Clay Cliffs Natural Area: The Leelanau Conservancy — Attraction in Leland Township

This was a very nice hike with a surprising mix of fauna. We chose to go south at the fork-loop and ended up in a field that made for some great pictures with lake Leelanau in the backdrop. The hike does get a bit steep towards the middle, but not too bad.

A word of warning: one of the local residents cut themselves a path to this hike from their home which was not obvious until we swung past their home into the field above; luckily, it was easy to make our way back to the main path by cutting through the field. Got away with no poison ivy, to boot!

The view from the overlook was great, especially from the little side path to the left of it which brings you closer to the cliffs. Wife...

Great place to hike, not terribly challenging. Wooded trails, I bet the loop is between 2-3 miles to hike and there is a very cool lookout at the top of a bluff which is just over a mile from the trailhead... maybe 1.2 miles? I’d highly recommend visiting - it’s just 1-2 miles past Leland (to the east of town) on M-22. The trailhead and trails were accessible in the winter although there wasn’t an insane amount of snow, only 6-8 inches but not much of it was fresh so the trail was clearly defined by footprints (which might not always be the case, FYI the trail is not well posted except for a few...

Clay cliffs is perfect for a quick short hike about 2 miles total with an awesome view at the top of the overlook. I suggest hiking both inner and overlook loop. The best time to go is in the evening if you want to catch the sun setting over the lake. The trail is well shaded with small section of the Overlook loop that opens to grassland for about a 1/4 of mile. There is plenty of parking and signs to guide as you...