LELAND features Historic "Fishtown" and a large harbor with many charter boats for catching salmon and lake trout. Great shopping and dining are also found on Main Street and Fishtown. Enjoy the local artisan bread shop and art galleries, candy shops and more. Daily trips to the Manitou Islands from Leland Harbor and there are festivals throughout the summer and fall!

Leland is built on the site of one of the oldest Ottawa villages on the Leelanau Peninsula. Where the Leland River flows into Lake Michigan, there was a natural fish ladder which was a traditional Native American fishing grounds. The settlement was called Mishi-me-go-bing, meaning "the place where canoes run up into the river to land, because they have no harbor" or alternatively Che-ma-go-bing or Chi-mak-a-ping.

White settlers, who began arriving in the 1830s, also took advantage of the location as a fishing settlement. White settlement increased after Antoine Manseau, with his son Antoine Jr., and John Miller, built a dam and sawmill on the river in 1854. Construction of the dam raised the water level 12 feet and what had been three natural lakes in the river all became a single lake now known as Lake Leelanau. The settlers built wooden docks, which allowed steamers and schooners to transport new settlers and supplies.

Today, the historical fishing settlement, known as "Fishtown," and two historic fish tugs, "Joy" and "Janice Sue," are owned by a non-profit organization, Fishtown Preservation Society. Fishtown is home to a working fishery and a thriving charter fishing business. The riverfront is lined by a boardwalk and quaint shacks that have been converted into tourist shops. The famous actresses Grace and Savannah Amelia were born in this village in 1902.