In 2017, the National Lakeshore will be hosting a series of monthly astronomy programs that run from April through October. Park rangers and members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will help you unravel some of the mysteries of the night sky as well as discover more about the daytime sky.
Could Trump’s hiring freeze affect staff, and operations, at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which typically hires 100 seasonal employees in May when it opens popular mainstays such as the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb and Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in time for the summer tourism season?
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is happy to announce the winner and runner-up of the kids’ artwork contest. The contest was open from August through October for anyone 12 years of age or younger. A total of 119 entries from young artists living in Michigan were received at park headquarters in Empire, Michigan. The National Lakeshore sponsored the contest in continued celebration of the “Every Kid in a Park” program and to select an image for the front of the park’s 2017 Annual Park Entrance Pass. Engaging with the youth of America is the central goal and theme of the “Every Kid in a Park” program. The National Lakeshore would like to thank all of the participants who dedicated creative time and energies to submit a piece of artwork for this contest.
Park Rangers say “Bring on the snow!” so visitors can begin to explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) on snowshoes this winter! On Wednesday, December 28 and Saturday, December 31, there will be holiday snowshoe hikes (or winter hikes if there is not enough snow) at 1:00 p.m. Meet at the National Lakeshore’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire. Reservations are required.
Rangers and staff at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) will be presenting short films from a number of National Park Service (NPS) sites on December 10 and 17. This two-day film festival over a couple of consecutive Saturdays will be the final NPS event of the Centennial celebration for 2016.
It is apple season and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will be hosting an Antique-Apple Program on Saturday, Oct. 8, from noon to 4 p.m.
How many different kinds of plants, animals, and other organisms live at Sleeping Bear Dunes? To help answer that question, nearly 250 scientists, naturalists, students, and other nature lovers joined forces Sept. 16-17 for the Blitz the Bear bioblitz.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore officials and volunteers honored Leonard Thoreson at this year’s Port Oneida Fair by giving the nearly-90-year-old a ride in the tractor he had donated to the Park three years ago (it was not in running condition then). Volunteers and staff sang an early “Happy Birthday” to Thoreson, who celebrates his actual birthday this November. Thoreson, a descendant of settlers at Port Oneida’s Thoreson Farm, was the longtime custodian of the Glen Arbor Township Hall and retired in 2013.
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.
Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails (TART), Inc. is a proud partner of the fifth annual Dune Dash, a 4-mile run/walk along the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT), to be held at 9 a.m. this Saturday, August 20, at the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb. The course showcases the trail within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.