Pellston, MI

Pellston is an Emmet County village on U.S. 31, straddling the boundary between Maple River and McKinley townships. Interstate 75 runs about ten miles to the east, but the village has its own regional marker in Pellston Regional Airport. The runway and highway place Pellston on the northbound route toward the Mackinac area, while the surrounding woods, lakes, and farm roads keep the community rooted in northern Michigan. The result is a local map where a runway, a two-lane highway, and a research lake all sit within the same familiar frame.

Douglas Lake adds a scientific presence nearby through the University of Michigan Biological Station, whose field work brings another kind of seasonal activity to the area. Pellston Public Schools serves local families, and the airport, school, and township boundary all appear in the way residents describe the village. The 2020 census counted 774 people. Pellston is small, but its location connects transportation, education, and lake-country research within a compact stretch of Emmet County.