Priority Home Mortgage · Antrim County new-homeowner guide · mypriorityhome.com · checked September 2026
Antrim County, Michigan: the new-homeowner guide
Antrim County is Chain of Lakes country: about 23,000 residents across fifteen townships and five villages, with Torch Lake and Lake Bellaire down the middle, Grand Traverse Bay along the west side at Elk Rapids, and the Jordan River valley in the northeast. It is a mix of year-round homes, orchards and farm country, ski and golf lodging around Shanty Creek, and a deep waterfront and second-home market, with Traverse City less than an hour southwest. This guide covers what actually needs doing after you get the keys.
Covers Elk Rapids, Mancelona, Bellaire, Central Lake, Ellsworth, Alden, Kewadin, Eastport, Alba, Atwood, Lakes of the North, Torch Lake Township, Milton Township, Helena Township, Forest Home Township. County seat: Bellaire.
Local to this one: Michele Fulcher lives in Fife Lake and works this part of the state.
- County seat
- Bellaire
- Schools
- Six districts plus a charter, split between North Ed and Char-Em
- Electric
- Great Lakes Energy co-op mostly, Consumers around Elk Rapids
- Well & septic at sale
- Required in 4 jurisdictions, ask your township
- Tax bills
- Summer mailed July, due September 14; winter due February 14
Questions about buying here? Priority Home Mortgage is a Grand Rapids direct lender with in-house underwriting, lending throughout Michigan. (616) 951-1561 · www.mypriorityhome.com
Setting up your utilities
Who serves a house can change from one road to the next, so check your exact address with the provider before you schedule anything.
Electric
Two utilities split Antrim County. Great Lakes Energy, the member-owned co-op headquartered in Boyne City, covers most of the county, and Consumers Energy holds the territory around Elk Rapids and Milton Township on the west side plus scattered pockets elsewhere. The two territories overlap in a lot of places, including Kewadin, Mancelona, Alba, and the ground in and around several of the villages, so start from the seller's most recent bill instead of guessing.
| Provider | Contact |
|---|---|
| Great Lakes EnergyMost of Antrim County, including Bellaire, Central Lake, Ellsworth, Alden, Eastport, and much of the Mancelona area | (888) 485-2537 |
| Consumers EnergyElk Rapids and the Milton Township area, plus pockets elsewhere in the county; confirm your address | (800) 477-5050 |
Natural gas & propane
DTE Gas holds the natural gas territory for nearly all of Antrim County, but holding the territory is not the same as having a main on your road. Outside the villages and the main highways, plenty of homes here heat with propane, wood, or a combination, so confirm what the house actually burns before you close. If there is a propane tank in the yard, find out whether the seller owns it or leases it, because a leased tank can usually only be filled by the company that owns it.
| Provider | Contact |
|---|---|
| DTE Energy (DTE Gas)The natural gas utility for nearly all of Antrim County, where mains reach; confirm your address | (800) 477-4747 |
| AmeriGas (Bellaire)Home propane delivery and tank installs from its office on South M-88 Highway in Bellaire (no walk-in traffic) | (800) 822-0873 |
Water & sewer
Public water and sewer here is village by village: Bellaire, Elk Rapids, Central Lake, Ellsworth, and the Mancelona area each run their own system. Everywhere else, which is most of the county, homes are on a private well and septic system. Four jurisdictions in Antrim County also require a well and septic evaluation before a property can change hands, so read the checklist below closely if you are buying in the Village of Elk Rapids, Elk Rapids Township, Milton Township, or Torch Lake Township.
| Provider | Contact |
|---|---|
| Village of BellaireVillage of Bellaire water and sewer customers (sewer billing runs through the wastewater plant) | (231) 533-8213 |
| Village of Elk Rapids Public WorksVillage of Elk Rapids water and sanitary sewer customers | (231) 264-9971 |
| Village of Central Lake DPWVillage of Central Lake water and sewer customers | (231) 544-2701 |
| Village of EllsworthVillage of Ellsworth water customers; the village publishes an annual water quality report, and the office can tell you whether your address is on village sewer | (231) 588-7411 |
| Mancelona Area Water and Sewer Authority (MAWSA)Water and sewer service in and around the Village of Mancelona (the village DPW does not handle it) | (231) 587-0744 |
| Health Department of Northwest MichiganWell and septic permits, records, and time of transfer evaluations countywide; the Antrim office is at 209 Portage Drive in Bellaire | (800) 432-4121 |
Trash & recycling
There is no countywide curbside pickup. Custer Township funds GFL curbside through a local millage, a couple of villages run an annual cleanup or seasonal brush pickup, and everyone else either subscribes with a private hauler or hauls it themselves. The Village of Bellaire says it plainly: the village has no public trash service and residents must contract with a hauler. Recycling is the county's strong suit, with eight free drop-off sites run by the Antrim Conservation District.
| Provider | Contact |
|---|---|
| GFL EnvironmentalResidential subscriptions around the county, plus the Elmira hauling and transfer station on M-32 where residents can drop off trash | See website |
| Revolution Waste SolutionsResidential tote service, budget bags, and dumpsters in Alden, Bellaire, Central Lake, and Mancelona | (231) 342-4142 |
| Antrim County Recycling (Antrim Conservation District)Eight free drop-off sites: Alden, Bellaire, Central Lake, Elk Rapids, Ellsworth, Kewadin, Mancelona, and Star Township | (231) 533-8363 |
| Village of Elk Rapids Recycling CenterRecycling drop-off at 8228 Herrman Road, open around the clock to any Antrim County resident, plus a trash compactor and yard waste on set days for village permit holders or blue bag buyers | (231) 264-9274 |
Internet & cable
Wired service is strongest in the villages and along Grand Traverse Bay, and it can change from one driveway to the next out on township roads. Truestream, the fiber arm of Great Lakes Energy, is building out to co-op members across the co-op's 26-county territory, so it is worth checking the availability map even if a neighbor was told no a year ago. Run an address check with every provider before you count on working from home.
| Provider | Contact |
|---|---|
| SpectrumCable internet at some Antrim County addresses; Spectrum publishes availability only by address, so run an address check before you count on it | See website |
| Truestream Fiber (Great Lakes Energy)Great Lakes Energy members in Antrim County as the fiber build reaches them; check the availability and status map | (888) 485-2537 |
| T-Mobile 5G Home InternetWhere cellular coverage allows (fixed wireless) | See website |
Your first-month checklist
Roughly the order they need doing in.
Find out whether your address needs a time of transfer evaluation
The Health Department of Northwest Michigan requires a Time of Transfer Evaluation of the well and septic system in four Antrim County jurisdictions: the Village of Elk Rapids, Elk Rapids Township, Milton Township, and Torch Lake Township. In those places the property cannot legally be sold or transferred until the evaluation is completed with satisfactory results. An evaluation stays valid for five years, so ask for the report and keep a copy; it tells you the age and condition of what is underground. Nowhere else in the county has a time of sale rule, which is exactly why an independent well and septic inspection is worth paying for elsewhere.
Pin down your electric and heating providers
Electric service could be Great Lakes Energy or Consumers Energy depending on the address, and the two territories overlap in places, so start from the seller's last bill and transfer service about a week before closing. For heat, confirm whether the home is actually connected to a DTE gas main or runs on propane. If it is propane, open a delivery account and schedule a fill before you move, and find out who owns the tank.
File your USPS change of address
Do it online at usps.com a week or two before the move so forwarding starts on day one. Plenty of rural Antrim County addresses get mail at a post office box or on a rural route, so confirm your delivery setup with the local post office too.
Update your driver's license and vehicle registration
Update your address with the Secretary of State right after you move: Michigan law says immediately for a driver's license and within 10 days for a vehicle registration. The address change is free and takes minutes online at Michigan.gov/SOS, with no office visit needed.
Check your voter registration
In Michigan, updating your driver's license address with the SOS updates your voter registration automatically. In Antrim County your township or village clerk runs your precinct, so confirm your polling place at the state's Voter Information site before the next election.
File your Principal Residence Exemption (PRE)
Michigan's PRE exempts your primary home from up to 18 mills of school operating tax. File Form 2368 with your township assessor: by June 1 to get it on that year's summer bill, or by November 1 for the winter bill. It only applies to the home you actually live in, so a cottage or second home on the chain will not qualify. It is often handled at closing, but verify it was recorded.
Learn the local tax calendar
Summer tax bills are mailed in July and are due to your township or village treasurer without penalty by September 14; winter bills are mailed in December and due by February 14. Local treasurers collect current-year taxes through February, after which unpaid taxes move to the Antrim County Treasurer as delinquent. Confirm the dates with your own township, and if your lender escrows, check your first statements anyway.
Set up trash and find your recycling drop-off
Ask your township hall whether your area has anything contracted; Custer Township funds GFL curbside through a millage, but most of the county subscribes privately with a hauler such as GFL or Revolution Waste Solutions. The Village of Bellaire has no public trash service at all. Recycling is free at eight Antrim Conservation District drop-off sites, and the Village of Elk Rapids runs a recycling drop-off on Herrman Road that is open to any county resident, with a trash compactor beside it for village permit holders.
Enroll the kids in school
Antrim County has six public districts, Alba, Bellaire, Central Lake, Elk Rapids, Ellsworth, and Mancelona, plus North Central Academy, a charter school in Mancelona. Central Lake and Ellsworth are members of Char-Em ISD; the county's other districts work with Northwest Education Services, the regional ISD based in Traverse City. Districts based in neighboring counties, including Boyne City, Boyne Falls, Charlevoix, East Jordan, and Gaylord, also reach into parts of Antrim County, so confirm your default district by address before you register.
License your dog
Michigan requires a license for every dog over 4 months old. Antrim County sells them at the regular price from December 1 through the end of February, through your township treasurer or the County Treasurer in Bellaire; after February 28 the fee doubles and only the County Treasurer's office can sell you one. Bring proof of a current rabies vaccination, and note that a three-year license needs a rabies certificate that runs at least that long. The Treasurer's office is at 203 E. Cayuga Street in Bellaire, (231) 533-6720.
Check before you burn brush
Antrim County is in the DNR's northern Michigan burn permit system: check the DNR burn permit page (or call (866) 922-2876) on the day you plan to burn, and if permits are being issued for the county that serves as your permit. Check your township rules too, and note that state air quality rules prohibit burning yard debris within 1,400 feet of an incorporated city or village, which takes in Bellaire, Elk Rapids, Central Lake, Ellsworth, and Mancelona.
Every step above is written out in full in the online guide at www.mypriorityhome.com/local-resources/antrim-county-mi/
Places worth seeing
Torch Lake and the Chain of Lakes
The county's whole identity in one line of water: a 100 mile inland water trail of twelve connected lakes and rivers running from Ellsworth down through Intermediate Lake, Lake Bellaire, and Torch Lake to Elk Rapids and Grand Traverse Bay. Torch is the one people photograph for its color.
Grass River Natural Area
A 1,502 acre preserve near Bellaire with seven miles of trail, including a mile and a half of accessible pathway and boardwalk out over cedar swamp and fen. The trails are open dawn to dusk every day of the year and the center runs programs and classes.
Barnes Park, Eastport
The county park at the top of the county, on Grand Traverse Bay just north of Torch Lake, with a long Lake Michigan beach, electric and rustic campsites, and a camping season that runs Memorial Day through October. Sites are booked online and popular summer weekends go early.
Downtown Elk Rapids and the harbor
A walkable village between two beaches on East Grand Traverse Bay. The Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor has 213 slips on the bay plus 52 more on Elk Lake, boat launches on both, and shops and restaurants a block away.
Jordan River National Fish Hatchery
A federal hatchery in the Jordan River valley near Elmira that raises about three million lake trout, cisco, and rainbow trout a year for Great Lakes restoration. It is open to visitors, with trails and picnicking on the grounds.
Elk Rapids District Library
A busy small-town library on Isle of Pines with story times, book clubs, a library of things, hotspots you can borrow, and an easy first stop for a new library card and a read on the community.
Things to do year-round
Shanty Creek Resort
The county's four-season anchor outside Bellaire: 5,500 acres across four villages, 42 downhill trails and seven lifts plus tubing and Nordic skiing in winter, and 90 holes of golf across five courses the rest of the year.
Short's Brewing Company
The Bellaire pub that put the village on a lot of Michigan maps, still pouring in the middle of the county seat. Expect a line on a Saturday in July.
Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area
Just over 31 miles of singletrack and pathway in the hills outside Bellaire, free to use, kept up by volunteers. Hiking and mountain biking in the warm months, snowshoeing and fat biking once the snow sets in.
Paddle Antrim Festival
A two-day guided paddle down the Chain of Lakes Water Trail, Ellsworth to Bellaire on day one and Bellaire to Elk Rapids on day two, run by the nonprofit that built the trail. It happens every September, with routes for first-timers as well as long-distance paddlers.
Fish the chain and the rivers
Torch, Elk, Bellaire, and Intermediate lakes hold everything from smallmouth to lake trout, and the Jordan River is classic northern Michigan trout water. Get a Michigan fishing license and read the local regulations before opener.
Snowmobiling
Winter is long and the trail network is real. Buy a Michigan snowmobile trail permit and check the DNR's trail maps for routes near you before you ride.
ORV riding on state forest roads
Most state forest roads in the northern Lower Peninsula are open to ORVs, including the state land in the south and east of the county. Check the DNR's maps for which roads are open or closed before you head out.
Volunteer with Three Lakes Association
The volunteer group that has monitored water quality on Torch Lake, Lake Bellaire, and Clam Lake since 1966, and that pulls invasive milfoil by hand. A fast way for a new lakefront owner to learn what is actually going on in the water.
Moving to Antrim County: common questions
Does Antrim County require a well and septic inspection before a sale?
In four places, yes. The Health Department of Northwest Michigan requires a Time of Transfer Evaluation of the well and septic system in the Village of Elk Rapids, Elk Rapids Township, Milton Township, and Torch Lake Township, and in those jurisdictions the property cannot legally be sold or transferred until the evaluation is completed with satisfactory results. The evaluation is valid for five years. The health department describes it as a status check rather than a pass or fail: a septic system is only treated as failed when there is visible sewage on the ground at the time of the inspection, but if the well sample comes back with bacteria the water is considered unsafe to drink until it is shown to be clear. Everywhere else in the county there is no time of sale requirement, so an independent well and septic inspection is on you to order.
How do property taxes work in Antrim County?
You will get two bills a year from your township or village treasurer: a summer bill mailed in July and due without penalty by September 14, and a winter bill mailed in December and due by February 14. After February, unpaid taxes are turned over to the Antrim County Treasurer as delinquent. If the home is your primary residence, make sure the Principal Residence Exemption (Form 2368) is on file with your township assessor, by June 1 for the summer bill or November 1 for the winter bill, because it exempts you from up to 18 mills of school operating tax. A cottage or second home does not qualify, which matters here more than in most counties.
What order should I set up utilities in?
Start by confirming your electric provider from the seller's last bill, Great Lakes Energy or Consumers Energy, and transfer service about a week before closing. Heat is next: if the home is on a DTE gas main, transfer that, and if it is on propane, open an account and schedule a fill, which matters most for a fall or winter closing. In the villages, call the local office for water and sewer: Bellaire at (231) 533-8213, Elk Rapids at (231) 264-9274, Central Lake at (231) 544-2701, Ellsworth at (231) 588-7411, and MAWSA at (231) 587-0744 for the Mancelona area. Book internet early, since rural installs and fiber hookups take time, and arrange trash last.
What should I know before buying on Torch Lake or the Chain of Lakes?
Start with the septic, especially on an older cottage lot where the drainfield may sit closer to the water than today's setbacks allow. If the property is in Elk Rapids village or township, Milton Township, or Torch Lake Township, the time of transfer evaluation will tell you a lot; elsewhere, order the inspection yourself. Shoreline work such as seawalls, dredging, or filling generally needs a permit from EGLE, so check before you plan a project. Ask your township whether the lake has a special assessment for weed or invasive species treatment, since that shows up on your tax bill, and ask what the lake association does; Three Lakes Association has monitored Torch, Bellaire, and Clam since 1966. If you plan to rent the place out, check local rules first: the Village of Elk Rapids licenses short-term rentals and renewals open in October with a November 30 deadline.
What are winters and spring roads like?
Plan for a real northern Michigan winter with lake effect snow off Lake Michigan and snow on the ground for months. The Antrim County Road Commission, based in Mancelona at (231) 587-8521, maintains county roads, but private roads and long driveways are your problem, so line up a plow service before the first storm. In spring, road commissions post seasonal weight restrictions, the frost laws, while the frost comes out of the ground, which can delay heavy deliveries like gravel, lumber, or a septic replacement until the roads firm up. One more winter note for buyers: many second homes here are winterized and shut down from fall to spring, so ask whether the water is off before you schedule an inspection.
Where do I go for county-level services?
The county building at 203 E. Cayuga Street in Bellaire is the main stop, and antrimcountymi.gov links to each department: the Treasurer at (231) 533-6720 for delinquent taxes and dog licenses, plus the County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Equalization, and Construction Code. Animal Control is at 4660 M-88 Highway in Bellaire, (231) 533-6421. The Health Department of Northwest Michigan's Antrim office at 209 Portage Drive in Bellaire handles well and septic permits, records, and time of transfer evaluations. For assessing, current-year taxes, zoning, and elections, go to your township hall, or to your village office in Bellaire, Elk Rapids, Central Lake, Ellsworth, or Mancelona.
Nearby counties
Most buyers shop more than one county. Here are the guides next door.
Confirm before you count on it. Provider details checked September 2026. We check this page every quarter and every provider row was verified by hand, but phone numbers, service territories, fees, and local ordinances all change without notice, and which utility serves a house can change from one road to the next. Call the provider, the township, or the county before you rely on anything here, especially well and septic rules at sale. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Priority Home Mortgage is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. NMLS #103098. Equal Housing Lender. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement; not all customers will qualify. Printed from https://www.mypriorityhome.com/local-resources/antrim-county-mi/