Through first quarter, Sleeping Bear Dunes on pace for another record-breaking year
Photo: Travel companions Siddhika (left, pointing toward the Glen Lakes) and Soham Gokhale hiked the Dune Climb Trail and jumped into Lake Michigan on June 17, 2020. The couple use their Instagram account “PeachyAndPumpkinsBucketList” to document their travels through American National Parks.
From staff reports
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore attracted a whopping 86,944 visitors during the first three months of 2021, which have typically been a quiet time for tourists in Leelanau and Benzie counties.
That early number suggests another record-breaking year for visitation to the National Lakeshore. Sleeping Bear drew more than 1.7 million visitors for the first time in 2020, as Americans flocked to rural national parks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By comparison, Sleeping Bear received 62,953 visitors during the first quarter of 2020. Between 2016-2019, that first-quarter number ranged from 43,000 to 49,000.
“We are seeing truly unprecedented visitation,” said Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore deputy superintendent Tom Ulrich. “All indications are for another record year.”
An early end to a mild winter, warm April temperatures, receding Lake Michigan water levels down one foot from their 2020 high, and the continuing pandemic all support Ulrich’s prediction.
