Posts

Walking the Lake Michigan beach — a public right, or trespassing?

It’s common knowledge that the public can walk along the Lake Michigan shoreline. You can walk it anywhere on public property. That means public road ends, or the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The question is: how far from the water’s edge can a person legally walk along private property? This is an important issue, since about 70 percent of Michigan’s “third coast” is privately owned. The answer is unclear, because neither courts in Michigan nor in other Great Lakes states have offered a clear and consistent answer.

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The Dunes as classroom

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — with its 64 miles of freshwater shoreline; its massive, eponymous dunes; its forested hills; its ridge and swale wetlands; its inland lakes where the only domestic architecture might be a beaver lodge — is an artist magnet.

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Coldwater kayaking not a hot idea

Thinking of taking your kayak or canoe from Sleeping Bear Point to South Manitou Island? Think again. The air temperature may reach a balmy 80 degrees, and the surface water temperature near the beach is slowly approaching swimmable levels. But the open water temperature out in the Manitou Passage never reaches the 60s. That’s frigid. And it can kill you.

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National Parks for America’s next generation

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This is the first in a series of articles prompted by the centennial celebration of the founding of the National Park Service. Throughout 2015, the Glen Arbor Sun will publish a range of stories about the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and people’s relationships with their local park.

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Tourism to Sleeping Bear creates over $181 million in economic benefits

A new National Park Service report shows that 1,395,400 visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2014 spent $144.7 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 2,309 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $181.7 million.

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Step back in time at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Find Your Park with a visit to a historic Great Lakes village and U.S. Life-Saving Station (USLSS) during Glen Haven Days at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Join Park Rangers and volunteers on Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Glen Haven and the USLSS for hands-on activities that will bring Michigan’s maritime history of the early 1900s to life.

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Find Your Park After Dark: experience the night sky at Sleeping Bear

The sky is the limit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Join Park Rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) on Saturday, May 23 at the Dune Climb. On this day, two events offer opportunities to view the sky.

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“Find Your Park” After Dark: Night sky at Sleeping Bear Dunes

The sky is the limit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Unique views of the remarkable skies over the park can be experienced each month through October. Park Rangers and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) can help your imagination run wild. As you find your way through the clear skies of the National Lakeshore, they encourage you to share your adventures at FindYourPark.com. Another way to share your experiences is on social media by using hashtags #FindYourPark and #sleepingbearnps.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore celebrates “Find Your Park” week

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, like all national parks across the country, presents National Park Week 2015 from April 18-26. This year’s theme is “Find Your Park” in coordination with the national campaign to launch the National Park Service (NPS) Centennial celebrations for 2016. From a night sky viewing event, to a scavenger hunt, to Junior Ranger Day activities, there is something for everyone. You can even explore the park on your own and share your experiences on social media using #FindYourPark.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore joins national “Find Your Park” movement

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore joins parks, programs and partners across the country to encourage everyone to find their park and share their stories online at FindYourPark.com. Launched on Monday, March 30, by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, Find Your Park is a public awareness and education campaign celebrating the milestone centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016 and setting the stage for its second century of service.

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