Antrim County Information & Demographics

Antrim County is located in the northwestern part of the lower peninsula, east of Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay and bordered on the west by the Mackinaw State Forest, also referred to as the Jordan River Valley. The county has a total area of 602 square miles of which 477 square miles of it is land and 125 square miles of it is water. The county contains 45 lakes, has 24 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, and rivers covering 65 miles of waterways throughout the area. The county has nearly 44,000 acres of state forest land, the Grass River Natural Area and Wilcox-Palmer-Shah Nature Preserve. Most notable of the lakes is Torch Lake, considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Torch Lake is on a chain of lakes that runs from Bellaire to Elk Rapids. North of Bellaire is another chain of lakes that goes from there through Central Lake and Ellsworth, with the largest of these being Intermediate Lake. Mancelona, located in the southwest corner of the county, on US-131, is home to the annual White Pine Stampede, Bass Festival and Deadman’s Hill Scenic Overlook. The county also has over a dozen fine golf courses, and is a major ski resort area, home to Shanty Creek Resort. The county is the 8th smallest in the state and holds it’s county seat in Bellaire.