A heartwarming story unfolded in late July on the picturesque shores of Sleeping Bear Bay in Glen Arbor when a family’s beach outing turned into a serendipitous moment after an impulse Amazon purchase led them to assist another couple in locating their precious keepsake.
On Memorial Day, my wife persuaded me to accompany her to County Road 651 Beach on Good Harbor Bay for a few hours of rest and relaxation in the afternoon, writes Tim Mulherin in this opinion essay we published in our June 29 edition. There we were. Along with perhaps 150 other folks who wanted to recreate at one of the most publicized scenic destinations in the United States. While we dismantled our sun tent, I observed two large dogs running off their leashes, owned by two unassociated dog lovers. That’s not only breaking National Park Service rules, it’s also downright rude. Not everyone loves dogs, including some people and all wild animals protected by the park.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is seeking additional short-term housing for its seasonal workforce. According to Superintendent Scott Tucker, “Our employees make great renters as they all have steady paychecks and successfully completed background checks. These folks are trustworthy, loyal, clean, friendly, courteous… oh wait, wrong list, but you get the point.”
Mike Ramsdell, a filmmaker from Brighton, Mich., took his son Asher, age 11, and nephew Ryan, 13, on a “walkabout” in the Sleeping Bear Dunes on a brisk Dec. 3. Ramsdell takes each of his children on a walkabout when they turn 10, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the adventure for Asher and Ryan.
Artist and photographer Katelyn Wollet was a finalist for the Design & Drive Art Contest with her painting, “Dune Bears,” showcasing the story of Sleeping Bear on each panel of a 2022 Honda Accord at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids this fall. The Muskegon-based local was inspired by a love of animals and deep care for the water and ecosystems of Michigan, especially the lakeshore and northern Michigan.
Back in early July, on a windy Sunday, I woke before sunrise at the southern end of North Manitou Island and headed out onto the beach for the day’s work. There at Dimmick’s Point, a broad wing of dunes and wave-turned stones reaching out into the Manitou Passage, we find the largest nesting concentration of Great Lakes piping plovers in the world. Roughly a quarter of the population nests on the island, with another quarter nesting just across the passage. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is home to nearly half the breeding pairs of this endangered shorebird. At Dimmick’s Point, four days a week during nesting season from May to August, I walk the beach and monitor the plover activity. The point is closed to park visitors during that time, so I am typically the only human among the birds.
United States Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Thursday, Aug. 11, before she traveled north to Pellston to meet with survivors of Federal Indian Boarding Schools. At Sleeping Bear, she toured Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, visited the Dune Climb, and sites at Glen Haven including the Sleeping Bear Inn, the cannery and Lake Michigan. Haaland’s visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes was the second by a U.S. Secretary of the Interior. In June 1998, Secretary Stewart Udall spoke at an emotional standing-room-only public gathering at the Sleeping Bear Dunes—the Park he helped establish.
It was the perfect day for the return of the M22 Challenge. Sunny weather, 70 degrees, and clear skies made Saturday, September 18, an especially beautiful day in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Dave Smith, 37, from Gaylord, won first place with a course record time of 1:11:17, winning the M22 Challenge for the first time.
More than 110,000 visitors flocked to Sleeping Bear Dunes last month—a new May record. The National Lakeshore has attracted 237,257 visitors through the first five months of 2021. That’s nearly 90,000 more than the first five months of 2020, when Sleeping Bear set a record for annual visitation with more than 1.7 million guests.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker is considering temporarily closing popular trails to the public, including Empire Bluffs and Pyramid Point, to limit large crowds from gathering on warm spring days during the coronavirus pandemic.