Michigan has so much more to offer than you can imagine. There are plenty of outdoors to explore and natural beauty to experience. Especially, when it’s mostly surrounded by four giant lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior), Michigan couldn’t be more perfect for outdoor recreation. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a treasured national park in Michigan, is on the shore of Lake Michigan.

On July 2^nd Santosh and I took a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We were excited about the trip! This was our first trip in months, since the pandemic. Located near Empire, MI, Sleeping Bear Dunes is 4 hours drive from Detroit suburbs. We wanted to avoid the crowd, so we took the trip right before the fourth of July weekend. We started the trip at 8 a.m and returned the same night.

Our first stop was the visitor center, Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire. You can get a map of the park and information required at the visitor center. Currently, they are not charging admission fees. At the visitor center, you can also buy souvenirs. There are bars and eateries in the proximity of the visitor center. We got our carry-out lunch from Joe’s Friendly Tavern. Their sandwiches were amazing!

Just in about 2 miles drive from the visitor center is the Empire Bluff Trail. The trail leads to a popular viewpoint Empire Bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Among few sights open now in the park is Empire Bluff. The trail is 1.5 miles round trip with hilly terrain. We had our lunch on a picnic table in the parking and headed off to the trail. The lush green forest kept us cool we hiked while birds kept us company as they sang.

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The view from the top was out of this world! That is where the sky met the earth. The vast, pristine Lake Michigan made me feel so small and great at the same time, also grateful. At that moment we could not help but appreciate the view of turquoise water, shorelines, and hills that led to the dune.

The next stop was the Dune Climb, the dune we saw from Empire Bluff. Located 5 miles from the visitor center, the Dune Climb is a highlight of the park. People love to climb the dune for the enriching view of Lake Michigan and climb down to get to Lake Michigan. It is a strenuous climb, I must say, from my experience. Walking on loose, hot sand on steep terrain is not easy. After we hiked for about 18 minutes, we reached the height from where we could see the parking and Glen Lake.

As we were deciding if we should return or keep going, a group of other visitors was walking back to the parking said there were three more hills to get to the lake. Then, we decided to return because we did not have time and energy. Just imagine four hills round trip, oh boy! I did not do my research well ahead but here is what I found out later from the Dune Climb website: There are several steep dunes before you get to the lake and the round trip is 3.5 miles, approximately takes 3 to 4 hours. Had I known that there were several dunes I would have never dared to climb in the first place. Few helpful tips:
1. Put your shoes on. Some reviews said take your shoes off for easy climbing. But, no, they lie. The sand is very hot so for the safety of your feet shoes stay on. We took our shoes off but thank god, we had slippers on at least.
2. Take plenty of water.
3. Hat and sunglasses are must and of course sunscreen.

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Our final stop which was not in our plan was Glen Haven beach. After the exhausting climb on the dune, we needed somewhere to relax and cool off. I wanted to go to the beach. The map showed a beach in Glen Haven village nearby. We drove a few minutes and got to Glen Haven beach. There were not many people. Most of the beach was empty. We laid our beach mat under a tree shade further on the empty side of the beach. I had been waiting eagerly to feel the blue water. The water was cool and refreshing! I spend some time in the water while Santosh lied down on the beach. Ah! It was a perfect evening. The sun, the waves, and the view – everything was beautiful!

Until next time Sleeping Bear and happy 50^th anniversary!