our inaugural big michigan excursion took us to sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore. we started at the visitor center, collecting all of the ranger data, stickers, and merch, but sadly not junior ranger books because it appears those days are over. then we set out on a days worth of various adventures.
our first hike was the empire bluffs trail, which provided some pretty epic views of the turquoise waters of lake michigan and the dunes jutting out off in the distance. the day was beautiful and the scenery not too shabby.
after this short little stroll, we took the pierce stocking scenic drive and got out for a few overlooks and one quick walk to sleeping bear dunes overlook. it was breathtaking. the incline of the dunes down to the water seemed almost vertical. we watched folks who had bypassed the warning signs and slid or ran down to the water and were now trudging so very painfully slow back up. wondering if they were happy with the decision or having regrets.
not wanting risk incurring the $3000 rescue copter fee at sleeping bear dunes, we skipped that challenge and opted instead for the official dunes climb. here, you start out climbing, and run back down whatever (very small) elevation gain you’ve managed. we forgot how miserable hiking in sand is.
we gave ourselves a challenge to get to a certain point and all succeeded. we took some victory photos and then sprinted back down.
for our final adventure of the day, we hiked the sleeping bear point trail, which took us up and over a smaller dune and down to lake michigan.
there were no other people, but a million biting flies and the water was beautiful, but frigid. we frolicked around for a bit, taking it all in. and taking lots of pics where you can’t tell that the bugs were incessant and the water was icy. 🙂
and thus concludes our very full day of exploration at sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore.