March is maple sugaring time in northern Michigan. An annual Maple Sugaring Days event presented by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in partnership with Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear will be held over two days–March 7-8 at the Olsen and Dechow Farms. Saturday hours are 10 am-3 pm and Sunday hours are 11 am-3 pm. Maple Sugaring Days offers a variety of demonstrations and hands-on activities to get outdoors and learn about the history of maple sugaring.
As northern Michigan continues to experience a very snowy and cold winter, the Empire Area Community Center (EACC) plans to embrace the elements with the annual Empire Winterfest. Events will be hosted throughout the village of Empire on Saturday, Feb. 21, including the long-standing tradition of a polar plunge in South Bar Lake.
Three weeks into the federal government shutdown, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore visitors center in Empire remains closed, as are museum spaces and interpretive programs. However, popular destinations such as the Dune Climb and Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive are open. Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, a nonprofit partner of the Park, has raised approximately $2,500 in donations and used that to cover the cost of two porta-johns at the Dune Climb. Porta john rentals cost about $250 per month, said Friends’ executive director Laura Ann Johnson. With the National Lakeshore officially closed, and only rangers working to ensure visitor safety, the Friends have stepped up in other ways. Read more here.
“We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities” wrote Civil War veteran and expert outdoorsman George Washington Sears. Before my family purchased cherry orchard property, we were campers, and, I’ll be honest, not exactly roughing it campers. Heading to D.H. Day Campground several times each summer, our cars were overloaded, not with children, but with stuff. The children were mixed in between the crevices and cracks of the stuff, writes Rebecca Carlson in this sixth story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways.
The Glen Arbor Arts Center is proud to introduce Creative Wellness Month, a new, expanded initiative launching this September. A month-long series of art, movement, mindfulness, and community programs designed to support well-being and inspire reflection, renewal, and creative exploration. Building on their former Creative Wellness Retreat, this reimagined, month-long series invites participants to slow down, reflect, and reconnect through visual arts, writing, movement, meditation, and nature-based practices. Program offerings will take place at both the Glen Arbor Arts Center and the GAAC Ceramics Studio at historic Thoreson Farm, part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Manitou Island Transit, a 108-year-old family-owned company that ferries customers from Leland’s historic Fishtown to South and North Manitou Islands, is struggling to survive due to forces beyond its control. The Grosvenor-Munoz family, owners of Manitou Island Transit, filed a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service in early February accusing the agency of breach of contract and mismanagement during dock reconstruction projects on North and South Manitou Islands. The National Park Service has closed North Manitou Island to visitors in order to replace and relocate the docks due to sediment shoaling which has created access issues. North Manitou hasn’t had regular ferry service since 2022. South Manitou will be inaccessible in 2026 while a new dock is being built. Captain Jimmy Munoz, who helms the ferry, warns that the closure could be the end of an era. “If they shut us down—which they’re doing right now—there will never be a ferry boat back there again out of Leland.”
Park rangers at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore often refer to Lake Michigan as “the boss.” She’s calm and soothing on some days and deceptive and deadly on others. Sometimes private citizens make decisions that save lives. On July 19, 2024, Polish immigrant Marcin Arszylo saved the lives of a family that drifted a mile into Lake Michigan near the mouth of the Platte River. They floated in inflatable tubes but were not wearing life jackets. Arszylo was honored with the Citizen’s Award for Bravery at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters in Empire on July 18—one day shy of the one-year anniversary of his heroic act.
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.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore invites those interested in assisting the Park to join in a National Trails Day project on Saturday, June 7. Park Rangers will meet participants at the Shauger Hill Trailhead parking lot at 9 am and will conclude at noon. The project will put the finishing touches on this year’s cleanup of Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive’s Lake Michigan Overlook.
With a new tourism season upon northern Michigan, uncertainty remains about how national parks will handle millions of visitors amid lingering staffing questions because of back-and-forth federal workforce policies. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has approximately two-thirds of the seasonal staff it typically needs to welcome more than 1.5 million visitors over the next three busy months. “They’re still trying to get anybody else to accept a job, but it looks like there won’t be many more coming,” said former Sleeping Bear deputy superintendent Tom Ulrich. He added that the true impacts aren’t being felt yet because the park isn’t yet getting 400,000 visitors per month as they do in peak-season.