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Summer brings activities to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Day or night, sunny or cloudy, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore provides opportunities for family fun. Whether it’s self-directed hikes or drives, ranger-led programs or events coordinated by partners such as Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes or Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, the area offers plenty of ways to explore, engage and maybe even get a little exercise. You may want to start early if you’re planning on some of the more popular attractions. On its website, the National Park Service recommends hitting the following before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. to allow for easier parking, lower temperatures and fewer fellow outdoor enthusiasts.

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Leelanau Outdoor Center celebrates 30 years of impacting students

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The Leelanau Outdoor Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in 1994 and situated on picturesque Pyramid Point in Maple City, LOC educates groups of school students with its unique program that combines “experiential and ecological learning in the natural environment that promotes the discovery and development of leadership and character.” Adventure elements of the program include navigating the high ropes course, climbing wall, and zip line while the ecological components encompass Pond Study and Dune School. “At LOC we work hard to earn the students’ trust and provide them a safe space to try something new and maybe make mistakes. We want them to know that it’s ok to not get it right the first time, and it is important to work hard and be persistent. In team building, we specifically address communication skills that may be difficult to foster in a school setting, as well as the idea that it’s ok to ask for help and trust others,” said LOC director Katie Duntley. To commemorate their 30th anniversary, LOC is hosting a Fall Festival on Oct. 5 from 1–5 p.m. For $15 a person, attendees can climb the rock wall, take off on the zip line, hitch a seat on the hayride, shoot a bow and arrow, carve pumpkins, and other fun activities. More details on the festival can be found at LOCprograms.org/events.

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Leelanau Outdoor Center celebrates 30 years

This year marks 30 years for the Leelanau Outdoor Center (LOC) on Pyramid Point. To celebrate this milestone, LOC will host a Fall Festival event on Oct. 5, where participants will be able to climb the rock wall, fly down the zip line, go on a hayride, carve a pumpkin, shoot a bow and arrow, and more! The outdoor center will be open to all from 1-5 pm, and it’s just $15/person to access all the activities. Concessions will also be available.

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Camp Kohahna celebrated 100 years this fall

A gathering of more than 130 returned to Camp Kohahna at Pyramid Point on Labor Day weekend to pay tribute to 100 extraordinary years of camping. Women came from across the country, and as far away as London to join this weeklong Centennial Celebration, Aug 29-Sept 4. It was an opportunity to be together with old friends, reminisce and experience the freedom of being kids again at Camp Kohahna.

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Down on one knee at Pyramid Point

You don’t have to overturn many stones in Leelanau County—or initiate many conversations at Dick’s Pour House or Art’s Tavern—to find tales of couples who got engaged at Pyramid Point in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. But the story of Josiah DeValois proposing marriage to Anna Kenney on the Spring Equinox, March 20, stands out.

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Late summer swoon: a swim to North Manitou Island

Holland, Mich. resident Jon Ornée swam from Pyramid Point to North Manitou Island on Friday, Sept. 20. The 7.4-mile swim took him 2 hours and 50 minutes. He believes he is the first person to accomplish the feat.

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Sleeping Bear Gateways Council aims to help National Lakeshore manage growing pains

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and surrounding communities are suffering growing pains as we’ve become a prime destination for tourists from all over the world. Conscious of these growing pains, a new group called the Sleeping Bear Gateways Council is stepping forward to facilitate dialogue between the National Lakeshore, local business leaders and civic leaders.

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Innisfree memories

Many school groups from Traverse City and Leelanau traveled to Innisfree on Pyramid Point for environmental education. The fifth or sixth grade students stayed for four nights at the camp within the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. The program operated all year round within sight of the Manitou Passage. Students were led on beach hikes and woods hikes by a crack team of naturalists. In the winter snowshoe hikes and ski trips. Canoe trips on the Crystal River was a staple activity as were “get lost” hikes.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes Rangers host sunset InstaMeet at Pyramid Point Trail

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On Monday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m., Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a free InstaMeet event to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial. An InstaMeet is an interactive, in-park event, allowing visitors to meet up, take photos, and get to know each other. Once the visitors meet, they will accompany a park ranger on a nature hike.

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Tom Van Zoeren, environmental activist

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Retirement is an interpretive experience. For one guy it might mean a pastured life. For another, there’s the Tom Van Zoeren School of Retirement: Not! A former ranger with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL), Van Zoeren’s post-professional life is a blueprint of engaged, purposeful work.

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