Inspiration Point over Glen Lake

This small roadside viewpoint sits above Big Glen and Little Glen Lakes, with wooded slopes and a fieldstone bench at the edge of the view. It is a brief pull-in rather than a hike; the sightline reaches over the lakes toward Alligator Hill and, farther away, North Manitou Island.

Follow MacFarlane Road to Inspiration Point Road and the turnaround. The pull-in is small, so plan on a few minutes rather than a picnic or long visit. No food service or public restroom is confirmed at the viewpoint; bring what you need before you arrive.

The fieldstone bench gives the panorama a foreground, while branches frame the water. For a photo, use the bench at the edge of the composition and leave room for the open lake and distant wooded ridges; North Manitou Island is a farther detail when visibility allows.

A log cabin stands just steps from the bench. Mary and George Faust had it built in 1929 after buying the property from D.H. Day, and hired Chicago architect Frank Sohm, described as a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Mary had first come to love the area as a college botany student and later gardened there for decades. The cabin is part of the setting, but whether visitors can go inside has not been confirmed.

The wider scenery reflects the work of continental ice lobes: they shaped the region's bays and bluffs, and meltwater left sand and gravel across the landscape. This is regional context for the view, not a feature unique to the bench.