Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is located in Michigan about 30 minutes west of Traverse City. As the name would suggest, some of the main attractions at Sleeping Bear Dunes are the sand dunes. There are also hiking trails, a paved bike trail, beaches, inland lakes, and two islands.
Hiking
Our time at Sleeping Bear Dunes was limited. We only had time for one hike, but we made it count. We hiked the famous Dune Climb.
Dune Climb
- Quick Facts
- Length: 3.5 miles
- Trailhead: Dune Climb parking lot north of Empire on M-109.
- Link to National Lakeshore website
The Dune Climb was so cool! You begin by hiking up one huge, very steep sand dune. After reaching the top of this dune, you follow trail marker posts to stay on the trail. Because the ground is mostly sand, these poles are necessary to mark the trail. We were anxious to get a glimpse of Lake Michigan over one of the next dunes, but the trail kept continuing on. Fortunately, we hiked it in the late afternoon/early evening on a cloudy day, so it wasn’t too warm. There is little shade on this trail.
Finally, we climbed over a dune and saw Lake Michigan on the other side. We walked to the beach, took off our hiking boots, and stood in the water. It was kind of a drizzly day, so we had the beach to ourselves, which was amazing. After spending some time at the beach, we turned around and headed back the way we came.
Biking
Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail
This is a 22-mile long, paved trail, but don’t be fooled! Even though the trail is paved, it is not flat. There are some steep sections of the trail. We brought our bikes and hopped on the trail right at the campground (D.H. Day Campground). We biked through historic Glenn Haven, past the Dune Climb, and down to Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. There were a couple of steep sections closer to the scenic drive.
I really enjoyed this trail despite the hills. It was cool to bike through the tall trees. We went fairly early in the morning while there was still some morning fog lingering, which gave it a bit of an eerie feeling. For more details about the path and a map, click here to visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore website.
Scenic Drive
We made sure to drive the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive before we left. Although we biked to it, we decided to come back later and drive it in the truck instead. It is recommended that only expert cyclists bike the scenic drive because of the way the road winds through the hills. Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy at the time we drove the loop, so we couldn’t see much at the Lake Michigan lookout. Although it was disappointing to miss out on a great view of Lake Michigan, it was still worth the drive. It’s not everyday you get to drive through a covered bridge. To read more about the scenic drive, visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore page here.
Paddling
We brought our kayaks along on our visit. On the day that we planned to kayak, the weather cooperated and we were able to take our kayaks out on Lake Michigan. We put in our kayaks at Platte Beach and paddled out along the lake shore a ways. It was cool to see the sand dunes from the water. Paddling on larger bodies of water can be so much fun, but should also be taken seriously. Make sure you have the proper safety gear and keep an eye on the weather as it can change quickly. We lucked out with calm waters on our paddle.
In addition to paddling on Lake Michigan, there are inland lake and river options available. During our visit, many people were tubing on the Platte River. Here is a link to more paddling information on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore website.
Camping
We ended up spending two nights in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Our first night was at D.H. Day Campground on the northern side of the park and our second night was in Platte River Campground on the south side of the park. D.H. Day Campground was our favorite of the two because our site was more secluded and the campground overall seemed quieter. To read more about our camping experiences at Sleeping Bear Dunes, click here. More information about camping in the park can be found on the Sleeping Bear Dunes website here.
Islands
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has two islands: North and South Manitou Islands. We didn’t have the opportunity to visit the islands on this trip, but I’d love to take a ferry out to the islands on a future trip. There are hiking trails and campsites on the islands. Click here for a link to the islands page of the Sleeping Bear Dunes website.
Wishlist
On a return visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, we’d like to do more of everything. We’ve talked about doing the Dune Climb again and spending more time at the Lake Michigan beach. We’d like to bike more sections of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. We’d like to spend more time paddling. Taking the ferry to the islands is definitely on our list. Tubing on the river might be fun. There is plenty to do at Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Time to Visit
We visited in August of 2021. The park became more crowded on the weekend, but during the week we had no issues with crowds. We had one day with some on-and-off drizzle, but otherwise, the weather was great. It was warm, but not uncomfortably hot and cooled off nicely in the evening. We would visit again at this time.