Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Muskegon & Ludington
between Muskegon and Milwaukee (one way adult/child/car from $83/26/87, 2½ hours),
providing a substantial shortcut over driving the Michigan-to-Wisconsin route. The town
isn't much, but the
Muskegon Luge & Sports Complex
( 231-744-9629;
www.msports.org
; 442 Scenic Dr)
kicks butt with its full-on luge track (usable during sum-
mer, too) and cross-country ski trails. To the north, lakeside
Ludington State Park
(
231-843-8671; tent & RV sites $16-29, cabins $45)
is one of Michigan's largest and most popu-
lar playlots. It has a top-notch trail system, a renovated lighthouse to visit (or live in, as a
volunteer lighthouse keeper) and miles of beach.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
This national park stretches from north of Frankfort to just before Leland, on the
9922 Front St; 8:30am-6pm Jun-Aug, to 4pm Sep-May)
in Empire for information, trail
maps and vehicle entry permits (week/year $10/20).
Attractions include the famous
dune climb
along Hwy 109, where you trudge up the
200ft-high dune and then run or roll down. Gluttons for leg-muscle punishment can keep
slogging all the way to Lake Michigan, a strenuous 1½-hour trek one way; bring water.
Glen Arbor to the Dune Climb; walkers and cyclists are all over it. It will stretch to Em-
pire by summer 2014. Short on time or stamina? Take the 7-mile, one-lane, picnic-grove-
studded
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
, perhaps the best way to absorb the stunning lake
vistas.
waterfront restaurant downtown, and poke around atmospheric Fishtown with its
weatherbeaten shacks-cum-shops. Boats depart from here for the Manitou Islands.
noon-6pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun)
pours delicious hard ciders in its small tasting room on the
family farm.
WORTH A TRIP
