Lapeer County: A Well-Kept Secret.

Looking for a blend of small town and big city? Country life and urban amenities? Friendly neighbors and high-tech services? Lapeer County is just a 10-minute drive to Flint, a 30-minute drive to Port Huron and Canada, and a 50-minute drive to Detroit.

Lapeer County is at the base of Michigan's Thumb Region, with farmland, rolling hills and lakes. Many Amish reside in the northern areas of the county, while the south is horse country, with a hunt club and game preserve.

The Lapeer County courthouse is among the 10 oldest courthouses in the U.S. Built in the Greek Revival style in 1846 by State Sen. Alvin Hart, he rented the courthouse to the county for one dollar. Newly-renovated, the courthouse is Michigan's oldest working courthouse.

McLaren-Lapeer Region is the area's leading provider of acute care services, with 175 physicians on staff, and 800 births each year. The Emergency Center accommodates more than 24,000 visits annually. The hospital also has a McLaren Extended Care-Lapeer Region and Sleep Diagnostics Center. McLaren-Lapeer Region is an subsidiary of McLaren-Flint, Flint.  For more information, call (810) 667-5500.

Lapeer County offers family-oriented leisure activities each season of the year. There are five major lakes in Lapeer County, and Lapeer's River Route Canoeing System provides 26 miles of accessible free-flowing river. Lapeer County is working on a "rails-to-trails" project with the construction of Linear Park -- 23 miles of trails from Leonard to Kingsmill for non-motorized use. Full completion is anticipated by 2007.

Two other areas of interest: Torzewski County Park on Pero Lake features a 360-foot "Blue Spiral" waterslide, baseball diamonds, nature trails and fishing sites. The Seven Ponds Nature Center is a 245-acre prairie of unusual plants, waterfowl feeding area, memorial orchard, herb garden and natural history library.

For more on Lapeer County, check out www.lapeer.org