Legs Inn
6425 N Lake Shore Dr, Cross Village, MI
Cross Village, MI
A hand-built castle of fieldstone and gnarled driftwood serving Polish food above Lake Michigan, at the far end of the famous Tunnel of Trees.
Legs Inn is unlike any other restaurant in Michigan, and possibly anywhere. Its walls are built of Lake Michigan fieldstone, its interior is a forest of gnarled, root-like driftwood carved and arranged into railings, furniture, and fantastical figures, and the whole place feels less like a building than a work of folk art you can eat inside.
Its name comes from a row of upside-down cast-iron stove legs that line the roof parapet like a fringe. Built by a Polish immigrant in the early twentieth century, the inn serves traditional Polish dishes and Michigan fare, and its back garden looks out over Lake Michigan. It sits at the northern end of the Tunnel of Trees, a beloved shoreline drive, which makes reaching it half the pleasure.
What Guests Love
- A wildly original building of fieldstone, timber, and twisted driftwood
- Hearty Polish cooking, from pierogi to hunter's stew, made from old family recipes
- A back garden and terrace with a sweeping view over Lake Michigan
- Arriving via the Tunnel of Trees, one of the prettiest drives in the state
Worth Knowing
- The inn is seasonal, generally open from late spring into fall, so check ahead
- Weekend evenings and sunset are popular, so a wait is common in high season
- It is a restaurant, not a hotel, despite the name; plan it as a meal stop
- The drive in along the Tunnel of Trees is narrow and slow, part of the charm
Details
Cross Village, MI
Learn about Legs Inn
The vision of Stanley Smolak
Legs Inn was the life's work of Stanley Smolak, a Polish immigrant who settled in Cross Village in the early twentieth century and became close with the local Odawa community. Beginning in the 1920s he built the inn largely by hand from fieldstone he hauled from the lake and driftwood and roots he gathered from the forest and shore.
Smolak saw faces and figures in the twisted wood and carved and mounted them throughout the building, turning gnarled roots into totems, animals, and imaginary creatures. The result is a deeply personal, one-of-a-kind interior that has been called folk art and outsider art, and that still stops first-time visitors in their tracks.
The food and the family
The kitchen serves the Polish dishes of Smolak's heritage, things like pierogi, kielbasa, cabbage rolls, and hunter's stew, alongside Michigan whitefish and other regional fare, with a selection of Polish and craft beers to match. The cooking is hearty and homey, rooted in old family recipes.
The inn has stayed in the family across generations, carried on by Smolak's relatives who returned from Poland to keep it going. That continuity shows in the care given to both the building and the table, and in the sense that you are a guest in something handmade and loved rather than a chain.
The Tunnel of Trees and the shore
Most visitors reach Legs Inn by driving the Tunnel of Trees, a narrow, twisting shoreline road that runs north from Harbor Springs beneath a canopy of hardwoods, with glimpses of Lake Michigan through the leaves. It is one of Michigan's most celebrated drives, especially in autumn when the color is at its peak.
Cross Village sits high above the lake, and the inn's back garden and terrace take full advantage, looking west over the water toward sunset. Timing a meal for the golden hour, with the lake spread out below, is a classic northern Michigan experience.
The land and its people
Cross Village lies in the homeland of the Odawa, the Ottawa people of the Three Fires Confederacy, who have lived along this northern Lake Michigan shore for generations. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians remain a strong presence in the region, and Smolak's friendship with the local Odawa community shaped both his life and his inn.
The village's name reflects a mission history, but the deeper story of this shore belongs to the Anishinaabe who fished, traveled, and traded along it long before. Visiting Legs Inn, high above the lake at the end of the great forested drive, connects you to that long human relationship with the water.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Cross Village
Tunnel of Trees (M-119)
The road in
A narrow, canopied shoreline drive between Harbor Springs and Cross Village, famous for fall color and lake glimpses.
Harbor Springs
About 20 miles south
An upscale resort town on Little Traverse Bay with a walkable harbor, shops, and beaches.
Wilderness State Park
About 20 miles north
A large state park near the tip of the Lower Peninsula, with quiet beaches, dark skies, and miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.