Our opening date is still a moving target…

Sleeping Bear Inn exterior southThe opening date for the Inn remains elusive. However, if you are someone who likes to plan ahead, by the end of May you will be able to book rooms for 2024 on our website. Floorplans of the 8 rooms will be accompanied by photos of the view from your room and details of amenities and rates.

We have established 2023/2024 rates and will have two pricing seasons, with room rents ranging from $269 to $339 May through October and $199 to $279 November through April. Nightly rates for each room will be the same Sunday through Saturday.

Several weeks ago we announced the opportunity for “all rooms” bookings for 2024 in this newsletter and folks have responded positively. We have several “all rooms” bookings for 2024 including a small corporate meeting and a yoga retreat weekend. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@sleepingbearinn.org if you want information on booking all the guest rooms for your reunion, anniversary party or small wedding in 2024.

We appreciate everyone’s patience, we can’t wait for the Inn to be open and we sure hope you feel the same way too.

10 Things to Do in 3 Days at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s off-the-beaten-path treasures with these insider tips and iconic, can’t-miss destinations from Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau.

  • Go mountain biking at Palmer Woods (gorgeous trails for all skill levels!)
  • Dig into a delish burger at Whisker’s restaurant after hiking the Bay View Trail (the vista from the top is stunning)
  • Is it really summer if you haven’t tubed the Platte River yet?
  • Good Harbor Vineyards has been producing award-winning wines for 41 years. Try the Fishtown White—refreshing and crisp, it’s like summer in a bottle.

The Legend of Sleeping Bear

We all know the legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, how a mother and her cubs fleeing a forest fire swam across Lake Michigan—but the cubs never made it, forming North and South Manitou islands while the mama bear waited on shore, eventually becoming a part of the dunes. But there’s much more to the story of Sleeping Bear Dunes. In this video, Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau, with the help of the Empire Area Museum, a former National Park Service historian and a former park ranger, tells us about the Anishinaabe people who camped along the shores and the French explorers and fur trappers who came next. Historical film reels and photos show us the early years of tourism and an uncanny image of a grove of trees that look exactly like a sleeping bear. Hit play to see for yourself.

Plans for the Future

photos by Leelanau Ticker

The Ticker’s Emily Tyra took a tour of the Inn & did a nice interview with Maggie Kato:

Leelanau Ticker: How actively were the inn and garage maintained since the 1970s, until this opportunity arose to rehabilitate them now?

Kato: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has definitely maintained the exterior of the buildings with fresh paint, cedar shake shingles and replacing the shiplap siding over the years, however nothing has been done to the interior.

Leelanau Ticker: So after all those years, what does the inn look like inside right now?

Kato: In some ways it is frozen in time and there is some disrepair as well. The ceiling in the sunporch is in very good shape — as are the wood floors of the first floor of the inn — but the ceiling of the parlor is falling in. When we gathered in the inn for our October board of directors meeting, a mouse crawled out the toilet to join us. All new electrical, mechanical, plumbing, insulation and fire suppression will need to be added.

Leelanau Ticker: Are there any particular historic details that BEAR and the historic architects are working hard to keep intact for generations to come?

Kato: The exterior of the inn will remain virtually unchanged. We will repair the brick stairs and we will include accessible ramping — however, our plan is to do this subtly with earthen ramps. We will add an accessible inn room on the west side of the first story where the innkeeper quarters were and we will have to make moderate changes in the kitchen to meet code requirements. We are going to try to keep the ceiling in the sunporch and the wood floors of the inn. We will replicate the wainscot in the dining room. All three fireplaces will be retained. At one time there were lightning rods on the roof and we will replace them. Although we can’t keep the original kitchen island, we will be replicating it.

Leelanau Ticker: Once open, proceeds from the Sleeping Bear Inn are to be re-invested throughout Glen Haven Village Historic District, yes?

Kato: Yes! Our goal is to return profits from the operation of the inn back into all of Glen Haven. There are several other homes and buildings that need rehabilitation. There are even remains of a tennis court and curling rink in Glen Haven and we intend to restore these structures as well.

Read more in the Ticker.

150-Year-Old Sleeping Bear Inn to Get New Renovations Thanks to Nonprofit

Maggie Kato of BEAR on 9&10 NewsTV 9 & 10 News shares a story about the planned renovation of Sleeping Bear Inn:

The 150-year-old Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage will be renovated to a Bed and Breakfast through the nonprofit BEAR, or Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation.

“We feel that we want to preserve a legacy of what is here, the legacy of Glen Haven altogether,” said BEAR President Maggie Kato.

The Inn was built in 1865.

“It was fine example of a frontier hotel that was utilized as a lodge until approximately 1972,” said Phil Akers, a chief ranger for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. “We purchased it the next year and utilized it for a couple years for additional housing and it’s been closed since.”

The National Lakeshore had been interested in leasing the property for years, and while many interested parties came forward, Maggie and her husband Jeff, along with BEAR, were able finance the lease.

“BEAR is a nonprofit that was formed specifically for this work here to renovate the Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage,” Kato said. “We came upon the proposal that was sent out years ago and thought, ‘this was something maybe we could do.”

Click through for a video & photos of the renovation.

 

 

Long Vacant Sleeping Bear Inn to be Restored

Emily Bingham of mLive writes:

Sleeping Bear Inn w Fata Morgana in BackgroundA long-shuttered frontier inn that once boarded lumberjacks and dock workers may be getting a new lease on life as a bed-and-breakfast lodge in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

…Built around 1865, the inn initially offered lodging for business travelers and local workers before evolving into a tourist hotel. A second-floor apartment in the storied inn even briefly housed D.H. Day, namesake for one of Sleeping Bear’s campgrounds and the original owner of the iconic white barn visible from the park’s Dune Climb. The inn has been closed since the mid-1970s; in the meantime, its two-story 1920s-built garage has been serving as storage for the park.

“We have been looking for someone willing to invest in the Inn, and we feel we have an excellent match with BEAR,” said Superintendent Scott Tucker in a release. “The lease will preserve the two buildings and allow greater visitor experience in the historic Glen Haven Village.”

More at mLive.

Sleeping Bear Inn to Be Restored as a B&B Lodge

Inn and Garage

photo by Leelanau Ticker

Emily Tyra of the Leelanau Ticker has an in-depth article on the planned renovation of the Sleeping Bear Inn that begins:

A long-vacant frontier inn within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL) will once again open its doors to travelers, starting the summer of 2022. The National Park Service (NPS) issued a letter of intent to lease the 1865-era Sleeping Bear Inn and garage in Glen Haven, park officials announced yesterday.

This lease — to the nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) — will allow for the restoration and adaptive re-use of the inn and garage (pictured), which are part of the 13-acre Glen Haven Village Historic District, located within the SBDNL. Renovations are to begin spring of 2021.

Glen Haven’s Sleeping Bear Inn, Shuttered Since The 70s, To Be Restored As A B&B Lodge
By Emily Tyra | Jan. 8, 2021
A long-vacant frontier inn within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakehore (SBDNL) will once again open its doors to travelers, starting the summer of 2022. The National Park Service (NPS) issued a letter of intent to lease the 1865-era Sleeping Bear Inn and garage in Glen Haven, park officials announced yesterday.

This lease — to the nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) — will allow for the restoration and adaptive re-use of the inn and garage (pictured), which are part of the 13-acre Glen Haven Village Historic District, located within the SBDNL. Renovations are to begin spring of 2021.

BEAR is helmed by Maggie Kato and Jeff Kato of Genesee County. As the nonprofit’s president, Maggie Kato brings administrative and organizational experience from her 15 years as executive director of Genesee County Habitat for Humanity (HFH). She retired in 2020. Her husband, Jeff Kato, has extensive restaurant management experience.

In addition to operating as a B&B lodge, the inn will be a breakfast and lunch spot open to all visitors to the Lakeshore. The Katos intend to be the innkeepers of the Sleeping Bear Inn operation “for many years,” with plans to hire kitchen, front-of-house and housekeeping staff.

Maggie Kato also tells the Leelanau Ticker, “Weddings are definitely part of our business plan, though maybe not year one.”

Read on for more at the Ticker.

National Park Service issues letter of intent to lease Sleeping Bear Inn

Jeff Kato, BEAR secretary/treasurer; George MacEachern, construction general; Maggie Kato, BEAR president.

GLEN ARBOR SUN PHOTO: Jeff Kato, BEAR secretary/treasurer; George MacEachern, construction general; Maggie Kato, BEAR president.

The Glen Arbor Sun shares:

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announced today that The National Park Service issued a letter of intent on November 5 for the development of a lease for the historic Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage in Glen Haven to Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR). BEAR formed in 2018 as a nonprofit dedicated to keeping the history and heritage of Glen Haven sustainable.

BEAR hopes to reopen the Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage in 2022, the nonprofit’s executive director Maggie Kato told the Glen Arbor Sun today.

It’s a very unique setting,” said Kato. “There aren’t many inns where you’re essentially in a ghost town within the National Lakeshore. We’re hopeful we can improve Glen Haven and restore it to the feel of a hotel in a frontier town.”

Originally built between 1865-1867, the Inn served as a frontier hotel for business travelers and local workers. It continued in operation throughout the next century evolving into a tourist hotel. It has been closed since the mid-1970s. This lease will allow for the restoration and adaptive re-use of both buildings. BEAR will work closely with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the National Lakeshore to operate the Inn as a premier bed and breakfast lodge.

Kato has wide-ranging experience relevant to this operation that she gained during the past 15 years serving as the executive director of Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, before she retired in 2020. During her tenure, close to 500 home builds and owner-occupied repair projects were completed. She built the organization from an annual operating budget of $500,000 in 2005 to $6,500,000 upon her retirement. Her husband, Jeff, has extensive restaurant management experience and will be working alongside her on the Sleeping Bear Inn operation.

Read on for more from the Sun.