A Fall Adventure To Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore
- Sarah
- Feb 7
- 11 min read
Our last major road trip for 2025 took us to the dog-friendly Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore. Located in the northwestern part of the lower peninsula in Michigan, famous for its 450-foot dunes towering above beautiful Lake Michigan. We planned and booked this trip for the first week of October way back at the beginning of the summer, as luck would have it our trip fell during the government shutdown and we debated quite a bit about going or cancelling as reports from parks out west were all over social media about visitors trashing and vandalizing parks, ultimately, we decided to go, be good stewards of nature and just make a few extra preparations in case trash wasn't being collected or bathrooms being cleaned.
We were hoping to be treated to beautiful multi-colored fall-foliage, but due to the drought over the summer, we did not get the show that we hoped for, but it was still beautiful. The weather we experienced was windy, especially on the beaches and cool to cold temperatures particularly at night despite it being early October. And while it was often cloudy and moody, we didn't experience any rain. There were a few people who left on our second night at the campground due to not being prepared to camp in cold conditions, it was perfect sit around the campfire and an enjoy a glass of wine (mulled wine, hot cider etc).
Camping
Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore has a number of campgrounds with options for RV or tent
camping. For tent campers there are options for drive in sites, which we opted for, or walk-in sites. We stayed at the Platte River Campground; there were rangers working in the office when we checked in (big thanks to all the rangers who worked during the shutdown) the bathrooms were clean; the dumpsters were being emptied and overall was clean and well maintained. The plethora of trees in the campground offered privacy between sites and was really enjoyable. The campground was generally quiet and had that sense of calm and silence that sometimes happens before a snowstorm, we also experienced this feeling at Crane Flats in Yosemite.
Unfortunately, on the second day of our stay we got new site neighbors with four children under five, the parents were inattentive and the kids were running around screaming including through our site. It wasn't until we directly told them that we had a dog that wasn't friendly with strangers and to keep their kids out of our site that they finally reigned them in. They also left their food and trash unsecured, Sleeping Bear is bear territory, for drive in
sites food and trash need to be secured in your vehicle, walk-in sites have bear boxes. I am a stickler about food hygiene, especially in bear country, we need to do better by animals. They also failed to properly put out their campfire before leaving. I'm all about taking your kids out to experience nature, my parents did, but please be responsible.
Our fire building skills are continuing to improve but still need some refinement, with the cooler weather we enjoyed having a fire every night and even in the mornings. I started to dabble in some campfire cooking with varying degrees of success, I tried campfire nachos and French toast and will continue to dabble in this area next year.
Platte River Campground - Located near the Platte River and Lake Michigan (there is a trail from the campground to the lake), this campground offers the widest variety of site types and has bathrooms with showers. Firewood is for sale at the campground but may run out later in the day so make sure to stock up early! Potable water is also available. The campground host was super active and responsive to concerns. 9/10 would stay again.
D.H. Day Campground - This campground features beautifully wooded sites and easy access to the famous dune climb. It has vault toilets but no showers. Firewood is for sale and potable water is available.
The Manitou Islands - Primitive backpacking sites are available on both North and South Manitou Islands; both single tent and group sites are available with community fire rings. Be sure to check the regulations around firewood on the islands. Proper food hygiene in a rodent proof bag and hang or bear vault is required for food storage. Leave No Trace principles should be followed to preserve the area.
Due to major construction planned for 2026 be sure to check access and closures
White Pine Backcountry Campground - This is the only backcountry campground and is in the designated wilderness area. Permits are required, water can be filtered from Lake Michigan, or you can do a water Carry. Leave No Trace principles should be followed to preserve the wilderness area.
Dog-Friendly
Sleeping Bear is another one of the more dog-friendly National Parks, all of the
campgrounds allow dogs except for the backcountry and Manitou Islands, the Manitou Islands don't allow dogs even for day visits. The famous dune climb also doesn't allow dogs, some places to have conflicting information posted on AllTrails vs what is posted on the trails/trailheads. Sometimes beaches will allow dogs one direction and not the other due to bird nesting. Be sure to double check when you arrive at the trailhead or beachhead. As always, your dog(s) should be on leash and make sure to clean up after your dogs.
History & Background
Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore is made up of 35 miles of shoreline along Lake Michigan along with North & South Manitou Islands. While the towering dunes are what the shoreline is most famous for, there are forests, meadows and scrubland to explore as well. The landscape in the park was shaped by the Wisconsin Glaciation during the last Glacial period some 10,000 - 14,000 years ago. The dunes that the Lakeshore is so famous for aren't actually true "dunes", instead they are perched dunes. Perched dunes were created by glacial sand being deposited on plateaus high above the lake to form the dunes and lakeshore we enjoy today.
The lakeshore has been enjoyed for recreation for decades, but it wasn't until 1962 that a bill
to create the park was introduced and was eventually authorized in 1970. The bill was considered controversial as it included the transfer of private property to public lands, many who lived in the area of the now lakeshore didn't want the area overrun by tourists, but eventually the government won out. In 2014 32,500 acres of the park were designated as the Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness, this was the first wilderness protection billed signed by Congress since 2009.
You can find a number of historic sites within the park including Glen Haven village, Port Oneida - a popular destination for its lighthouse, and the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. The park features the largest number of farms/farmlands owned by the Federal government. Under normal circumstances you can visit the museum at Port Oneida and find additional information at the visitor's centers, but due to the shutdown they were all closed. We visited Port Oneida and Glen Haven, we walked around the areas, they were very cute and also spent time on the beach and even saw someone surfing despite the cold temperatures.
The Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabe is comprised of culturally related groups (First Nations and Native Americans) from both the Canadian and US region of the Great Lakes. In Michigan this includes the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi. In the 1600s Europeans arrived in the area, these were mostly fur trappers and according to some resources the trappers occasionally intermarried with the Native Americans, and they created their own cultural subset. I couldn't find any good resources on the Anishinaabe to link here, or history from their perspective to include. The history of Native Americans is often sparce in our National Parks, despite often being displaced from the land to create the parks or by settlers, as the Trump administration moves to erase what little information is included it's important to keep highlighting it.
The Legend of Sleeping Bear & The Making of The Manitou Islands
The name Sleeping Bear comes from an Ojibwe legend. One dune in in particular known as Mother Bear, perches above Lake Michigan and at one time resembled a sleeping bear. There are two general versions of this story shared in oral history traditions by the Anishinaabe (more information can be found on them below).
Story 1:
Once, long ago, in the land called Wisconsin across the great lake, there was terrible hunger and many people died. A bear and two little cubs were trying to leave that place and come around the lake where there would be more food.
They walked for many days on the beach together, but after a while the two little cubs began to whimper with hunger, and so the bear decided to swim across the rest of the lake.
They waded into the water, one cub on each side of the bear, and they swam off into the lake a long way. After a while the cubs began to get very tired, and so the bear said, “Try hard, the land is not very far.” And very soon they did come in sight of land.
But gradually the cubs got weaker, and only ten miles away, one cub sank into the water. Soon after, the other also drowned.
The bear’s heart was broken, but she could do nothing. She waded ashore and lay down, looking out on the water where her cubs had died. Eventually, both of them came to the surface as two little islands, and so the bear still lies there atop the dunes, looking after here children.
Story 2:
Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but soon the cubs tired. Mother bear reached the shore first and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. The cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the eternal vigil of mother bear.
*Both stories were sourced from the National Park website and the children's book I purchased on my visit.
Hikes
You won't find many long-distance trails in Sleeping Bear, but you will find a plethora of hikes over dunes and scrubland that provide their own challenge of loose footing so be prepared for that. Because the hikes tend to be shorter, it's easy to fit several in one day along with beach walks and visiting other points of interest.
The Dune Climb - Arguably the most famous hike in Sleeping Bear, there are a number of these tall dunes around Sleeping Bear, but the only one with an official hike is the
Dune Climb. You park at the base of the dune and climb up to a lookout point. What is often posted on social media are the unofficial dune climbs. These are dunes at viewpoints that go down to the beach, there are posted signs discouraging visitors from accessing the beach by going down the dune as it contributes to the degradation of the dune, destroys ecosystems and a rescue costs $3,000 if you need it. To me it seems like a lot of work to access a beach that doesn't seem to be any different than many of the ones we visited. Keep in mind these dunes are about 450 feet tall and very steep so it can take upwards of two hours to climb back up. Please help preserve these dunes and only climb the official dunce climb.
Big Glen Lookout via Alligator Hill - Alligator Hill provides a winding nine miles of hiking through a leafy and hilly alligator shaped ridge (or so they say). You can enjoy views of both Glen Lake and Lake Michigan. From the trailhead on Stocking Road, it's an easy 3 miles to Big Glen Lookout. On a clear day you can see North and South Manitou Islands along with Fox Island. While there are nine miles of trails in total, it's possible to do much shorter loops or out and backs.
Otter Creek Loop - This was the longest hike that we did and was my favorite. A 5.7 loop,
this trail is part of the Platte Plains Trail and connects with the Lasso Loop and Bass Lake loop. You can enjoy a wide variety of scenery including meadows and peaceful forests, you will also hit three lakes: Otter, Bass and Deer. You also spend some time hiking next to the creek and there are some cute little bridges if you're a bridge fan like me.
Pyramid Point Loop - Nestled amongst farms, the trailhead seems to be in an unsuspecting spot for a viewpoint but is actually a viewpoint with a lot of history. At the trailhead there are several plaques that give the history of the family and farm that previously occupied the land, if you take the longer loop, you can pass by the ruins of an old homestead. The gravel and packed earth trail climbs gently through a beech and maple forest for a little over a mile before it becomes steep and sandy for the last push up to the viewpoint. From the top of the bluff, enjoy beautiful views of Lake Michigan, it's advised not to descend the bluff to avoid erosion. If you take the longer trail back to the trailhead you pass through meadows and some scrubland before rejoining the forest, this longer loop really shows off the diverse ecosystems in the park.
Empire Bluff - Another great short trail that ends at a spectacular viewpoint (especially for sunrise/sunset) is Empire Bluff. This 1.5 mile out and back trail will take you through forest, scrubland and dunes before emerging on the top of a bluff with a narrow boardwalk and a small observation platform.
Other Activities
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive - This 4.7-mile drive takes you through the heart of the dunes
and hardwood forests with a number of stops with historical importance or viewpoints. The drive is a loop that goes one way and depending on how much traffic there is it can be hard to take your time, but there are plenty of places where you can pull off and let people pass. A few of the stops didn't have any additional plaques to give information about why it was a stop which was a bit frustrating. One of the first stops was the covered bridge, it was a little hard to get a good picture of it with traffic, so I would recommend going early if you want to spend some time photographing it with minimal interruptions. There are a few hikes that you can access from the drive including Alligator Hill. Vault toilets are available at the trailheads and a few of the viewpoints have picnic areas.
Kayak the Crystal or Platte River - Both the Crystal and Platte rivers are great places for leisurely kayaking and fishing (if you're into that), the Crystal River is known for being particularly clear. There are a number of rental places that rent kayaks for point-to-point trips complete with transportation back to the start.
Visit Michigan Wine & Cherry Country - After you finish kayaking, you'll find yourself in the heart of Michigan's wine and cherry country. Most of the wineries were dog friendly, but the food menus were pretty limited with more snacks than actual food. We stopped for a late lunch/dinner at a restaurant that highlighted cherries in as many dishes as possible. I had a cherry beer that was pretty good.
Rock/Fossil Collecting - Lake Michigan is a popular spot for rock, mineral and fossil
collecting. You can often see people walking along the shore looking for them, I got into it a bit and collected a few cool looking rocks, but I didn't find any fossils.
North & South Manitou Islands - Visiting the Manitou Islands, especially the lighthouse on South Manitou Island is a popular activity. You can backpack or just visit for the day. Unfortunately, the ferry wasn't running during our visit, so we weren't able to make the journey.
Stargazing - Sleeping Bear and the shores of Lake Michigan are great places to
stargaze or do some astrophotography (and potentially see the Northern Lights if they're active). We went to the beach and enjoyed the stars, it was incredibly windy, but beautiful.
Many of these activities can be enjoyed at other times of the year, during our visit we saw many snowshoe, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails so if you visit in the winter there are plenty of activities to keep you busy. No matter the season you choose to visit, Sleeping Bear is a park that shouldn't be slept on!
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