Jolli-Lodge: “The Inspirational Retreat”
By Rebecca G Carlson
Sun contributor
“I followed all the rules—man’s and God’s. And you … followed none of them and they all loved you more.” —author Jim Harrison, Legends of the Fall
The third story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways.
Not all resorts can claim a connection to a world-renowned, award-winning poet and novelist, but the Leelanau Peninsula resort Jolli-Lodge can.
Jolli-Lodge is that unexpected surprise at the end of the path. As guests and visitors drive through the gently, rolling hills of the 16-acre property, the most amazing view appears when driving to the main lodge. Built in 1924, the classic white and green shuttered lodge sits against the sweeping jewel-tones of Lake Michigan. Standing along the 700-frontage feet of shore, the visitor is offered miles of sandy beach along with deceptively close views of both North and South Manitou Islands. It’s breathtaking.
“After flying his way through WWII in a P-51, Keith Jolliffe, with his wife Ruth, and his parents, Grace and Evered, landed on the picturesque Leelanau Peninsula” (Jolli-Lodge Website). Originally from the Columbus, Ohio area, “[i]n 1956, [the Jolliffe Family] purchased this spectacular lakefront property, and the Jolli-Lodge was born.” Aside from owning and managing Jolli-Lodge, Keith and wife Ruth were both in the education field. Keith taught in Glen Arbor while Ruth worked for the Leland Public School System. They raised their children, Greg and Pam, at the lodge. In the 1980s, Keith and Ruth handed the management reigns of Jolli-Lodge over to son Greg, the third-generation owner and host. In 2025, Greg Jolliffe and wife Lisa Psenka are the owners and hosts who live on the property and are parents to five children and one grandchild. Another full-time resident is Grace Jolliffe, Jolli-Lodge matriarch and grandmother to current owners and hosts, who turns 99 this year!
From its opening in 1956 until the late 1990s, the Jolli-Lodge resort was a year around location for visitors to the area. Sugar Loaf resort which opened in 1947, south of the Jolli-Lodge, offered skiing and other winter activities. After Sugar Loaf closes, Jolli-Lodge adjusted their operating dates to a more seasonal schedule from the 1990s until 2024 when the Jolliffe’s decided to return to staying open year around. As the winter weather can be treacherous, Jolli maintains a 1947 Jeep Willys. As Lisa explained, the Jeep was used numerous times over the years to help guests push their cars up the steep driveway during heavy snowfalls or ice. Lucky guests can still see the Willys in action.
In 2025, just shy of 70 years of continuous, single-family ownership, guests of the Jolli-Lodge can expect a welcoming beach bonfire s’more night to meet and mingle with the third-generation hosts, Greg and Lisa, as well as the other guests. With six rooms in the main lodge and the additional 16 rooms in the various cottages and converted outbuildings, there is a potential occupancy for over 100 guests on any given night. But no one is crowded into one area. All the outbuildings are spread along the lakefront and surround the main lodge with gorgeous views of Lake Michigan. This is why Jolli-Lodge is the perfect location for family and friend groups looking to stay in one location, and have breathing room to enjoy the location. According to Lisa Psenka, “there are returning guests that have been coming back for 50-plus years, renting out the same rooms year after year.” In some cases, the assigned weeks have been passed down family-to-family through the generations. Like Fountain Point, these decades-long returning customers are a testament to satisfaction and travelers looking for places that offer more than high speed internet and television.
Aside from the weekly s’more gathering on the beach, other activities Jolli-Lodge offers include shuffleboard, pickleball, various water toys like paddleboards and kayaks, ideal stone hunting opportunities, as well as a fenced-in dog park area next to the woods for pets to play off-leash. As guests’ check-in to Jolli, make sure to say ‘Hi’ to Badger, the five-year old, four-legged fur baby of Greg and Lisa, AKA the Jolli-Lodge mascot.
Over the years, Jolli-Lodge has hosted some notable guests with the stunning location serving as inspiration. In 1973, The Transatlantic Committee on Agricultural Change were guests. As the Traverse City Record Eagle (TCRE) noted, this meeting of five, international economists used the location to write a book, researching “the subject of technical and institutional changes affecting agriculture in the world” (Pritchard). A few years later, “the character,” as Ruth Jolliffe was quoted in another TCRE article, arrived.
Why quote Michigan author Jim Harrison? These words were most likely penned by Harrison while staying in room #1 at Jolli-Lodge. Back in the late 1970s, Jim Harrison was a guest. It was in this sparsely decorated, Lake Michigan view room, that Harrison wrote the novella “Legends of the Fall.” Creating the world of the Ludlow Family of early 20th century Montana, WWI, with characters such as Susannah, Tristan, and Samuel, Harrison all but completed this section of Legends of the Fall in just 9 days. As noted in the TCRE, Greg Jolliffe explained, Harrison, “rented one of our rooms in the off-season and brought his typewriter and his bottle of booze and holed up there…I guess that’s all it took” (Thompson). I am guessing that over the years, Harrison was not the only guest to invoke the inspirational writing vibe of Room #1.
This coming fall, Jolli-Lodge will be hosting a 10-day song writing retreat from October 30, 2025 until November 9, 2025. As Lisa and Greg have a songwriter in the family, hosting the retreat became a reason for involvement. “Lamb’s Retreat for Songwriters” is an opportunity to connect talent from all over the world. Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 6pm this group will share their songs at a community concert held at the Leland Arts Building. For more information, please check out this link: “Lamb’s Retreat for Songwriters”
About three miles south of Leland along M-22, Jolli-Lodge is located at 29 North Manitou Trail, Lake Leelanau. This hidden gem of a property is open year around, family orientated, and pet friendly. As the website states, “Four generations of Jolliffe’s have perfected the art of hosting,” and the proof is in the decades of returning guests. And, as Greg and Lisa have a grandchild, Sonny, the Jolliffe Family has entered the fifth generation of host and owner. The website, JolliLodger.com, offers easy booking and details on all the different types of rooms and cottages available. It is truly a unique property that accommodates the world of evolving travel and lodging needs. As host Lisa Psenka explained, “Every new week it is a whole new town at the resort.”
