Sleeping Bear Dunes Park?

[PRINCESS VIJA]

My friend at work told me she really enjoyed this park. It sounds like a fun place to go. Has anyone here been there? And if so, did you like it?

 

[wld]

The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes area is a beautiful federal park. It is outdoorsy type of things to do. There is a huge dune climb, a lighthouse, 2 federal camping parks one with showers and one not, the Platte River for canoeing (slow river, end up in Lake Michigan), lots of small lakes that don't allow motors for fishing, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Access to beautiful Lake Michigan at several points including at the end of the Platte, Glen Haven, and a nice city beach at Empire. From Leland a ferry goes over to an island that I can't remember the name of right now. Keep driving up the coast for another lighthouse at Northport. There is a fancier resort called I think the Homestead north of Empire around Glen Arbor. Never been there, don't know what they have.
As we are outdoorsy like people we do enjoy both Sleeping Bear and the Leelenau pennisula (know I didn't spell that right) It is really beautiful with lots of hiking opportunities. Glen Arbor can be a bit crowded but there are a few small towns with charm and not too many crowds depending on when you go. Traverse City is about 45 minutes East with more big town attractions. Too many people for me but Mission Point is a nice drive with a lighthouse at the end. The last couple of years the lake level has been down so much that it does leave exposed lake floor. There are wineries out there. It is a piece of land that extends out in the middle of Grand Traverse Bay. Wow, bet thats more than you asked for!!!!

 

[disneyelaine]

We love this area of Michigan! I went as a child in the 70's about every summer for 10 yrs. Then started taking my boys up there every summer for about the past 5 yrs. The dunes are great fun for the kids to climb. When you get high enough you can see Glen Lake on one side and Lake Michigan on the other side. Glen Lake is such a pretty lake. I swear the colors look Caribeean if you get the right sunny summer day! Everything wld told you about is what we do up there. My husband loves the golf courses. We always go to Fish Town in Leland. We also always go to Northport and stop for lunch at this Ice Cream/Lunch place that looks like a Old Mill. I'm amazed it is still there from the 70's...same little tables even. Leelanau County has no fast food places, closest one is in Traverse City. It seems to always look the same to me, but that is why I like it. We have stayed at the Homestead Resort. It is comparable to the Deluxe Disney Resorts IMO. Great, but expensive. We have rented cabins on Lake Leelanau, Glen Lake & off lake in Northport. We have camped. We have also stayed in Traverse City in a Holiday Inn. It is very laid back, but July in Glen Arbor you can find a lot of people. They have a few nicer outdoor restaurants there.

 

[Pembo]

Another one who loves this area! We went for a few years and stayed in a very small little cabin on Little Glen. The water was so shallow and so warm! I loved climbing the dune and of course riding thru the park looking for deer. We went "deer hunting" every night. Beautiful.........

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks for the info! It looks like a really fun place to go. I think we will definetely add that to our must do list!

 

[DCLuvinit]

I'm glad you decided to go. This brings back great memories. We always vacationed at Crystal Lake in Beulah, Mi and went to the sand dunes every year. As a kid, it seemed like we would NEVER reach the 'top'. But it was always so much fun running back down! One of my favorite pictures that I have is of my brother and I, when we were younger, running down the dunes with our grandfather - all of us laughing