As you approach the lodge the meadow first comes into view. Then, the massive logs of the lodge begin to be defined. Unique in their sheer size, these handcrafted white and red pine logs are rarely available, making the home one-of-a-kind in the eastern US. Built by nationally recognized Maple Island Log Homes, the lodge has been featured in numerous magazines and commercial advertisements. The bluff top site is high and perched overlooking the water.

The word ‘handcrafted’ describes this unique log home construction method. Using full length, natural taper logs, the timbers are first peeled by hand using a draw knife to bring out the grain of the wood and to remove the inner bark. Then, the logs are assembled by hand -notched and carved out to begin building the walls of the structure. Eventually, the log crafters work on the floor framing systems, the gabled ends and then the setting of the trusses and roof beams (log purlins). This phase of the project requires precision, experience, and a large crane.

This style of construction is a lost art practiced by very few people around the world. The log crafters who built this home (specifically, Ben Sullivan and John Knallay of Maple Island Log Homes) have developed the ability to make spectacular and massive framing systems out of full, round timbers. The roof beams and full log gables throughout the building took many months of labor in the logyard before they were disassembled and shipped to the blufftop building site overlooking the water.

Handcrafted log homes are much costlier to construct than conventional homes, given the 6 month timeframe to preconstruct the logs themselves. Larger logs like these (some up to 28 inches in diameter, and over two hundred years old) are difficult to obtain and are even harder to ‘handcraft’ into the building. The handcrafted log homes are classics, designed to blend into their environments for many decades and centuries to come.

The lodge neighbors Ciccone Vineyards, Willow Vineyards and Chateau de Leelanau Winery. Around the corner are Black Star Farms, Shady Lane Cellars, and Mawby Vineyards. These producers have become renowned in northwest Michigan, and crowds from around the world flock here each season to enjoy the lush vineyards and the beautiful overlooks of magnificent Grand Traverse Bay.