A gloomy day at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

The look over Glen Lake from the top of the first dune in the dune climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Waking up to the sound of raindrops on your tent is never a nice surprise.

Doing so Saturday morning while waking up in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore wasn't my ideal vision of that day, but I had had worse (see 2017 Warren Dunes entry). But after some mid-morning raindrops, the skies dried and a day of haze and clouds awaited us.

A structure at the Maritime
Museum.

I spent this past weekend in Michigan's northwest corner on a spring outing with the youth group I am a leader of. After dropping our gear at the Platte River Campground, we headed out in the morning to see the sights all around the lakeshore.

While there was some rain, it cleared up in the morning, leaving Lake Michigan a hazy shadow. After trying to check out the Maritime Museum in the morning (to no avail; the museum doesn't open until Memorial Day), we headed to the spot most people think of when Sleeping Bear comes to mind: the dune climb.
throughout the day. After trying to stop in at the

I've climbed that dune several times in my life, and I always forget just far it it truly is to the waterfront. You climb the main dune starting at the base of the parking lot, thinking you'll be led to a beautiful overview of the lake. Not so. At the top of that dune is ... more dunes. You look out and see plenty more sand to trek before making it to your destination.

The Cottonwood Trail, a 1.5-mile loop.

Despite not seeing the lake on this specific climb, peaking at the plateau of the dunes is an impressive sight, and being from Michigan can jade you a little from admiring the majesty of them. A young man in the group moved to Michigan from Liberia last summer, and has gone on a few trips with us. He marveled at the dunes, continuously sending photos of them back to his friends. Seeing this young man impressed by something I've visited several times before made me realize just how special they truly are.

After an exhausting truly fun dune climb, we headed out to the trails for a hike. We headed to the Cottonwood Trail, a simple, 1.5-mile trek around the dunes and through the grasslands. This is a fairly simple hike, though does have some elevation changes and sand to trek through, so bring your best boots to move efficiently. The peak of the looping trail actually overlooks the dune climb and Glen Lake, which provides for some breathtaking views. It's not a bad hike, though it would have been better had the sun decided to come out.

As for the Platte River Campground, it's a nice group area, though parking can be challenging if sites are full like they were last weekend. You do have to walk all your gear to the site, but they are spacious and wide open, with pads for tents. Not a bad spot, I'd camp there again.

Sleeping Bear Dunes is large, so it's difficult to hit everything up in a weekend. Add on the Manitou islands and it's plenty to explore. But hiking up a dune climb hit just the spot on a gloomy Saturday in northwest Michigan. If you're in the Traverse City area, be sure to hit it up.

Dune hike.

The dunes in northwest Michigan are spectacular.