Sleeping Bear Dunes

One of the warnings about Sleeping Bear Dunes is the potential $3000 rescue fee if you wander down the massive dune along Lake Michigan. The dunes can range in size from small hills to 460 feet in size!

In order to acquaint ourselves with the park, we started our day at the visitors center. Here you can learn about the wildlife as well as the geology and ecology of the Sleeping Bear area. You also learn that Sleep Bear is named after one of the dunes with a tuft of grass that looks like a giant sleeping bear. Over a hundered years ago some travelers took their horses and carts across the dune and you can still see the changes that it made even today.

From the visitors center we headed to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. This is a one way loop with multiple opportunties to stop for vista pictures or hike. Our favorite stop, and a must do for everyone was the Sleeping Bear and Lake Michigan Overlook. it is a short walk through the sand to the overlooks. Here is where you will see the famous $3000 price tag sign if you decide to head all the way down the dune to Lake Michigan and can't manage to get back up. We chose to stay on higher ground.

From there we headed up the South Dune Highway to the Dune Climb. This is a much more doable climb. We did the first 130 foot face of the dune which was a lot of fun and didn't take much time at all. Also on our list was the Sleeping Bear Point Trail. You can reach this trail from the Dune Climb or do what we did and drive down the road to the trailhead and and take the shorter trip to the beach.

We have really enjoyed seeing and comparing all of the amazing sand dunes across the United States. From the White Sands National Park in New Mexico to the Indiana Sand Dunes National and the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, the dunes of the United States are a marvel.