ski resort had been closed since 2000. So this year, the off-season adds a place to go as well as losing some.

The rest of this post follows that change. It starts with what is closing, then covers what stays open and the event dates that fill the coming weeks, and ends with what the hill does and does not offer this winter.

The closings, in order

The village's seasonal businesses don't all close at once. Here is the order this year:

1. Upriver from The Mill. This is the spot on River Road that replaced Millie's Pizza. It closed for the 2026 season on Sept. 6 and plans to reopen in May 2027.
2. Glen Haven. The National Park Service listed the historic village as open daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Oct. 12.
3. River Club. It's open Thursday through Saturday this week and closed Monday through Wednesday. Its last day of the season is Saturday, Oct. 17. The 2026 music schedule the Glen Arbor Sun published lists Beans and Cheese for Oct. 17, 5 to 8 p.m., so the season's final night also has a band.
4. The M-22 lane closure. Team Elmer's is installing new storm sewer along M-22 for the Leelanau County Drain Commission, from Welch Road to South Benzonia Trail near the Glen Lake Narrows. Traffic runs one lane at a time, controlled by temporary signals. According to Glen Arbor Township's notice, work started Sept. 21 and is estimated to finish Friday, Oct. 23.

The lane closure is the one item on that list that improves daily life when it ends. For a few weeks, the signals at the Narrows have added a wait to any trip between Glen Arbor and the south side of the lakes. If the estimate holds, they come down on Oct. 23, six days after River Club closes.

The year-round places

The places that stay open are open on purpose, and their hours show it.

Cherry Public House lists itself as open year-round, daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. From October through April it adds a 3 to 6 p.m. happy hour, and it holds a Sunday Quiz Night from 5 to 7 p.m. A weekly quiz night and a happy hour that only runs in the off-season are aimed at people who live here, not at visitors passing through in July.

The Mill Glen Arbor keeps two operations going on its riverside property. The all-day café runs from morning coffee through early evening, with coffee from Parlor Coffee and teas from In Pursuit of Tea. Supper is served downstairs along the Crystal River. Chef Bobby Thoits cooks New American food built on Northern Michigan farm produce, and The Mill encourages reservations. A fall 2026 supper menu is already posted on its site.

The Glen Lake Chamber also lists Anderson's Market, Boonedocks, M22 Glen Arbor, and Bear Paw Pizza and Market as open year-round. Anderson's listing says its hours change by season. The Chamber's own winter guide also warns that businesses may run limited or reduced hours, so plan ahead before a January grocery run.

The calendar gets busier, not emptier

With fewer places open, the events that are scheduled carry more weight. Between now and Thanksgiving weekend, Glen Arbor's events land on specific days rather than running continuously.

Glen Lake Community Library, this month:

• Oct. 16, 6:30 p.m.: JoAnne Cook on the Anishinaabek
• Oct. 21, 1 p.m.: Greeting Card Workshop
• Oct. 21, 7 p.m.: Sarah McQuaid performance
• Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to noon: Sleeping Bear Nature Journaling Group

Sunday, Oct. 25 has the fullest schedule of the fall. The Chamber lists trick-or-treating in Glen Arbor from noon to 3 p.m. The Mill's Third Annual Hog Roast runs from noon to 8 p.m., with free admission, live music from 3 to 8 p.m., and dinner for purchase. The Mill's announcement suggests going straight from trick-or-treating "up the river" to the roast. The Chamber's trick-or-treat listing shows Oct. 25 at the top, but its body text still says 2025, so watch for a confirmation closer to the day.

Glen Arbor Arts Center keeps a show up all season. "Taking Flight" runs through Oct. 29. "At Least A Dozen Friends" stays in the Lobby Gallery through Dec. 17. "Small Works 2026" fills the Main Gallery from Nov. 5 through Dec. 16. On Dec. 12, a family class teaches how to make needle-felted winter ornaments.

Thanksgiving weekend brings the Glen Arbor Holiday Artisan Market to Town Hall:

Crystal River Outfitters plans to start its Strolling Lights Festival in November 2026. Its festival page has no dates yet and says to watch for an announcement.

The hill that reopened

All of that is the normal shape of a Glen Arbor fall, just more crowded than usual. Sugar Loaf is new.

The ski area operated from 1947 until 2000. The Leelanau Ticker reported that for much of that time it was the county's largest employer. After it closed, the lodge and lifts fell apart. An LLC bought the property in 2020, demolished the lodge, and removed the lifts. That company turned out to belong to the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation. The Ticker reported that the foundation donated the 285-acre property to the Conservancy on the condition that the Conservancy raise $8 million for the site plan and amenities. The Glen Arbor Sun reported that more than 1,000 people donated to reach that goal.

The opening drew attention well before it happened. A few days into the RSVP period, the Ticker reported about 600 responses, enough that it might become the largest event in the Conservancy's 38-year history. By the eve of the opening, WCMU reported more than 1,000 registrations.

Right now the property offers one main climb. The Summit Trail starts at a new parking lot of about 90 spaces on Sugar Loaf Mountain Road, where the lodge used to stand. A smaller lot sits to the south on East Mountain Road. The trail follows the old Snowcat route for about half a mile. The Sun reports a climb of 449 vertical feet from the parking lot to a summit 1,059 feet above sea level. From the top you can see Little Traverse Lake, Good Harbor Bay, Pyramid Point, the Manitou Islands, and the Crib lighthouse. 9&10 News reported the property is open around the clock starting with the opening.

Winter is where Sugar Loaf matters most for Glen Arbor. Chad Jordan, the Conservancy's infrastructure manager, built the first snowboard park at Sugar Loaf when it was a resort. He told the Glen Arbor Sun that the old runs need little work:

"A lot of the legacy ski runs are pretty open still, so there's not a lot of work that we need to get those in shape. This winter these will all be available and open to folks to ski."

The skiing has to be human-powered. The chairlifts and rope tows will not come back. The Conservancy has worked with the Michigan Backcountry Alliance on options that could include splitboarding, alpine touring, telemark, and glade skiing. Here is what is confirmed for this winter and what is still only planned:

Confirmed or reported for winter 2026–27

• Uphill-powered skiing on the old runs, as described by Conservancy staff
• Leashed dogs, under the Conservancy's general visitor rules

Planned, not yet confirmed

• Groomed cross-country tracks, which the Conservancy says it "hopes" to set
• A sledding hill, listed among future family amenities
• 9.5 miles of mountain-bike trails, estimated to open in spring 2027

Until those bike trails open, the Conservancy's general rules allow bicycles only at Palmer Woods. The new trails are designed for beginners, with average grades of 7 to 10 percent, so riders won't need to be elite to reach the summit. The site has history here: in the late 1980s, Sugar Loaf hosted the National Off Road Bicycle Association's national championships.

Other changes will come in stages. The Conservancy saved about 20 of the old red lift chairs. After powder coating, they will be placed around the property as rest spots. Jordan told the Sun that some won't appear on any map. The Sun reported that 138 native trees and shrubs are to be planted late this autumn to screen the parking area from the Sugar Loaf townhouses. The five-year plan adds a covered pavilion at the summit, plus a picnic area and kids' play area near the parking lot.

For Glen Arbor, the calendar for the cold months now has one more fixed point. River Club's last night is Oct. 17. The signals at the Narrows are due to come down by Oct. 23. The Mill's hog roast is Oct. 25, and the Town Hall market is Thanksgiving weekend. Once snow falls, the old runs below the summit are open to anyone willing to climb them, starting from the 90-space lot on Sugar Loaf Mountain Road.

At Michigan LifeStyle Homes, we pay attention to how places like Sugar Loaf change a Leelanau winter, because for owners on Glen Lake and along M-22, the off-season is a big part of the year. If you'd like to talk about how your Glen Arbor property fits that year-round picture, Request a Private Consultation.