Glen Arbor hosts its winterfest the Saturday of President’s Day weekend, which this year falls on Feb. 14. The event includes a chili cook-off on the deck of Boonedocks restaurant from noon-3 pm and an ice fishing contest on the Glen Lakes from 7 am-1 pm.
The 0.3-mile parade over the Glen Lake Narrows Bridge on Labor Day Monday is the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. The sentence is the high summer tourism season in Leelanau County, which wraps up this weekend. This year marks 30 years of bridge walks. This year’s bridge walk leaves from the north side of the Glen Lake narrows (M-22) on Monday, Sept. 1, at noon. As in past years, t-shirts and hot dogs will be available, and certificates will be presented on site. Inspired by the enthusiasm of longtime organizers Bill and Dotti Thompson, JoAnne Beare of the Empire Area Community Center has committed to carry on the tradition, which the Thompsons started in 1995.
Ron Reimink knew how uncomfortable and annoying swimmer’s itch could be. He spent much of his adult life trying to eradicate it in lakes across northern Michigan. Then one day, he realized he was completely wrong, writes Dan Wanschura in this story adapted from an Interlochen Public Radio podcast. Glen Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world—clear turquoise-colored water, with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore off in the distance. It was an ideal setting for Reimink’s summer job. One particularly beautiful day, Reimink, who’s a biologist, was walking around the lake, through the water, up and over docks, doing research on ducks. Then, a couple hours after he’d wrapped up for the day, he started to get this sensation in his legs. He looked down, and there were all these red spots popping up. Each one was around the size of a nickel. They started to itch like crazy. “And I literally scratched many of them until they bled,” Reimink said. “It was so intense.”
Each Friday in July the Glen Lake Association’s 23-foot Bennington pontoon boat called the Discovery Boat offers a couple two-hour tours that depart from Glen Craft Marina on Big Glen Lake and visit Fisher Lake, which connects the Glen Lakes with the Crystal River. The intent is to offer waterfront landowners and environmental stewards a narrated, hands-on educational tour of the health of these lakes.
This summer, the Glen Lake Association, in collaboration with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB), will deploy a targeted, nonchemical treatment to eradicate three colonies of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, or EWM, discovered in the deep basin of Little Glen Lake last year. These efforts aim to protect Glen Lake’s ecological integrity by preventing the spread of EWM and supporting the return of native plant species to affected areas.
The weather gods smiled on Glen Arbor with calm winds, cool temps, and no rain as the 17th annual M22 Challenge unfolded on June 14 at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, delivering an unforgettable morning. Nine hundred athletes competed in the iconic run–bike–paddle race that winds through the dunes, roads, and waters of one of the most scenic venues in the country. Ryan DeCook of Washington, Mich., claimed his fifth M22 Challenge title, cementing his place as a race legend, finishing with a time of 1:22:12. Amy Coneset delivered a standout performance to take the top spot in the female division with a time of 1:40:55.
The name conjures up a certain image for generations, both summertime vacationers and long-term residents. Ice cream and shakes of course, but also coffee, sandwiches, souvenirs and all the other items Laker Shakes is known for. The ice cream-and-more shop on the south end of Glen Lake, a five-minute walk from Old Settlers Park, has been a fixture for decades. Kate Alger is making sure that continues. “I always had a dream of being part of the community, serving the community,” Alger says. A longtime summer visitor and resident, Alger purchased Laker Shakes from owner Ellen O’Neill earlier this year. She and her husband Brad have been visiting the area since 2011. “We’re excited.”
Thousands of “No Kings: Nationwide Day of Defiance” demonstrations are planned throughout the United States for Saturday, June 14 — including a sign and flag-waving silent rally at the Glen Lake Narrows on M-22 from 10:30 am-1 pm. “Please stand in solidarity and join us on this nationwide day of peaceful affirmation of our right to due process, free speech and equal protection,” say Nancy Janulis and Linda Dewey, organizers of the Glen Arbor event. National organizers describe the No Kings protests as “a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from President Trump and his allies.”
The Glen Lake Association has named Kate Gille as its first-ever executive director. Gille will lead the organization in advancing its mission of “preserving and protecting the water quality, natural resources, and quality of life in the Glen Lake/Crystal River Watershed through leadership, education, and collaboration.”
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