Benzonia Township, Michigan

The Cherry Hut is a restaurant, bakery and store in Beulah, Michigan known for its cherry pies and cherry hamburgers as well as other products made from locally grown cherries of Northwest Michigan. It was founded in 1922 and has been in Beulah since 1935. The restaurant--open in summers only--is in a town of approximately 350 people in Benzie County and is located at the southeast end of Crystal Lake, about one mile (1.6 km) north of Benzonia on US Highway 31. It was once just outdoor seating al fresco and served only cherry pie, but eventually added indoor seating and a short menu featuring comfort foods such as biscuit-topped chicken pie and chicken salad with dried tart cherries. The cherry pie is served a la mode, with ice cream, or without. In 2003, the Cherry Hut was using 3,000 pounds of tart cherries per week to make up to 500 pies. Cherry Jerry the "Cheery Cherry Pie-Faced Boy" is the Cherry Hut's mascot and is on a sign north of Beulah. Each pie used to be incised with Cherry Jerry's image. The stand also sells cherry juice and cherry jam.

Beulah ( BYOO-lə) is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Benzie County, and is located within Benzonia Township. The village had a population of 313 at the 2020 census. The village sits at the southeast end of Crystal Lake, and is immediately north of the village of Benzonia.

The Benzie County Courthouse is a historic former courthouse in Beulah, Michigan. It is a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1912 as a hotel and recreation center, it later served as a courthouse until 1976.

Betsie Valley Trail is a 22-mile (35 km) rail trail in Benzie County, Michigan, United States, owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and operated by Benzie County.It is on the trackbed of a former Ann Arbor Railroad line and extends from Frankfort to Thompsonville, via Elberta and Beulah.

The Mills Community House, also known as the Mills Cottage and the Benzonia Public Library, is a former dormitory located at 891 Michigan Avenue in Benzonia, Michigan. It is significant for its association with Bruce Catton (an alumnus of the academy and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian), who lived there when his father was president of Benzonia Academy. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Benzonia ( ben-ZOH-nee-ə) is a village in Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 551 at the 2020 census, up from 497 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Benzonia Township at the southeast end of Crystal Lake on U.S. Highway 31 at the junction with M-115 west.

Benzie Central High School is a public high school in Benzonia, Michigan, located at 9300 Homestead Rd. The school offers classes for students in grade 9–12 with an addition of a middle school grade 6-8.

The Gwen Frostic Studio is an artist studio located at 5140 River Road in Benzonia Township, Michigan. It was built by artist and entrepreneur Gwen Frostic, who used it as her home and business from 1964 until her death in 2001. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

Platte Lake (sometimes referred to as Big Platte Lake) is one of the many lakes located in the northwestern part of Michigan's lower peninsula. There are two lakes in Benzie County, Michigan based on the name Platte, the other being Little Platte. Platte Lake covers 2,516 acres (1,018 ha) and is 3.3 miles (5.3 km) long and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) wide. The average depth of Platte Lake is 24 feet (7.3 m) deep. The deepest point of the lake is measured at 95 feet (29 m) deep. The Platte River flows through the lake at a speed of 120 cubic feet per second (3.4 m3/s). This means the residence time for the water in Platte Lake is 6 months. Also meaning that every hour 3,300,000 US gallons (12,000,000 L) of water are passing through Platte Lake. The Platte River flows through Platte Lake and continues downstream through Loon Lake until it finally reaches Lake Michigan.

The Cherry Bowl Drive-In Theatre & Diner is a historic drive-in theater with a concession stand in Honor, Michigan on US Highway 31 (US 31). It opened on July 4, 1953, and was one of seven remaining drive-in theaters in Michigan in 2003. It has a snack bar, children's play areas, putt-putt golf, beach volleyball, and a rest area for dogs. The Cherry Bowl is the only remaining drive-in theater in Northern Michigan. The Cherry Bowl's sound system uses the original vacuum tube motiograph amplifiers powering speakers at speaker posts. An FM radio option is also offered. The drive-in theatre is open in the summertime. The Cherry Bowl has converted to digital HD projection. Then-Governor Jennifer Granholm told the Detroit Free Press in 2009 that residents "haven't lived in Michigan until '[they've] been to the old-fashioned Cherry Bowl Drive-in in Benzie County, where [they] can sit on cushions in the back of [their] truck on a warm night, munching on the best movie popcorn and chicken fingers in Michigan watching an evening summer movie." In 2013, Honda awarded the theatre a prize in its "Project Drive-In" social media campaign; the car maker awarded the Cherry Bowl a new digital projector. The theater and drive-in are located at 9812 Honor Highway (US 31).

Crystal Lake, the largest lake of this name in Michigan, is located near Lake Michigan in Benzie County about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Traverse City and about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Frankfort at 44°39′N 86°09′W. It measures approximately 2.5 by 8 miles (4.0 by 12.9 km), and has a maximum depth of 165 feet (50 m). At 9,854 acres (40 km2), it is Michigan's ninth largest inland lake. Up to and through the American Civil War years Crystal Lake was known as "Cap Lake" due to the frequent whitecaps visible on its surface. Crystal Lake is adjacent to the southern reaches of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. In 1873, an effort was made to connect Crystal Lake with Lake Michigan via a channel. The lake level of Crystal Lake was higher than that of Lake Michigan and when the channel was opened, the water level in Crystal Lake dropped about 20 ft (6.1 m). Although the project was a failure, the lowering of the lake level uncovered sandy beaches, including the current public beach at Beulah.The watershed that feeds Crystal Lake is very small, and fertilizer and sewage outflows are minimal, leading to the exceptionally clear water that gives it its current name. The surface area of the lake is 35% of the total area of the drainage basin (land and water combined).

Joyfield Township is a civil township of Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 763 at the 2020 census. The township is located in the south central portion of the county. US 31 and M-115 converge at the northern edge of the township.