Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is located on the northwestern shore of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It has yellow sand dunes, marvelous swimming, pebble beaches with clear aquamarine waters, and diverse flora. On the coast of Lake Michigan, it is an excellent example of a pristine beach right here in the ol' USA – and, in fact, the only one that comes to mind. At this part of Lake Michigan the waters are crystal clean, so much so, you can take a gulp right as you swim along.

Sleeping Bear Dunes got its name from a Chippewa Native America legend. A ferocious forest fire on the west coast of Lake Michigan (what we know as Wisconsin) drove a mother bear and her two cubs to jump into the lake and attempt to swim across the bay. After many miles of swimming the two cubs lagged behind. When the mother bear made it to the other side of the lake, she sat down on the shore and waited for her cubs to arrive. The cubs never made it, but the mother bear laid down and waited in the hopes that her cubs would appear. The Great Spirit was so moved by the mother bears determination, he created two island to commemorate the cubs, North and South Manitou Island, which are a short distance from the coastline at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Great Spirit also created a vast dune out of the mother bear and today this is this the dune we recognize as the “Sleeping Bear Dune”.

While visiting the park, we did the Sleeping Bear Dune Trail. This trial is about four miles long, starts with a hike up a 110 foot high dune and covers strangely vegetated dunes from Glen Lake to Lake Michigan and back. The vegetation includes birch trees, grasses and colorful wildflowers, which seemed unusual (to me anyways) in the dune setting.

Dune Wildflower

Example of vegetation on the dunes

Also on offer is the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which winds through the coastal and forested parts of Sleeping Bear. This drive is about 8 miles long and includes 12 tops providing information about the park, its history, flora and fauna. The drive also stops at some beautiful overlooks of Lake Michigan and the other lakes in the region.

We stayed the night at Sleeping Bear B&B, hosted by the very amiable, Van and Susan. The breakfast was magnificent (ricotta blueberry pancakes with chicken sausage) and the room very comfortable. They offer a large library of DVDs to their guests and we watched “Little Miss Sunshine”, which we both gave five stars (excellent script and acting). Susan has the most impressive collection of cookbooks that either of us have ever encountered without a doubt. The collection fills at least 5 to 6 floor to ceiling bookshelves. Van also is a collector, specializing in antique shovels and other tools. For more see http://www.sleepingbearbb.com/

We both highly recommend Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for your next trip to Lake Michigan.

Two happy kids after finishing the dune walk