Northwest Michigan U.S. Route 31 in Michigan

us 31 entering manistee

us 31 runs due north through northwest michigan forest land bypassing freesoil west. northwest of town, highway crosses big sable river before entering manistee county. across county line, trunkline runs northwesterly parallel manistee lake us 31 enters manistee. highway follows cypress street drawbridge on manistee river , cleveland street on northern side. trunkline rounds northern shore of manistee lake, passes ss city of milwaukee, car ferry preserved museum. there, highway runs northeasterly, intersecting western end of m-55 (caberfae highway). next little river casino, highway intersects southern end of m-22 (orchard highway), , lmct separates us 31.

the highway continues on northeasterly course running inland along chippewa highway community of bear lake. us 31 rounds east side of community s namesake body of water on lake street , exits town on pleasanton highway. trunkline continues northward , northeasterly through pleasanton , crosses benzie county. on county line, follows benzie highway northward intersection m-115 (cadillac highway). 2 merge , run north benzonia, following michigan avenue in town. near south shore of crystal lake, m-115 turns westward toward frankfort , us 31 follows michigan avenue beulah, running around eastern end of lake. near eastern end of platte lake, us 31 turns run easterly honor before crossing grand traverse county.

across county line, us 31 continues eastward, passing north of community of interlochen. @ interlochen corners, intersects m-137. highway angles northeasterly north of duck lake , south of silver lake. few miles farther east, us 31 meets m-37 @ location known chums corners. 2 highways join , run northward through unincorporated community. passes wuerfel park, home stadium traverse city beach bums, minor-league baseball team. there, us 31/m-37 runs downhill garfield township. in area, highway passes through cluster of retail stores , car dealerships near grand traverse mall. north of intersection 14th street, trunkline follows division street traverse city. there runs east of grand traverse commons, former traverse city state hospital, before us 31/m-37 meets grandview parkway next west arm of grand traverse bay.

grandview parkway (us 31/m-37/m-72) in traverse city

at intersection, trunkline meets northern end of m-22, running concurrently m-72 along parkway. us 31/m-37 turns east run along bay north of downtown, highway merges m-72 , picks lmct again. grandview parkway runs between boardman river , bay. near mouth of river, us 31/m-37/m-72 turns follow front street along remainder of bay s shoreline. @ garfield avenue, m-37 turns northward run old mission peninsula, , us 31/m-72 continues across base of peninsula east arm of grand traverse bay. highway runs north of cherry capital airport near east arm angles southeasterly traverse city state park. east of park, trunkline exits suburban traverse city , rounds bay run northward along eastern shore. in community of acme, m-72 turns eastward while us 31 continues north past grand traverse resort.

about 9 miles (14 km) north of acme, us 31 crosses antrim county runs between elk lake , grand traverse bay. between towns, landscape agricultural lands mixed patches of forest. few miles north of county line, trunkline passes through elk rapids , crosses channel connecting spencer bay portion of elk lake lake michigan. north of crossing, us 31 continues northeasterly, running on isthmus between torch lake , grand traverse bay. highway passes through eastport @ northern end of torch lake , intersects western end of m-88. further north, us 31 runs through atwood , crosses charlevoix county.