Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

These are perched dunes: sand blown up onto the top of a glacial moraine, so the great height above the lake is mostly hill with a thin sand cap rather than a sand mountain. That distinction matters at the Dune Climb and the Lake Michigan Overlook, where the slope down to the water looks easy and is far harder to climb back up. The national lakeshore was established on October 21, 1970. The name comes from an Anishinaabe story of a mother bear waiting for her cubs, who became the Manitou Islands offshore. The Dune Climb itself is a steep sand slope open to walk up.

The landscape

• Perched dunes - sand on top of a glacial moraine.
• A long drop to the lake - quick to run down, hard to climb back.
• The Dune Climb - a steep sand slope open to walk.
• The Manitou Islands - the cubs in the Anishinaabe story.

When to go

May to October; autumn colour in early October. A full day.

Before you go

Do not descend the Lake Michigan Overlook slope - rescues are frequent and billed. Sand climbing is far harder than it looks. Summer weekends fill the lots. Lake water stays cold into July.

Nearby

Traverse City is east; the Manitou Islands are offshore by ferry.

Key facts