The 18th annual M22 Challenge, which takes place on Saturday morning, June 13, has been voted as one of the best endurance events in northern Michigan. The run, bike, paddle event takes place in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, making for a beautiful backdrop while racing. The 900-participant race sold out long ago.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will conduct its annual barn restoration workshop from June 8-12, commencing daily at 9 a.m. The workshop will be held at the Lyle and Sarah Schmidt farm, located three miles south of Empire, off M-22 on Norconk Road, with signage provided along M-22 for guidance. The primary focus of the workshop will be the repair of the horse barn at the Schmidt farm. This event offers opportunities for both families and individuals ranging from novice to experienced carpenters, with activities designed to engage all skill levels. There is no participation fee.
The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes is expanding its renowned Bear Tracks accessibility program with the help of Elk Rapids-based Great Lakes RV Solar Solutions. New solar panels from Great Lakes are now attached to the Friends’ track chair trailer, allowing access to additional trails through the use of solar power. By cutting the cord, the track chairs can now be used on the Park’s popular Alligator Hill trail, expanding access for all to the beauty of the Lakeshore. “Accessibility is an important part of the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes mission,” said Laura Ann Johnson, executive director of the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore hosts its popular pruning workshop in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District on Friday, May 1, starting at 10 am. The event will take place at the William and Charlotte Kelderhouse and Peter and Jennie Burfiend farms, which are located five miles north of Glen Arbor along M-22. Signage along the M-22 route to the sites.
The Bay’s popular Made in Michigan series highlights great films made in the state and provides unique opportunities for audiences to connect directly with the filmmakers and/or special guests through post-screening Q&As. Made in Michigan continues on Sunday, March 29 at 4 pm with All Too Clear. This festival award winner and groundbreaking documentary explores the most significant ecological shift in the Great Lakes since the last ice age. Utilizing cutting-edge, custom-built underwater drones, filmmakers Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert—who will attend the screening—spent over 150 days capturing footage of a world that is becoming “all too clear” due to an army of quadrillions of invasive quagga mussels. This event is presented in partnership with Inland Seas Education Association.
Remembering a near-death experience on frozen Lake Michigan. It was Super Bowl Sunday of 1984, and the carefree 15-year-old girls wanted to find ice caves. Karen Gros and Bobbi Boos, students at the Leelanau School north of Glen Arbor, walked onto frozen Sleeping Bear Bay in search of tunnels and mammoth formations they expected to find on Lake Michigan. The girls suddenly found themselves on a chunk of ice that broke off from the pack and began floating away from the shore. Suddenly, the ice on which they stood began to disintegrate into smaller chunks.
This reflection on a nocturnal Alligator Hill ski was first published in our Winter 2000 edition. The alligator’s new look, following the Aug. 2, 2015, storm, prompted us to revisit these words.
A controversial youth missionary group recruits inside Leland school and rattles the community; Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel orders a raid of the Twin Flames Universe cult’s home near Suttons Bay; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore leadership and staff face cuts and uncertainty under Trump and DOGE’s wrecking ball; Barb and Paul Olson acquire Glen Arbor’s iconic Art’s Tavern, and tribal fisherwoman Cindi John survives a mass stabbing at Walmart in Traverse City. Those were the most-read online stories of 2025 in the Glen Arbor Sun. Here’s a list of our top 10, by online views.
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.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s visitors center in Empire is closed due to the federal government shutdown that started today. Buses full of schoolchildren visiting from throughout Michigan will not have access to Park Ranger-led educational programing as they do most years. Nevertheless, the Park is open to all. Visitors can still enjoy the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, popular hiking trails and beaches, and the D.H. Day and Platte River campgrounds, which continue to operate with fee dollars.