Phase 2 of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a 5.5-mile stretch between the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb and Empire, is close to completion. All spring, workers and heavy machinery have been clearing and flattening the path, and they began paving the trail on May 21. The National Park has set a deadline of July 1, but the Trail will likely be complete before then.
The next 5.5-mile segment of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail from the Dune Climb to Empire is expected to open by July. As part of the project, a donor recognition plaza will be constructed at the base of the Dune Climb to recognize donors of $1,000 or more. Donations received by May 5, will be included in the plaza this summer. After May 5, names on the donor wall will be updated once each year until the entire 27-mile long trail project is complete.
Kerry Kelly, chairman of Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, reports on Sunday, March 16, that grooming on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is probably over for the year. It was a great year for skiing, but the warm weather and rain followed by freezing left us with an ice rink.
Check out this video, provided by Friends of Sleeping Bear’s Kerry Kelly, of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail’s grooming machine at work. The conditions are great, so get out there and cross-country ski!
The Pathways to Sleeping Bear campaign reached the $2 million milestone in private fundraising. Campaign Co-Chair Carol Quarderer and her husband George shared, “We are thrilled and grateful to hit the $2 million mark in fundraising for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. We deeply appreciate the support and generosity of our donors. This beautiful trail will continue to bring many benefits to both our local community and visitors.”
Trail enthusiasts are invited to a Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail Open House on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the historic log cabin in D.H. Day Campground. Please stop by while you are out skiing or snowshoeing to enjoy complimentary cookies and coffee from Cherry Republic as well as hot chocolate from Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate.
Kerry Kelly, Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes chairman of the board, reports excellent ski conditions on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which was last groomed on Friday, January 17. “Additional snow last night (and right now) adds nice soft snow,” says Kelly. “The trees are beautiful covered in snow too.”
Folks around town can’t exactly remember the last time the surface of Big Glen Lake froze by early January. Some say 15 years, some say 50. Captain Bob Smith at the Sportsman Shop says Big Glen doesn’t typically freeze until Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend in late January. Regardless, by Jan. 2, there were ice shanties on Big Glen (Little Glen had them by mid-December). A week later, the hum of snowmobiles could be heard from Glen Craft Marina.
The Glen Arbor Sun spoke to Crystal River Outfitters co-owner Katy Wiesen about the impact this early, snowy winter has had on their business. “The key to surviving a Northern Michigan winter is getting out and embracing it. This year’s early winter definitely started winter business off much sooner than expected! Our first cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals went out Thanksgiving weekend. The snowy conditions give visitors even more of a reason to come up north knowing that there are more recreational opportunities.”
Heritage Trail grows; Kettles, Bay-to-Bay, mountain biking trails on tap? By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Over the next couple years, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore could vastly expand its network, and range, of trails. By July, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will expand south, from the Dune Climb to Empire, allowing bicyclists, rollerbladers, wheelchair-bound […]