Sleeping Bear Dunes NL

THE LEGEND of SLEEPING BEAR DUNES says that a mama bear and her two cubs attempted to swim across Lake Michigan after a great hunger in Wisconsin. The bears were exhausted; but as the Michigan shoreline came into the view the mama encouraged her cubs to keep going. Unfortunately, both cubs drowned before reaching shore. The mama bear made it to shore and she laid down to rest while she waited for her cubs. It is said that she rests there still, waiting for her cubs to appear. The cubs eventually became North and South Manitou Islands.

Our exploration of Sleeping Bear Dunes began with the Empire Bluff Trail; which leads to the Empire Bluff Overlook 400ft above Lake Michigan.

Empire Bluff to the north overlooks Lake Michigan, the town of Empire, South Bar Lake, and finally The Sleeping Bear. On a clear day you would be able to see both North and South Manitou Islands; but our view was unfortunately obstructed by smoke from a forest fire to the east.

Our next stop was the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Pierce Stocking was a local man who loved the woods and spent most of his time there. He wanted to share his love of the area with others. So, he began constructing the road for the scenic drive and it was opened to the public in 1967. He continued to operate it until his death in 1976 an in 1977 it became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes NL. There are 12 stops along the drive. I’ve included pictures from a few of them below.

Our adventure continued with a hike to Sleeping Bear Point through the historic town of Glen Haven, which is located on Sleeping Bear Bay. Glen Haven was one of the many villages that sprang up along the Lake Michigan shoreline to provide cordwood and supplies to the passing steamships. Many of these villages became ghost towns when ships began running on Coal; but Glen Haven survived because DH Day (largest landowner in the area) adapted the local enterprise to canning local fruit. Later it became a resort destination.

The town of Glen Haven is now part of the park and has been restored to the way it looked in the early 1900’s. The Canning Co is now a Historic Boat Museum. The Blacksmith Shop still operates via volunteers who are trained through apprenticeships. In addition, the park is turning the Sleeping Bear Inn into a bed and breakfast.

Our final adventure in Sleeping Bear Dunes NL was an 11 bike ride (22 miles round trip) and a short hike to Pyramid Point.

Along the way we passed Glen Lake, the Crystal River, very old farms, and the site of Point Oneida (one of the many ghost towns along the shoreline).