I always try to make a few good explorative surf trips when I’m home for the holidays. During the winter, you can usually rely on there being waves in Lake Michigan thanks to the water being (relatively) warm and there being larger gradients in temperature and pressure.
Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes board chairman Kerry Kelly reports that a phantom snow plower is plowing 100 yards of a seasonal road that forms the section of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail between M-109 and DH Day Campground. That inhibits the ability of cross-country skiers to glide, uninterrupted, between Glen Arbor and the Dune Climb.
Park Rangers say “Let it snow!” so you can explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on snowshoes this winter. Join the rangers for a guided snowshoe hike this holiday season and every Saturday throughout the winter. The first hike of the season will be on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. Then, snowshoe hikes will be offered every Saturday at 1 p.m. through the end of February. Meet at the National Lakeshore Visitor Center in Empire. If you don’t have your own, snowshoes will be loaned at no charge. Participants need only purchase the park entrance pass or have an annual pass to join in the fun. Reservations are required whether you need to borrow snowshoes or have your own. Ranger-led snowshoe hikes are limited to 30 participants. Please call (231) 326-5134, extension 328, for details and to make reservations.
Michigan Upper Peninsula resident Paul Rose comes downstate next month for a two-week winter residency with the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA). Rose, a painter and photographer, begins his Artist-in-Residence (AIR) stay Jan. 12. He’ll talk about his work and experiences during the residency at a public presentation on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the GAAA, 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor.
Kerry Kelly, chairman of the board at Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, reports on December 22 that new overnight snow has enabled the nonprofit to groom the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail for both classic and cross-country skate skiing.
Art’s Tavern Tim Barr reports that “Art’s will be closed from Monday night, Dec. 23, at 10 p.m. until breakfast at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, for re-varnishing the bar and other maintenance tasks. “Merry Christmas to all!” he says.
From staff reports The office of U.S. Congressman Dan Benishek (a Republican representing Northern Michigan) reports that his legislation to protect Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — both as wilderness and as a recreationally zoned Park that citizens can access and use — will take the next step toward becoming law when the House Committee on Natural […]
What effect did closing of Park have on local economy? By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Connie Bohlinger of Macomb County, Mich., and Linda Jones of Fort Myers, Fla., laughed as they descended the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb Thursday afternoon, kicking one foot in front of the other to avoid tumbling forward into its sugary sands. […]
One-third of the land in America is yours — public land where one can hike, bike, climb, hunt, swim, explore, picnic, or just simply relax. National Public Lands Day, Sept. 28, is an opportunity to enjoy and give something back to those places we love. In recognition of this special day, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a beach cleanup from noon to 2 p.m. No reservations are needed. Simply meet at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire at noon and help clean up the beach. Join thousands of volunteers across the nation who are taking part in the 20th Annual National Public Lands Day.
Join Park Rangers and guest speaker Tim Dring for a special program at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore about the U.S. Lifesaving Service and U.S. Coast Guard rescue boats entitled “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” The one-hour program will be held on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. at the Cannery Boat Museum in Glen Haven. Learn about the various craft used in rescues on the Great Lakes and how they compare to East Coast Lifesaving Service station craft.