Sleeping Bear Inn takes reservations for August 2024, and beyond

From staff reports

The historic Sleeping Bear Inn, the oldest hotel in the National Park System, is now taking reservations for August and beyond. Click here to reserve a room.

The Inn includes eight renovated double-occupancy guest rooms with private baths that range from $269-$339 per night. The room called “Day Dreaming” offers the grandest experience. According to the Inn, “this large, bright, historic corner room was home to DH Day after he arrived in Glen Haven Village in 1878. With stunning Lake and Village views and your own personal sauna, this spacious room will provide a memorable stay.”

Originally built between 1865-1867, the inn located in Glen Haven across the street from the cannery building served as a frontier hotel for business travelers and local workers. It continued in operation throughout the next century, evolving into a tourist hotel. It has been closed since the mid-1970s.

The nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) signed a lease in 2022 to renovate the Sleeping Bear Inn and operate it as a bed and breakfast. BEAR held an open house and walk-through for 400 visitors on a cold, blustery April 8, 2022. On that day, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker handed the keys of the Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage to Maggie Kato, executive director of BEAR, which now has a 40-year lease to rehab the historic inn and re-open it as a bed and breakfast.

“This year marks two years of active renovation at Sleeping Bear Inn for our BEAR team, and with the finish line in our sights, we are elated to start thinking about the hospitality aspect of our work,” Kato told the Glen Arbor Sun. “We welcome future guests to make reservations on our website, www.SleepingBearInn.org. We are so very grateful for the support and encouragement from so many who have helped to breathe life back into this 158-year-old treasure.”

What can people expect who stay at Sleeping Bear Inn?

“Folks will be immersed in the history and natural beauty of Glen Haven while surrounded by period furnishings and the modern conveniences of the current time,” Kato continued. “Guests will enjoy a full breakfast every day of their stay which can be eaten on our enclosed porch looking out to Lake Michigan or in the privacy of their guest rooms.”