The largest draw and the shiniest gem is, of course, the Sleeping Bear Dunes – and we are truly blessed, as the oldest operating Inn in the U.S. national park system, to be within it, here in the charming village of Glen Haven. The park stretches for miles in various locations along the Lake Michigan shoreline, north and south. As the park website aptly describes, this magical area is truly “a place in which to play, dream, refresh, create.”
Along with Glen Haven and the maritime life-saving and Coast Guard museum just down the beach, the park includes the legendary Dune Climb, the Pierce Stocking Drive that culminates in the bluffs that tower 450’ above Lake Michigan, endless forests, historic farms and picturesque barns, crystal clear inland lakes, bike trails, the Port Oneida rural district, the Manitou Islands, lighthouses, hiking trails galore (Pyramid Point, Empire Bluffs, and Sleeping Bear Bay are perennial favorites), and so much more. Get out and check it all out!
The Phillip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire is an excellent resource and has park books and memorabilia for purchase, and you can also purchase park passes there. The visitor center is open daily all year, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Download the NPS app and have it all at your fingertips!
