On our honeymoon, we ventured to The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and there we fell in love with the outdoors. Now it is a place we visit regularly and we want to share some of our favorite activities with you!
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a national park stretching from The Platte River Campground at the base, all the way up to Glen Arbor on the north side. There are tons of activities to do depending on what you prefer!
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is one of our favorite parts of the area. The drive is beautiful, and it has several places to park and walk down to overlooks for breathtaking views. While not all of the paths were paved, they were all fairly easy and short walks.
THE DUNE
I remember running up this dune as a kid and rolling down, over and over again. Now it’s an accomplishment to just make it to the top! It is a fun challenge and a great activity to put on the list. Once you get to the top there are some great views, however, you cannot see Lake Michigan yet. There is a long trail up and over more dunes to get to see the lake. If you are an experienced hiker, it may be worth it, but for the lay people, climbing the initial dune, and hanging out in the beautiful picnic areas at the base, still makes for a great day.
The Dune Climb and Picnic area is a great place to spend some time!
Trails
That brings me to trails. The trails in this park are made for hikers, not for families with 5 kids in tow. We have not tried all of the trails, of course, but highly recommend these other attractions such as the Scenic Drive, Glen Arbor, the Dune Climb and picnic area, and …
Kayaking!
There are several kayaking, or other water sport, rentals in the area for the inland lakes or rivers. Most places also have canoes, tubing, and stand up paddle boards.
Beach Please
The beaches along this lakeshore are a little more secluded. Platte River Campground has a picnic and beach area, but you have to walk through the shallow end of the river, or along the side of it, to get to an adequate beach. Peterson Beach is beautiful! One of my favorite beaches of all time. But you have to drive on a rough road to get there or hike through the campground. Empire is the location of the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center where you can buy park stickers for the National Lakeshore, and see more about the area. In this town they have a cute beach with fire pits for cookouts. Lastly, there is another beach around the Cannery Boathouse Museum at the tip of the Lakeshore, in Glen Arbor. This beach is fairly rocky, so you may want some swim shoes or at least flip flops, but the colors of the water are beautiful. This brings us to Glen Arbor!
Glen Arbor
Glen Arbor is a cute little tourist town with some shopping, restaurants, a 9-11 memorial, and small garden area. However, our reason for visiting this small town revolves around one of our all time favorite stores and restaurant, Cherry Republic. Cherry Republic has chains in beach towns all over Michigan, but this is the original spot. They also have an amazing restaurant AND ice cream and pie window. We met the owner on our honeymoon and enjoyed a wonderful conversation with him. The family seems very invested in Michigan and genuine. We make sure to visit every time we are in the area! In addition to their store items (cherry mustard, cherry salsa, cherry barbecue sauce, chocolate covered cherries, etc.) make sure to have a piece of cherry pie ala mode!
For more information on The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, visit https://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm
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