“Saturdays at the Lakeshore” programs take place every Saturday from Sept. 15 through Oct. 27. Meet at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire on M-72 at 1 p.m. to meet the Park Ranger who will lead the hike. Then, car caravan a short distance to where the walk will begin. Each week, a different topic and location in the park will be featured. All are welcome. Each program will be no more than a mile and a half round trip and will conclude by 3 p.m.
“Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, tucked in the northwest corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, is one of the nation’s best-kept secrets,” according to ABC’s popular show “Good Morning America.” We concur. But now the secret is out.
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.
Visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service) on Saturday, June 18, at 9 p.m. for an evening with the stars. Join a Park Ranger and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at the mouth of the Platte River on Lake Michigan Drive in Benzie County to learn about and celebrate the night sky. Watch the sun set into Lake Michigan, view the starry constellations, and spot the rings of Saturn through huge telescopes. If you are lucky, you may even get to see the elusive green flash as the sun sinks below the horizon.