Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes Exhibit Changing Beauty
Michigan Glaciers and Prevailing Winds Created a Unique Landscape
Sep 20, 2009
During the Ice Age, glaciers carved out the deep wide basins that became the Great Lakes. When they retreated around 11,800 years ago, they left huge piles of sand, rocks, and debris, thus creating the hilly terrain of Leelanau Peninsula where Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore is located. Glaciers left behind an ideal setting for sand dunes. Because the lakeshore is on the windward side of Lake Michigan, prevailing westerly winds build two kinds of dunes here – beach dunes and perched dunes. Glacial sands provide the material for perched dunes which sit high above the lakeshore.
Legend of the Sleeping Bear
Chippewa Legend says that many years ago, a mother bear and her two cubs were looking for food in a forest in Wisconsin when a fire broke out. To escape from it, they dove into Lake Michigan and began swimming across the lake to Michigan. The bear cubs soon grew tired and lagged behind their mother. When the mother bear came to the Michigan shore, she climbed to the highest point she could find to await her cubs. The cubs could not finish the journey so the Great White Spirit, who watches over all animals, turned the cubs into two islands. The mother bear saw this, and knowing her cubs were safe she soon fell fast asleep. Today, the cubs are known as North Manitou Island and South Manitou Island. The Great White Spirit covered their mother with sand to keep her warm is known as Sleeping Bear Sand Dune.
Ever-Changing Terrain
Many of the dunes at Sleeping Bear migrate because they are pushed by the wind. According to national park records, landslides at Sleeping Bear Point have sent large land masses plunging into Lake Michigan twice in the last century. Shifting dunes have also buried entire stands of trees, only to uncover them years later. Such features make the park an interesting place to visit.
The first place one should visit at Sleeping Bear is the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, which is oddly enough, located outside of the park in the nearby town of Empire, MI. At the center, you can learn about the geology of the area, pay entrance fees for your vehicles, and get recommendations from park rangers about hiking trails, campgrounds, and other attractions. The Lakeshore has three distinct areas. The aral dunes, along Platte Bay, are located south of Empire. The other two sections, are located north of Empire, with the park's most popular attraction, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, located just several miles north.
Visitors need two to three days to visit the entire park, more if they intend to take a ferry to North or South Manitou Island. For a limited visit, park rangers recommend taking the 7.1-mile Pierce Stocking Drive, which winds through forest as well as various dune landscapes. The drive is open from late April through early November, weather permitting. A ranger post at the head of the drive provides a map for a self-guided tour of ten stops. The highlight of the drive is the 1.5-mile Cottonwood Trail. Allow at least an hour to walk the trail. Portions of the trail have a moderate grade and go through areas of loose sand. Thus, it's not appropriate for small children.
At the far point of the trail are a number of benches where hikers can relax and view Glen Lake as well as the Dune Climb which ies along the eastern edge of the dunes. Thousands of people climb the dunes here each year. In 1985 a horizontal beam was plaed at the edge of the dunes, allowing visitors to measure how far the dune has advanced over the years. The average rate is about four feet per year.
Glen Haven and Glen Arbor
No visit to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore would be complete without a visit to the ghost town of Glen Haven, formerly a logging village. Glen Haven has several attractions, including the Cannery Boathouse Museum and the Sleeping Bear Point Coastguard Maritime Museum. Just behind the Cannery Boathouse Museum is a sheltered sandy beach on Sleeping Bear Bay that is popular with families.
Several miles to the east is the tourist town in Glen Arbor which has a number of art galleries, boutique gift shops, restaurants, and general supply stores for campers.
For a trip that's inexpensive and as well as beautiful, Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore is an unbeatable value.
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