Online registration for the fifth annual M-22 Challenge begins at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 1, and will likely sell out within hours. This year’s Challenge will be held on Saturday, June 8. This dynamic spring alternative triathlon has quickly become one of Leelanau County’s most popular annual events. Don’t miss your small window of opportunity to take part!
The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes is grooming the existing four miles of the Sleeping Bear Heritage from Glen Arbor to the Dune Climb for classic and skate-skiing this winter. This volunteer effort allows the trail to be enjoyed year-round for outdoor recreation.
Join the Leelanau Outdoor Center on Feb. 2 for its first annual snowshoe stampede, including a 5K race and one-mile snowflake race (ages 12 and under), food and entertainment in the dodge and prizes for first, second and third place. Net proceeds from the event go to tuition assistance for schools to attend the Outdoor Center, which is located at 1653 Port Oneida Road. Here are the costs: $15 early registration includes lunch; $20 day of registration; $12 snowshoe rentals $8 kid rentals. Race starts at 10:30 a.m.
Most of us in Glen Arbor head for the fireplace, a hot pot of soup, or Art’s Tavern, when the temperature dips below 30 degrees and a brisk breeze blows off Lake Michigan. But not intrepid photo-videographer Keenan May. Before heading back to San Francisco, the local dude drove down M-109 to Glen Haven, walked down the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail with his surfboard in tow, then pushed into Sleeping Bear Bay to catch a few December waves.
Start your New Year’s holiday off with this simple checklist of resolutions you’re sure to enjoy, and maybe even keep, while snowshoeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Spend more time with family and friends. Check. Get some exercise. Check. Learn something new. Check. Connect with nature. Check. Explore your very own national park. Check.
Enter Row4ROW, a fundraiser created by Jenn Gibbons. Gibbons is the founder and coach of ROW (Recovery on Water), a nonprofit in Chicago that provides breast cancer survivors with an exercise group in the form of a rowing team. To raise money for the organization, last month Gibbons set out to row the 1,500-mile perimeter of Lake Michigan, beginning in Chicago and moving along the coasts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.
The first phase of the long awaited Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail — between the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb and downtown Glen Arbor — is nearly complete. Pavement stretches nearly half the way from the Dune Climb to Glen Haven, but the remainder of the trail is already formed and tamped down. The trail’s grand opening is scheduled for June 20. In the meantime, check out this narrated video of a bike ride Saturday along the trail.
The accolades and attention continue to bless Leelanau County — and our summer season is still over seven weeks away. A University of Wisconsin study published today named ours as the third healthiest county in the United States — behind Los Alamos County, N.M., and Colorado’s Douglas County. That means we’re the fittest Americans east of the Mississippi River!
Leelanau County is the third healthiest country in the nation, according to a new University of Wisconsin study, so chances are, you and your neighbors are fairly active people. But are you as active as these guys? Did you surf, skateboard and snowboard all on the same day — in late March? Doubtful.
Whether you are a new or frequent visitor, spring is an excellent time to enjoy Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Explore the farmsteads of Port Oneida, look for signs of spring, learn about the birds migrating back to the area and hike along magnificent trails. A Ranger-led hike in the park can be a great way to spend the afternoon. Join Park Rangers as they share some of their favorite places during Saturdays at the Lakeshore this spring.