Following a rainy spring and early summer, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore visitation numbers rebounded in July. 499,376 people visited the National Park last month—7,913 more than July 2018. In fact, last month’s number was the second highest monthly tally ever recorded at Sleeping Bear. (A whopping 561,784 visited in July 2017—the only time visitation topped 500,000 for the month.)
Nature enthusiasts who live with disabilities are often limited in their ability to hike more rustic trails in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes (official nonprofit partner of the National Lakeshore) wishes to provide an opportunity for more visitors to experience the Park’s natural beauty through the use of a personal mobility device.
Those who are interested in the Port Oneida historic district of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore might be interested to know that a new book about the place is now available. Tom Van Zoeren’s A Port Oneida Collection: Images, Oral History, Maps presents the story of each of the farms of Port Oneida, based mainly, as the title suggests, on oral history interviews conducted with residents of the community, and on photographs collected from them. It is illustrated with a detailed map of each farm.
Every August, the Port Oneida Rural Historic District awakens from its peaceful slumber and comes alive with activity true to the period when it was a community of robust settlers.
Amy Bredehoft, from Birmingham, Ala., thought she was in shape to climb the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb on Monday, July 8. Sure, the 54-year-old and frequent summer visitor to Paul’s Paradise cabins on Little Traverse Lake had drunk coffee that morning and a couple alcoholic drinks the night before; she was on vacation, after all.
June swelled Lake Michigan by another 4 inches which is bad news for Megan Grosvenor Munoz, whose family owns and operates Manitou Island Transit. The company ferries passengers on pleasure tours to the Manitou Islands out of Leland. This spring and summer, they’ve had to cancel four or five trips, Munoz says, “because we can’t get people on South [Manitou] safely” due to water splashing over the dock on the island.”
“Marks On Clay,” a three-day, hands-on workshop June 21-23, explores pottery decoration beyond simply glazing. Offered through the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC), potter John Huston leads students through traditional methods of using colored slips for sgraffito and slip trailing, oxide mixes for over/underglaze brushwork, and carving and impressing techniques.
Beginning on the Summer Solstice, Yoga on the Beach and the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes are partnering up to offer these outdoor, donation-based yoga classes to the community.
The annual M22 Challenge takes place on Saturday, June 8, beginning at 8 a.m., on M-109 near the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb. The run-bike-paddle triathlon capitalizes on the majestic landscape and waterscape of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Pack away those dreams of walking miles from bay to bay along the shores of Lake Michigan this summer—unless you want to get wet, that is.