Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Did you know…
One of the most spectacular views in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
is at the Lake Michigan Overlook on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. It's just
a short walk from the parking lot at number 9 or 10.
4.
Point Betsie Lighthouse
With uninterrupted views up and down the coast, Arcadia is every bit as bucolic as its
ancient Greek counterpart. Savor this tranquil spot, then move on to the bustling town
of Frankfort (which, incidentally, also has a historic marker in honor of Père Marquette).
Before curving around Crystal Lake, turn left onto Point Betsie Road and go to the ven-
erable Point Betsie Lighthouse—one of the oldest and most photogenic beacons on the
Lower Peninsula. From here the dunes, lakes, and rivers of Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore dominate the coastline for the next 35 miles.
5.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
By the time you crest the 150-foot Dune Climb, you may be as exhausted as the legendary
bear for whom this 71,000-acre preserve is named. The Chippewas tell the tale of a mother
bear who swam across Lake Michigan with her two cubs to escape a Wisconsin forest fire,
only to watch her weary youngsters drown before reaching shore. In pity, Manitou, the
great spirit, turned the cubs into the Manitou Islands and the mother bear into Sleeping
Bear Dunes.
In reality, however, this is not a place of sadness but one of great beauty. Six thousand
acres of cream-colored dunes tower high above the waters of Lake Michigan; inland lakes
and birch-lined streams teem with pike, trout, and bass; and maple-beech forests echo with
thetunefultrillsofthewoodthrush.JustbeyondthevisitorcenterinEmpire,lookoutpoints
along the 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive offer a preview of the park's many treas-
ures: Glen Lake (a sand-dammed inlet of Lake Michigan), the sandy slopes of Sleeping
Bear Dunes, crescent-shaped Sleeping Bear Bay, and the misty Manitou Islands.
Called “perched dunes” because of their position atop high bluffs, the Sleeping Bear
Dunes—some of which reach up to 480 feet in height—are among the tallest in the world,
their shifting sands barely stabilized by beach grass, sand cherry, and other pioneer plants.
Along the 3.5-mile looping Dunes Trail, look for the skeletal remains of so-called “ghost
forests.” Once buried by shifting sands, these dead trees are now partially exposed and can
be seen poking up from their sandy graves. Equally spooky are the tales of 50 shipwrecks
inthedangerousManitouPassage;theyarevividlyillustratedwithexhibitsatthemaritime
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