Sleeping Bear Dunes

Last Friday we took a drive over to Sleeping Bear Dunes. This was about a 30 mile drive from Traverse City. We don’t usually think of Michigan as having a National Park, but the Dunes are considered a national treasure located on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. This national park consists of 72,000 acres of dunes, forests, and beaches.

We took the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7.5 mile loop that overlooked the lake shore and led us through the landscape that was carved by glaciers depositing rock and sand in this area. This drive was named after the lumberman who spent many years in this area. He was awed by the beauty of the dunes and wanted to share this beauty with others. He conceived the idea of a road to the top of the dunes and the building began in the 1960’s and was completed and opened in 1967.



A most interesting spot along this drive was the Lake Michigan Overlook. This overlook towered 450 feet over the lake. It provided a magnificent view of the shoreline and also a view of the Sleeping Bear Dune a mile away. Amazingly, people descend this bluff down to the lakeside. The descent is a steep sandy trek that probably looks a lot easier going down, but the return climb is extremely strenuous! We watched from the overlook as many, looking very small in the distance, struggled on their slow return; only the very young or foolish should probably attempt that climb! It certainly wasn’t something we wanted to try!






At one time the dune looked like a sleeping bear…hence the name. Chippewa legend tells the story of a mother bear with her two cubs swimming across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to escape a forest fire. The cubs lagged behind and tired while the mother bear reached shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to await her cubs. Unfortunately, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created the two islands marking the spot where the cubs drowned and the solitary dune was created to represent where the faithful mother bear waited. Now the 110 foot dune has eroded from its 234 feet. Wind and water contributes to its erosion and it will only be a matter of time before the Bear will completely disappear.



We enjoyed our day trip over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and learning of its history and legend. It is truly a beautiful place that will one day be sadly lost to the elements of nature.

We ended our day having a late lunch in the little lakeside town of Glen Arbor.