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Coreopsis. Cardinal flower. Spring beauty. Goldenrod. Buttercup. As I biked the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, I repeated these names to myself over and over so I could write them down in my biking journal later. Each new bench I passed was emblazoned with a different flower name in capital letters, and they began to feel like mile markers, a mental record of my journey on this uniquely beautiful trail. I had started my ride from the Glen Arbor trailhead at 6 p.m., hoping to finish before dark. It was cloudy and colder than I had expected, and as time went on, I found myself yearning to pass other people, nervously pedaling faster up and down the steep hills in silence. The more I listened to the insects chirping and felt the rushing wind around me, repeating the flowers to myself like a mantra, I began to feel connected to nature, far more so than the cars rushing by me. It’s a sentiment shared by many of the bikers I interviewed in Traverse City and Leelanau County. In this region, biking is inherently connected to the natural beauty to be found.

As we peer out the original windows of the restored Sleeping Bear Inn and into Lake Michigan’s rolling blue waves, we imagine a Michigan Transit Co. steamship arriving at the 650-foot dock in Glen Haven, just as it would have in the 1920s, carrying lumbermen, tourists, and fortune seekers who had departed Chicago the previous evening. The visitors disembark, plant their feet on land and gaze with wonder at the shoreline and the Manitou Islands floating in the distance. The Sleeping Bear Inn, the crowned jewel of Glen Haven, reopens to guests later this summer, more than 50 years after it closed when this National Lakeshore was created in 1972. The Inn, which was built in 1866 and served guests through the Michigan lumber boom, the roaring ’20s, and the era of dune buggies, is the oldest hotel in the National Park Service

Pathways to Sleeping Bear will host several events this summer, including happy hours and open houses, to share information about the Pathway to Good Harbor—the northernmost segment of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Community members, visitors, trail users, and anyone interested in learning more about the trail are invited to attend these events. Open houses will meet at the intersection of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail and Glen Haven Rd. The next one is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, from 10 am-noon.

The Dune Climb Inn is proud to announce the renovation and rebrand of a classic motel, formerly Duneswood Resort, on M-109 in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Inspired by the nature surrounding it, the rooms are dressed in blues and greens and feature local art and photography, retaining that intimate motel feeling with a colorful refresh. It is the perfect home base for an outdoor adventures and escape.

Join Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes for their annual spring safety training on Saturday, May 18, from 1-3 pm at the Empire Town Hall. Those unable to attend in person can find a link here to join online. This event is a chance for volunteers to hear the latest park news and safety information from park staff.

This op-ed by Doug Verellen, former vice president of the Little Traverse Lake Association, addresses previous op-eds published in the Sun last month that express support for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail’s northeast extension along Little Traverse Lake. The National Park System was founded based on this purpose: “To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” It’s on the back of their business card. This Heritage Trail Segment 9 initiative is the opposite of that directive, opines Verellen.

The following op-eds by Bob Sutherland and Julie Zapoli—both Little Traverse Lake residents and Glen Arbor business owners—were written in response to the Sun’s coverage of Little Traverse Lake Association opposition to an expansion of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a portion of which would run near the north shore of the lake. Sutherland writes, “It is unfortunate that we are going to lose more trees in the development of this trail, but in the big picture, this four-mile extension completes an infinitely positive recreational trail and a key transportation alternative for residents and vacationers in Leelanau County. The recent study that opposition used to stir up doubt in this final section should not take away from the decade of environmentally sensitive planning the National Park Service, Michigan Department of Transportation, Leelanau County Road Commission, and Army Corp of Engineers executed to meet all the federal wetlands, dune and endangered species regulations.”

A simmering feud between Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and TART Trails, and residents of Little Traverse Lake who oppose the northeast expansion of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is once again heating up. The popular, multi-use bicycle trail, which stretches 22 miles from Empire through the National Lakeshore to Bohemian Road, is set to expand by 4.25 miles northeast to Good Harbor Trail. Tree clearing and construction are slated to begin this fall, and the extension will open in late 2025 or 2026. But early this month the Little Traverse Lake Association released an environmental impact study the group had commissioned from Borealis Consulting, which found that Segment 9 of the Heritage Trail would require the removal of nearly 7,300 trees and trespass through sensitive wilderness, wetlands and dunes. Of the nearly 7,300 trees identified in the Borealis study, 82% are saplings or small trees with diameters of 10 inches or less. The Park has directed trail designers with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to “meander around the largest trees.” The Lake Association unsuccessfully sued the federal government in 2015 over the adequacy of the National Park’s 2009 environmental assessment.

Following the blizzard earlier this weekend, the Friends of Sleeping Bear, who manage the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, report fresh snow last night and today. Nice, cool temperatures make for fluffy snow and the groomer is leaving a perfect corduroy and classic tracks. Read more for details.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore deputy superintendent Tom Ulrich, who will retire from the Park later this month, once heard a poignant analogy at a leadership conference that compared the old style of managing a National Park to the Star Wars jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who deftly and constantly fends off outside threats with his light saber. By contrast, the new style of Park management is not to deflect or fight off criticism from the public, but to engage, listen and teach as Yoda does. Ulrich arrived at Sleeping Bear Dunes in late 2002 at a time when Lakeshore staff was reeling from widespread criticism after it promoted an unpopular new General Management Plan that would expand portions of the Park classified as “wilderness.” His tenure at Sleeping Bear Dunes dawned a collaborative relationship between the Park and local citizens.