Michigan

“If your feet are in the sand, you should have a smile on your face!” No kidding. I love this quote.

The truth is, it was difficult to not feel like a kid again while exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan a couple of weeks ago. This park was a fabulous place and much, much more than I had expected!

The park is a “National Lakeshore” not a “National Park.” Everything looks like a national park – all the signage, maps, ranger stations, etc. Visitors can even use their National Park passes for their entrance fee. Confused? Me, too.

Regardless of what we label this beautiful park, it consists of 72,000 acres of Lake Michigan shoreline and sand dunes formed two million years ago when glaciers advanced and retreated. What we have now is the world’s largest collection of freshwater dunes, with the tallest standing 400 feet high. There are also 26 lakes, various streams, rolling hills and dense forests filled with birch, maple, beech and pine trees.

Our group (3 adult couples) began our journey into the park by driving along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. This is a 7.4 mile loop that provides 12 points of interest to stop at along the way, if you so choose. Our first stop was the historic covered bridge for a photo op. This is actually the second covered bridge because the first one was eaten by local porcupines who found the wooden sides to be a tasty treat!

Our next stop along the drive was #3, the Dune Overlook. There was some nice information here on the dune ecology and history of the park. The overlook offered great views of Glen Lake. This stop also serves as a trailhead for a hiking trail that leads over the dunes and down to the Lake Michigan shoreline. Note: There are approximately 50 trails (totaling 100 miles) for hikers and bikers throughout the park, with levels ranging from easy to difficult.

We continue along to our next point of interest in the park, Scenic Drive Stop #9, the Lake Michigan Overlook. This dune stands 450 feet above sea level with a 45 degree incline – you have to see it to believe it! Photos don’t really do this one justice or emphasize the force of gravity. I fully understand why many people call this one the “Dune of Death!”

The shoreline at the base of this tall sand dune is almost vertically straight down from a level area that you enter near the parking area. We could only see a clear beach view, far below us, from a trail to the left side of the dune. People who had made the trek down to the beach were teeny tiny, ant-sized specks from where we stood!

A large sign near the parking area warns that “emergency evacuation” from this sight can cost up to $3000 per person. The message was loud and clear for me! I had read that it takes approximately 15 minutes to walk down the dune, all the way to the bottom, but it can take 1-2 hours to get back up. No thank you! My calves burn just thinking about it.

After doing a head count and feeling relieved that we did not lose any of our group here, we loaded up and continued our journey. We made a quick trip to the Visitor’s Center and were on to our next adventure. Our next scheduled stop was the Dune Climb Trail and a picnic lunch. Sandy shoes and gritty socks were a permanent fixture in our day from this point on.

The Dune Climb was my favorite spot of the day (especially after a delicious picnic lunch of Italian deli sandwiches, smoked fish and cookies!). The actual hiking trail here is almost 4 miles long but we felt a sense of accomplishment just making it up and over the first big sand dune! Whether barefoot or in shoes, walking in this deep, fine sand is quite a workout. Sand dune climbing is not for the weak and weary. I was sucking air, big time, by the time I made it to the top – but I did make it!!

Our final stop in the park was the Empire Bluff Trail. This 1.6 mile “out and back” hiking trail offered fantastic views of the coastline from a high vantage point. The trail was well-packed and led us through a beautiful, shaded forested area before reaching the wooden boardwalk and overlook. The views of Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes from this point were spectacular! It gave us a great perspective of where we had been earlier in the day and the gigantic size of the dunes that we had been on.

My friends and family know that I have a huge fear of bears (bear attacks, more precisely). My first interest in this park had me questioning the name. Bears? No, thank you! In fact, there are actually black bears in this area of Michigan but now they mostly live in the forested areas above the dunes. Why the name “Sleeping Bear Dunes?” The name of this park comes from a Native American story that brought tears to my eyes. The Ojibwe legend is as follows:

“Once, long ago, in the land across the great lake, there was a terrible hunger and many people died. A bear and two little cubs were trying to leave that place and come around the lake where there would be more food. They waited for many days on the beach together. But after a while the two little cubs began to whimper with hunger, and so the bear decided to swim across the rest of the lake. They waded into the water, one cub on each side of the bear, and they swam off into the lake a long way. After a while the cubs began to get very tired, and so the bear said, ‘Try hard, the land is not very far.’ And very soon they did come in sight of the land. But gradually the cubs got weaker, and only ten miles away, one cub sank into the water. Soon after the other also drowned. The bear’s heart was broken, but she could do nothing. She waded ashore and lay down, looking out on the water where her cubs had died. Eventually, both of them came to the surface as two little islands, and so the bear still lies there atop the dunes, looking after her children.”

Sniffle. I warned you. Today, the momma bear is seen as one of the big sand dunes and the cubs are seen as North Manitou Island and South Manitou Island, right off the shore. This is not exactly a cheery tale but we did see the story in print as a children’s book.

Regardless of the very sad tale that this park is named for, we had a wonderful, joyful day and made memories that will last a lifetime. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of those places where “seeing is believing” because photos just cannot do it justice. It is well worth a visit!