Veterans Day weekend is fee-free at Sleeping Bear Dunes
From staff reports
Superintendent Scott Tucker is pleased to announce that Veterans Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11-12, will be celebrated as fee-free days for all Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore visitors in honor of U.S. veterans and current members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Come and experience your park during this special fee-free weekend or any day! The National Lakeshore is open year-round.
Many of the popular attractions at the National Lakeshore remain open during this time of year, including the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire (open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily), Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Dune Climb, and a hundred miles of hiking trails. The campgrounds at Platte River and D. H. Day also remain open for your camping enjoyment. Please note that the fee waiver does not apply to camping fees at the National Lakeshore. The Glen Haven Blacksmith Shop, General Store, Cannery Boathouse Museum, and Sleeping Bear Point Maritime Museum are closed for the season and will re-open in the spring of 2018.
The Departments of the Interior and Agriculture began this annual fee waiver 11 years ago on Veterans Day. The fee waiver applies to entrance and/or standard amenity fees at public recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Forest Service across the country.
Active duty members of the U.S. military and their dependents can also pick up a free Military Pass, which provides free entry to all 417 national parks for one year. Active duty members of the U.S. military must show a current, valid military identification card (CAC card), and dependents of active duty military must show a current, valid dependent identification card (DD Form 1173) to obtain their pass. More information is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
