Frequently Asked Questions in Glen Arbor & Sleeping Bear

From staff reports

Glen Arbor is hot. Glen Arbor is busy. You need to eat. You need to swim. You need to find a bathroom. But a line of fellow tourists snakes out the door of Art’s Tavern and down Lake Street. And no one seems to have answers for your most dire questions.

That’s why you’ve landed here. Our Frequently Asked Questions (And Answers) page on GlenArbor.com. These resources may also be helpful: the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce, The Homestead’s visitors bureau, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

(What are we missing here? Feel free to email us at editorial@glenarborsun.com with suggestions for questions and answers we neglected to provide here.)

• Where can I find a public restroom?

Glen Arbor has a beautiful and well-maintained public bathroom and garden on Lake Street, between Art’s Tavern and the Cottage Book Shop. Empire’s public restroom is at the Lake Michigan beach.

• Where’s Lake Michigan?

When you’re in Leelanau County, you’re never far from Lake Michigan. If you’re in Glen Arbor, Sleeping Bear Bay is more or less due north. In Empire, the open lake is due west. If you’re in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, you can probably see Lake Michigan. If you’re in Maple City or Cedar, in the heart of the county, you’re equidistant from Lake Michigan and West Grand Traverse Bay, which touches Traverse City.

• Where’s the public beach on Lake Michigan?

Empire has a fantastic public beach on Lake Michigan, with playgrounds, picnic areas, restrooms, and access to inland South Bar Lake. Empire now charges $1 per hour for non residents to park at its public beach. The beaches in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Glen Haven, Port Oneida, Good Harbor, Sleeping Bear Point, Esch Road) are public, but you need to purchase a Park pass for your vehicle. They cost $10 (per vehicle) for 7 days or $20 for a year. Glen Arbor doesn’t have much in the way of a public beach, though you can jump into the lake at the end of Bay Lane (675, north of town), Lake Street or Manitou Boulevard.

• Where is public access to the Glen Lakes?

The best place to put your boat in the water is at the public launch on Day Forest Road, on the north end of Little Glen Lake (that’s the lake to the west). The launch is equidistant between the Narrows Bridge and the historic barns on M-109.

As for swimming in the Glen Lakes, you can access both lakes from the Narrows Bridge, or wade into Big Glen Lake from Old Settlers Park in Burdickville or Little Glen from the picnic area by the Dune Climb.

• Where is this Dune Climb I keep hearing about?

It’s on M-109, just west of Little Glen Lake, 3.5 miles southwest of downtown Glen Arbor, and 5.8 miles north of Empire.

• Where do I get on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, and which part should I check out?

The Heritage Trail is awesome. Get to know each of the three legs, or bike all of it! From Glen Arbor, you can access the Heritage Trail westbound (toward the Dune Climb and Empire) from Forest Haven Drive, which is just west of downtown, off M-109. You can also access the trail, west- or eastbound from the Dune Climb parking lot. To access the trail from Empire (currently the southernmost point), head north on Lacore Rd from the Fire Station. And to access the new (northbound) Port Oneida leg of the Heritage Trail, take 675 east from Glen Arbor to the Crystal River boatlaunch on Fisher Rd. Better yet, check out the Friends of Sleeping Bear’s new Heritage Trail map!

• Where can I rent bikes? How about kayaks or canoes?

Crystal River Outfitters on the east side of downtown Glen Arbor is the primo spot to rent bikes, kayaks and canoes. The gear there is awesome!

• Where are the bike racks where I can lock my bike in town?

It seems they are everywhere! Crystal River Outfitters owners Matt and Katy Wiesen have planted them in front of businesses throughout Glen Arbor and Empire.

• What’s a good bike route other than the trail?

If you’re a confident biker, M-22 and all other state highways and two-lane roads throughout Leelanau County offer great rides, challenging hills and stunning vistas. Compared to urban biking on Woodward Avenue in Detroit or Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, the biking here is safe and enjoyable. A series of mountain bike trails within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are in the works. Stay tuned for updates.

• How long would it take to swim to the Manitou Islands?

This is a bad idea. Unless you’re an Olympic long-distance swimmer, and have the proper gear and crew, you shouldn’t do this. The water temperature out in the Manitou Passage hardly ever reaches 60 degrees. It can kill you, and fast.

• Can I kayak across the lake from here?

To Wisconsin? Do you want to drink a New Glarus beer that badly? Why not settle for one of Northern Michigan’s fine microbrews? The lake is 50-60 miles across, and once you leave the safety of Sleeping Bear Bay, its perilous. Shipwrecks and the ghosts of sailors from the late 1800s haunt the bottom of this freshwater sea. Still want to kayak across the lake?

• Can I drink the lake water?

Yes, you can. At least here in Leelanau County you can. If you’re closer to Chicago or industrial cities along Lake Michigan, and your pregnant, perhaps you should consult a more authoritative website.

• Where can I recycle?

Recycling facilities in Glen Arbor are at the Leelanau School, one mile north of town on M-22. Recycling in Empire are at the baseball fields (and Cherry Republic warehouse) off Lacore St. And in Cedar, the recycling facilities are just north of town at the boat launch on the Cedar River.

• Where can I get a fishing permit?

In Glen Arbor, try the Sportsman Shop, across the street from Anderson’s Market. In Empire, try Empire Outdoors, across the street from the gas station.

• Where is an ATM?

Glen Arbor has an ATM on the north wall of Anderson’s Market. Empire has ATMs at State Savings Bank just north of downtown and at Huntington Bank in the business district.

• Where can I find Morel mushrooms? How about Asparagus? How about cherries? How about Farmers Markets?

Leelanau Adventures’ Eric LaPaugh tells us how to find morels. You should buy your asparagus at Norconk Farm south of Empire, at one of many roadside stands that sell Norconk asparagus, or at the Empire Asparagus Festival, itself, in mid-May. As for cherries, they’re everywhere, in cherry products, cherry cookies, cherry ice cream, cherry t-shirts, cherry dreams … If you want real, pop-em-in-your-mouth cherries, we’d recommend the Glen Arbor or Empire Farmers Market. The Glen Arbor Farmers Market meets on Tuesdays, June 16 – Sept 8 behind the Township Office. The Empire Farmers Market meets on Saturdays, June 13 – Sept 12 next to the Post Office.

• Where is Cherry Republic?

Ahh, the magnet business sought by cruise ship tourists, automobile-bound tourists and even inter-galactic space tourists. Cherry Republic is on Lake St. in downtown Glen Arbor, one block south of M-22 and Art’s Tavern. Cherry Republic also has stores in downtown Traverse City, Ann Arbor and Petoskey.

• Does anybody REALLY live here through the winter? What do they do?

Our frequent contributor Sarah Bearup-Neal answered that question with her November 2014 story, “Whaddaya do up there all winter?”
• Why do the local-yokels keep calling me a fudgie?

Tourists like to eat fudge, particularly in the Upper Peninsula or on Mackinac Island, but also here in Leelanau County. That’s why “fudgie” has become the endearing term for a tourist, or anyone with an out-of-state vehicle plate, or anyone dressed too well for the beach.

Off-the-wall questions — yes we’ve actually heard them?

• Why is the water in certain parts of the Glen Lakes bluer than other parts?

It’s not. Really, it’s not, but that didn’t convince one tourist in summer 2012 — the year after Good Morning America named us the “most beautiful place in America”. That tourist was allegedly so excited about renting a boat on Big Glen Lake that they prepared glass bottles so they could “collect the different colors of water in the Glen Lake.

• Why won’t my hotel/motel/condo/rental house/B&B turn down the “Nature CD” at night?

That’s ridiculous. But also in summer 2012, one renter called Leelanau Vacation Rental’s office one morning to ask if “we could turn the nature CD down at night so they could sleep better.”

• Where’s the local strip club?

A New Jersey man actually asked artist Greg Sobran this question in, you guessed it, the summer of 2012 — our summer on steroids. The answer is … there are no strip clubs in Leelanau County. You have to drive to Traverse City or Cadillac.

• At what point in its life does the deer become a moose?

Arghhhh! If you figure that out, please let us know.

• Which local artists sell paintings of icebergs?

What the heck is this? The Onion?

• Is the shrimp local?

Yes, if you needed to ask that question, most definitely it is.

• Why won’t ‘Art’ come over to our table at Art’s Tavern and give us a high-five?

Art passed away many years ago. The guy you think is “Art” is actually Art’s Tavern owner Tim Barr. He’s a great guy, and if he’s not too busy, he might sit and jab with you, so long as you don’t call him “Art”.

• Why doesn’t Art’s take credit cards?

To help you with your credit card debt, America.

• Where is the nude beach?

There actually is (or was) one. Esch Road beach is at the mouth of Otter Creek. But you might get busted if National Park rangers see you there. (The best nude swimming happens at night, anyhow.)