Segments were realigned to straighten curves in the late 1930s and early 1970s near the villages of Lake Leelanau and Suttons Bay.

The two-lane roadway runs eastward and then southeasterly through a mixture of woods and fields to the village of Lake Leelanau.

[6] No section of M-204 is listed on the National Highway System,[7] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

[8] M-204 was first designated on July 12, 1933 between Leland and Suttons Bay along what is today Duck Lake Road.

Sections not obliterated by the reconstruction were turned over to local control as Main Street or Old M-204 in Lake Leelanau when the project was finished on July 1, 1970.