What’s the future of Alligator Hill Trail

From staff reports

What will the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore do with the Alligator Hill trail west of downtown Glen Arbor, which was decimated in the Aug. 2 megastorm. Hundreds of trees fell during the windstorm, punching enormous holes in the canopy and rendering the popular hiking trail unrecognizable.

Given the destruction, and given the National Park’s relatively limited resources, we asked Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore officials what they plan to do with the Alligator Hill trail. Cut their way through and open the existing trail, or build a different trail? Chainsaw and remove the downed timber, or let it remain and decompose there?

According to deputy superintendent Tom Ulrich, “Plans for the trail will depend upon a more complete assessment of the number and location of downed trees,” he said. “But we do plan to have an Alligator Hill trail. Similar to other areas inside the Park, we don’t plan to remove the downed timber as lumber. Here in the Park, we’re all about letting natural processes continue, and it doesn’t get more natural than a big windstorm. We’ll be interpreting this large-scale ecological disturbance and watching as the forest recovers amongst the downed trees.”