Yesterday afternoon at 2 p.m., Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Dusty Shultz and the National Park’s Midwest Regional Director Mike Reynolds cut the ribbon to officially open the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which currently stretches 5 miles between the Dune Climb and Glen Arbor. Organizers and supporters hope that the Trail will one day stretch 27 miles, from the Leelanau-Benzie County Line to Good Harbor Bay.
After several years of limited piping plover nesting activity in the Glen Haven area of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore), four pairs of the federally endangered shorebird have made that beach their home for the summer. This easily accessible location provides visitors an excellent opportunity to view a rare bird in its natural habitat, as well as have questions answered by National Park Service employees and volunteers who will be on site throughout the nesting season.
To show our appreciation for those who serve in the U.S. Military, on Saturday, May 19 – Armed Forces Day – the National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents.
The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Plan (IPMP) for the following 10 parks located in the Great Lakes region: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), Grand Portage National Monument (GRPO), Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IATR), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU), Isle Royale National Park (ISRO), Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE), St. Croix National Scenic River (SACN) and Voyageurs National Park (VOYA).
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.
Legislation by Sen. Carl Levin to permanently protect more than 32,000 acres of Michigan lakeshore won approval Thursday from a key Senate committee. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and Recreation Act (S.140,) a bill authored by Levin, D-Mich., and cosponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Superintendent Dusty Shultz is pleased to announce that Veterans Day Weekend, Nov. 11 through 13, will be celebrated as a fee-free weekend for all park visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in honor of U.S. veterans and current members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
This summer, the National Park Service (NPS) unveiled its options for the Historic Landscape Management Plan of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. Some four miles east of Glen Arbor, the shoreline settlement was founded as a logging community, with subsistence (family) farming and fishing, in the early 1860s by immigrant pioneers from Prussia and Hanover (now parts of modern Germany), and lived in continuously until the 1970s. It is defined as a “historic vernacular landscape … that has evolved through use by ordinary people” over a “period of significance of 1870-1945,” in the Plan’s Executive Summary, and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Good Morning America” produced evidence this morning that proved to everyone what most people in northern Michigan already knew — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the most beautiful place in America! The ABC morning news program conducted a poll on their website last week asking people to vote for one of 10 places nominated for the honor by their viewers.
Join Park Rangers for another Families United with Nature (FUN) day at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and this time discover how to reuse and recycle in a creative, playful and artistic way. Meet at the Platte River Picnic Area on M-22 south of Empire on Saturday, July 23 at 2 p.m.