On the shores of Lake Michigan, the cozy little beach town of Frankfort draws in thousands of visitors every year.

With its stunning views of the coastline, and a great downtown, there is no shortage of food, fun and frolicking.

Stefanie Mills takes us now on a tour of what she calls her happy place.

(upbeat music) - I hear a lot of visitors say that something happens to them when they come through the gateway.

It's like a magical thing that happens and I believe it.

- [Stefanie] The moment you crest that last hill is when seeing becomes believing.

The gateway stretched across the road where the sky meets the water.

A mesmerizing view passed down to generations of families and visitors.

- It's amazing the traditions that exist in this little town of Frankfort and Storm Cloud has become one of those traditions.

- There's so many people that come here and do exactly the same thing, and if you mess that up or change it, you're gonna be in trouble.

- We do have people that, just like you, that have to stop in, get their goodies, have a sandwich for the road.

- [Stefanie] Known as the southern gateway to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, Frankfort becomes a major tourist destination once summer hits.

(upbeat music) - The most unique part is so walkable to everything that we have, pretty much, the restaurants, the shops, pretty much everything is within five blocks, so you can't go far.

Plus we have the trail, the marinas, the lake, the beach, all of it.

It's so close and you can just walk anywhere.

- [Stefanie] Now Frankfort isn't a large town, about 1200 people live here year round.

Main Street is lined with great shops and restaurants, options for the whole family.

New businesses like Storm Cloud Brewing Company is one that's helping attract visitors in the cooler months too.

- I would agree that Frankfort is becoming more of a year round destination and that's exactly what we need.

The summer is crazy busy and fun.

There's no better place to be in the world than in Northwest Lower Michigan on Lake Michigan in the summertime.

And then in September and the weather then and the leaf color, it's beautiful.

We're open every day, all year long and try to provide activity that brings people here.

Whether it's curling in the winter or a beer festival in the middle of February.

- [Stefanie] The beach is second to none here, spread across the beautiful sandy shoreline.

You can take a walk out to the lighthouse to watch the boats come into the Betsie River.

And get this, the views and privacy also proved to be a lucrative escape for mobster, Al Capone who sometimes stayed here.

- Oh, I did take a tour of it.

It's pretty cool.

Apparently the girlfriends used to stay there.

Maybe the pregnant girlfriends, we're not really sure.

They had a tunnel that they, during prohibition where they would transport alcohol.

- [Stefanie] A visit to Frankfort for the Mills family isn't complete without a stop at Port City Smokehouse.

You'll find all sorts of smoked fish delicacies here along with their dips and snacks.

Owner Mike Elwell turned this old car shop into a business 17 years ago.

They smoke about 25,000 pounds of fish here every summer.

- Well, you know, first of all, we understand that our goal is to make great food, but more importantly, our business is providing the Up North experience.

And all of our folks that are great folks that work for us, that's our focus.

We know that people have that week off for vacation or whatever, and when they come into town, they want that experience of up north.

- [Stefanie] Like many northern Michigan communities, Frankfort continues to grow, but there's something so quaint and familiar every time you travel down it's streets and carry on those timeless traditions with those you love.

- There's only one stop light in the whole county and so if you want to experience Northern Michigan preserve, this is the place to do it.

- People bring the best of themselves into the store.

We try to match that with the best of ourselves.

And then it creates, just a bit of magic.

- [Joanne] It is paradise, as people do call it a paradise.

They absolutely love it.