Bright blue beaches surrounded by golden sand dunes; Warm water surrounded by sunny hot dunes; Sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore is a real treat. Various types of activities await you there. Swim in the lake, climb the dunes,scenic drive, or hike the forest enjoying the stunning views of Lake of Michigan/Glen Lake.
We reached the park by 11 am on 9th July. It was a lil tough to find the visitor center, apart from that the whole trip was a blast. Our plan was to hike empire bluff trail, pyramid point trail and climb the 150ft 'dune climb'. We had to change our plans as the day progressed and it turned out to be one of the best weekends ever, in MI.
We started by hiking the empire bluff trail. Its a beautiful trail through the woods and shades with trailhead overlooking majestic lake of MI. We walked through the woods and shades enjoying the breeze.
The first over look point is this breathtaking view of Lake of MI. I cant explain enough, it will take your breath away. Blue lake, reflecting bright blue sky, light shades of blue because of the sandy beach, the waves hitting the dunes in a pattern. It looked like a dreamy painting!
Then you continue through the maple forest to the trail head. Once you reach there you get to see the lake so near with its majestic views. There are few benches where you can sit and take in the views. We had our snacks there enjoying the smell of the lake. There are no beach access from the trail, you hike to get the views, which are priceless.
After empire bluff trail, we started pierce stocking scenic drive. The 7.4 mile drive has several overlooks which stuns you with the beauty of the lakes. It starts with a covered bridge and winds through thick canopies and dunes. The first overlook point which we checked out was over looking Glen lake. Pretty lake with light blue color.
The second overlook shows you the glen lake and the Lake of Michigan. The views are spellbinding and you will never wanna leave.
The third stop we took was at number 9. This is the most famous overlook point of pierce stockings drive. You get the view of Lake of MI from 500ft above the lake. As you walk to the overlook you pass through the top of the dunes, which is 450 ft from the lake. There are signs posted discouraging the visitors from climbing down the dunes, since it is very steep and it takes our to come up(only if you are fit), or you call the rescue team.
It looked extremely strenuous and we saw people literally crawling up, who went down.There was a separate 150 ft climb 'dune climb', which the national park encouraged, and was less strenuous. Our plan was to climb that and hike pyramid point trail. But after spending a few mins there we coudnt resist running down. View from the top, you can see people in the beach as small dots.
Once you go down, you enter directly to the water. From hot sand to cold Lake of Michigan. It was awesome. We reached the lake from the top in like less than 10 minutes. We splashed in the beach and obsessed over Michigan and its beauty!
After spending time at the beach we decided to start climbing up. Once you start doing it, you will understand why there was warning not to go down. the dune is extremely steep that you get exhausted after few steps. I really thought the sign which said "2 hours to climb up" was exaggerated. But at this point i understood why it would take such time,and boy they are not exaggerating. since it is dunes each step you put in front of you will drag you down, making it feel like you are taking baby steps. But you get exhausted. This is what happens when you dont obey the signs!
There is no way you can climb this upright. You literally have to crawl. You run out of breaths every now and then and you have to take so many pit stops. It felt like never ending. We started climbing up at around 3 PM and reached the top by around 4:40.The dune which took you 10 mins to climb down, takes you 2 hours to climb up! But after doing this, its gonna stay in our memories as a golden feather for a really long time :D
After the dune climb we were exhausted like anything. We dropped our plans for the real dune climb, and the pyramid point trail. We checked in to our apartment at Traverse City and freshened up. We had a sunset cruise booked for the evening.
By 7PM we started on the cruise. It was like a reward you get for a tiring day. It was my first time on a sailboat and I had a wonderful time. We sailed through Lake of MI enjoying the breeze and watching the sun as it sets. It was very pleasant and relaxing and 2 1/2 hours long which gave us lots of time to rest. We witnessed the golden sun rays getting reflected in water and it was magical.
After the cruise we took a to-go for dinner.While walking back we watched fireworks over the lake as a part of cherry festival at Traverse city. The lake had so many boats all lighted up, who were also watching the fireworks. They added beauty to the fireworks. What a beautiful day!
The next whole day was spent at the Traverse city beach. The water was warm and the beach was shallow. We swam in the lake, jumped face down and tried all what we could. I never wanted to come back, but what to do!
The end of a very beautiful weekend at MI.
PS: I Love Michigan!
We reached the park by 11 am on 9th July. It was a lil tough to find the visitor center, apart from that the whole trip was a blast. Our plan was to hike empire bluff trail, pyramid point trail and climb the 150ft 'dune climb'. We had to change our plans as the day progressed and it turned out to be one of the best weekends ever, in MI.
We started by hiking the empire bluff trail. Its a beautiful trail through the woods and shades with trailhead overlooking majestic lake of MI. We walked through the woods and shades enjoying the breeze.
The first over look point is this breathtaking view of Lake of MI. I cant explain enough, it will take your breath away. Blue lake, reflecting bright blue sky, light shades of blue because of the sandy beach, the waves hitting the dunes in a pattern. It looked like a dreamy painting!
Then you continue through the maple forest to the trail head. Once you reach there you get to see the lake so near with its majestic views. There are few benches where you can sit and take in the views. We had our snacks there enjoying the smell of the lake. There are no beach access from the trail, you hike to get the views, which are priceless.
After empire bluff trail, we started pierce stocking scenic drive. The 7.4 mile drive has several overlooks which stuns you with the beauty of the lakes. It starts with a covered bridge and winds through thick canopies and dunes. The first overlook point which we checked out was over looking Glen lake. Pretty lake with light blue color.
The second overlook shows you the glen lake and the Lake of Michigan. The views are spellbinding and you will never wanna leave.
The third stop we took was at number 9. This is the most famous overlook point of pierce stockings drive. You get the view of Lake of MI from 500ft above the lake. As you walk to the overlook you pass through the top of the dunes, which is 450 ft from the lake. There are signs posted discouraging the visitors from climbing down the dunes, since it is very steep and it takes our to come up(only if you are fit), or you call the rescue team.
It looked extremely strenuous and we saw people literally crawling up, who went down.There was a separate 150 ft climb 'dune climb', which the national park encouraged, and was less strenuous. Our plan was to climb that and hike pyramid point trail. But after spending a few mins there we coudnt resist running down. View from the top, you can see people in the beach as small dots.
Once you go down, you enter directly to the water. From hot sand to cold Lake of Michigan. It was awesome. We reached the lake from the top in like less than 10 minutes. We splashed in the beach and obsessed over Michigan and its beauty!
After spending time at the beach we decided to start climbing up. Once you start doing it, you will understand why there was warning not to go down. the dune is extremely steep that you get exhausted after few steps. I really thought the sign which said "2 hours to climb up" was exaggerated. But at this point i understood why it would take such time,and boy they are not exaggerating. since it is dunes each step you put in front of you will drag you down, making it feel like you are taking baby steps. But you get exhausted. This is what happens when you dont obey the signs!
There is no way you can climb this upright. You literally have to crawl. You run out of breaths every now and then and you have to take so many pit stops. It felt like never ending. We started climbing up at around 3 PM and reached the top by around 4:40.The dune which took you 10 mins to climb down, takes you 2 hours to climb up! But after doing this, its gonna stay in our memories as a golden feather for a really long time :D
After the dune climb we were exhausted like anything. We dropped our plans for the real dune climb, and the pyramid point trail. We checked in to our apartment at Traverse City and freshened up. We had a sunset cruise booked for the evening.
By 7PM we started on the cruise. It was like a reward you get for a tiring day. It was my first time on a sailboat and I had a wonderful time. We sailed through Lake of MI enjoying the breeze and watching the sun as it sets. It was very pleasant and relaxing and 2 1/2 hours long which gave us lots of time to rest. We witnessed the golden sun rays getting reflected in water and it was magical.
After the cruise we took a to-go for dinner.While walking back we watched fireworks over the lake as a part of cherry festival at Traverse city. The lake had so many boats all lighted up, who were also watching the fireworks. They added beauty to the fireworks. What a beautiful day!
The next whole day was spent at the Traverse city beach. The water was warm and the beach was shallow. We swam in the lake, jumped face down and tried all what we could. I never wanted to come back, but what to do!
The end of a very beautiful weekend at MI.
PS: I Love Michigan!
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