7 great things to do with kids at Sleeping Bear Dunes
Updated May 18, 2021;
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EMPIRE, MICH. When it comes to quintessential spots for making Michigan summer memories, it’s tough to beat Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This 71,000-acre park in Northwest Lower Michigan has all the necessary ingredients for the perfect family vacation: beaches, trails, sweet small towns, and no shortage of activities and interests for every age.
But if knowing where, exactly, to start your family trip planning has you stumped, we’re here for you. We asked Tom Ulrich, the park’s deputy superintendent and a father of two, to clue us in to a few of the National Lakeshore’s most kid-approved highlights. The following tips are timeless, and are just a hint at what the park has to offer young visitors. Read on to see what he shared, and be sure to check out our ultimate Sleeping Bear guide,
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Views like this of Platte Lake, Lake Michigan, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes are the reason the National Park Service has slowly been acquiring land for a scenic road in Benzie County.
If you look at Benzie County on Google Maps, you’ll notice a dark green strip of land about five miles long between Platte Lake and Crystal Lake.
That’s where a long-proposed scenic road would run – between U.S. Highway 31 and M-22 – taking people from Beulah into Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The land is mostly dense hardwood forest and it s extremely hilly.
“This is almost a 90-degree descent here we’re going to go down here, so we may want to keep our hands free,” says Andy Norman, a retiree of Michigan State University Extension who lives nearby.
Piping plover guardians needed at Silver Lake State Park
Updated May 04, 2021;
Posted May 04, 2021
Sleeping Bear Dunes has reported seeing its first Piping Plover of 2021. Photo by Vincent Cavalieri, National Park Service, used with permission
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And they need Michiganders help.
The tiny, endangered birds named for their soft, high-pitched song annually nest along coastal sand and gravel beaches like those found in places like Silver Lake State Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
However, because their nests are often located in areas where humans often visit the popular parks, they are easily disturbed. So park staff is asking for the public’s help to make sure the birds can pair up and breed without any issues.