M-22, carved in layers of birch
Every depth a real step in the wood, not a print.
“Beautiful piece, expertly crafted. Packed well and arrived in perfect condition.”
Mark S., Hudson, OH. Verified buyer
M-22 is the drive, and this is the chart of it: the shoreline route from Manistee around the Leelanau Peninsula, with the waters it passes cut in layered Baltic birch, harbor by harbor, lake by lake.
Details
- Dimensions
- 24.5 × 31 in
- Material
- Baltic birch, hand-stained water
- Build
- Up to 12 laser-cut birch layers
- Detail
- Carved bathymetric relief, laser-etched labels
- Soundings
- NOAA nautical survey data
About this piece
The highway runs 116 miles and never strays far from water: past Portage Lake and Point Betsie's lighthouse, along Crystal Lake, through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at Glen Arbor, past Leland's Fishtown, around the tip at Northport, and down the bay shore through Suttons Bay toward Traverse City. The green-and-white M-22 shield became shorthand for this whole coast for a reason. On the chart, the route's waters appear the way they do from the road, one after another, each with its own basin of birch: Big Glen's deep bowl, Crystal's long trough, the open lake always to the west.
Every contour is laser-cut and stacked by hand, names engraved into the wood, acrylic glass over the relief, solid Baltic birch frame.
People do not just drive M-22, they keep score of it: which stretch, which stand, which beach. This chart is the whole scorecard.
Along the way sit Frankfort, Empire, Glen Arbor, Leland, Northport, and Suttons Bay. The headline waters each have their own chart: Glen Lake, Crystal Lake, Lake Leelanau, and Grand Traverse Bay.
- 24.5 × 31 in
- Solid Baltic birch frame
- Acrylic glass front, ready to hang
- Free next-business-day shipping on orders placed by 2 PM EST
- 14-day returns
Shipping and returns
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US, with tracking.
14-day returns if the size or frame is not right for the room.
Going on someone else’s wall? It ships packed and ready to wrap. Add a gift note in your cart.
Not a print
Run a finger across it. You can feel the water get deeper.
Up to 12 sheets of Baltic birch, each one laser-cut to a real depth contour from NOAA survey data, stained darker as the water gets deeper, then stacked by hand. Deep water falls away layer after layer; the shallows sit close to the surface, just like the real thing.
How the water becomes wood
Anyone who grew up on this water has a spot on this chart.
The dock, the crossing, the stretch of shoreline that meant summer. Most people find theirs in the first minute. Every shoreline, island and depth contour of M-22 is cut, layered and etched from real survey data.
Built for the wall it ends up on.
A solid birch frame, an acrylic front that keeps dust off the layers without the glare of glass, and hanging hardware already on the back, so it goes up the day it arrives.
From the people who hung one
What people say about our charts
No reviews on this chart yet. Same birch, same hands, same workshop as the 3,400+ reviews below, 5.0 average.
Live from the water
Questions people ask before they buy
Straight answers to the things that stop an order.
When will it arrive?
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US. You get a tracking number as soon as it leaves.
Which size should I choose?
The larger size is the one most people hang in a living room, over a sofa, console or mantel; it reads clearly from across the room. The smaller size suits a hallway, office, bathroom or boat. Both carry the same detail.
How is it packed? Will it survive shipping?
Each piece ships framed, with the acrylic front already in place, in a box built for it. "Packed well and arrived in perfect condition" is the most common thing reviewers say about delivery.
What if it is not right?
14-day returns. If the frame color is wrong for the room or the size is not what you pictured, send it back.
Is this a print?
No. The water is up to 12 physical layers of birch, each laser-cut to a real depth contour and stacked by hand. The names and depths are burned into the wood. You can feel every step.
Do you have my lake?
195+ lakes, bays and coastlines. Use the map below to find yours, or search it. Each of the Great Lakes, for example, is also available on its own chart at closer scale.
Not your lake?
195+ lakes, bays and coastlines
Pan the chart, jump by region, or let us find the waters closest to you. Every pin is a piece we carve.