Tag Archives: sleeping bear sand dunes

July 12, 2012 · 8:10 pm

Bus and trains from Chicago to Northern Michigan

A reader requested ideas on traveling by bus and trains to get from Chicago to Traverse City then  to Mackinac Island  and the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. I’m no expert but when I looked into the Chicago-Traverse City public transportation options a few years ago, renting a car seemed the best bet. A few other things:

– Remember the boat option, but again you’ll need that car. You can take a ferry (see ssbadger.com) from Manitowic, Wisconsin (about 1.5 hours north of  Milwaukee) to Ludington Michigan shore but you’ll land almost two hours south  of Traverse City.

–  When we compared the ferry/boat vs. driving around Lake Michigan option, we stuck with driving because as I recall the ferry/boat was pricey and didn’t save much time.

–  My dentist recently returned from a drive through the Upper Peninsula to Mackinac and then the Detroit area. She does NOT recommend the major road through the center of the UP. Apparently the view is limited to dense forest. She wished she’d taken a road hugging either coast, if there is a viable one.

– When in Mackinac, make sure to venture off the main drag of touristy shops (although you might want to get some Murdick’s fudge first) and wander up the hill to the Grand Hotel and to the wilder areas of the island to enjoy its natural beauty. You can  rent bikes to explore. (see: http://bikemackinac.com/)

– Around Traverse City, don’t miss Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Park. We also enjoyed staying in Glen Arbor and visiting Empire, Michigan (go to the Friendly Tavern) and the Cherry Bowl Drive-in Movie Theater in Honor, Michigan.

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August 20, 2010 · 1:31 pm

Riding with the Ranger – Empire, Mi.

One of the best things we’ve done here cost no money – yesterday we loaded our bikes onto our car and drove about 15 minutes south to an old school house south of Empire where we met up with a young forest ranger – Ranger Ryan – and 9 other people for a bike ride and ranger talk. Beautiful morning and lovely terrain. We rode on gravel and sand roads (a mountain bike would have been handy but not essential) through deep woods, wide open meadows with the occasional perfect white farm-house and red barns and outbuildings, to the sandy shores of Lake Michigan (near a nude beach, we were told). we stopped occasionally for a talk by Ryan about the invasive species in the ecosystem (not good) and the local lore (pretty darned good) about a ghost town and hard drinking lumber boss with a great baritone.

Outside Empire we stopped at the Grocer’s daughter – a fancy hand-made chocolate shop started by a Danish woman who was indeed a grocer’s daughter in Denmark. Good price chocolates. Then back to our favorite farm stand just north of Empire and then home to Brook haven where we met up with the kids who had done some kayaking on the lake and eaten at the Foothills Cafe nearby (good). Returned to Empire beach where the waves were much calmer and had dinner at the cottage, followed by ice cream (still not Mooners but delicious and good scoops) at the Pine Cone in Glen Arbor. waiting now for the weather to clear

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August 18, 2010 · 1:33 pm

Sleeping Bear – Doing the Dunes

The breeze  died down yesterday morning and we were left with sunshine and a slight wind so perfect day to explore Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Park. We started at the Dune Climb – a wide wall of sand bordered by brush. At the top we kept climbing on narrow sandy trails until we got to a spot with a spectacular view of thepale turquise  waters of Little and Big Glen Lakes to the east and the dark navy blue waters of Lake Michigan to the west..

onto Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (great name) just south – a seven-mile one way loop along the coast where we stopped for a picnic on Picnic Mountain and for another spectacular view – this time atop a high sand dune that dropped steeply into the lake. Lots of other tourists but not oppressive.

Thanks to my willingness to ask park rangers questions, we found a gorgeous beach that was somewhat hidden off a dirt road just south of the drive. North Bar Lake is more like a gentle little pond, separated from Lake Michigan by a tiny strip of sand. Perfect for families with little kids. My teens opted for the wild beach of lake Michigan where we body surfed in the big waves and hunted for petosky stones. no luck yet. water was remarkably warm – again.

Forgot to mention that we began the day at the Glen Arbor Farmers market which was small but good. Some good crafts too – made out of the raw materials of my youth. petosky stones and birch bark. Got good blueberries, tomatoes and corn.

we met my friend polly and her twins at Joe’s Friendly Tavern in Empire, which lived up to its name. Good burgers, fried smelt, sweet potato fries, oberon beer. like the town of Empire a lot. Then onto the Cherry Bowl, a drive in movie theater near the town of Honor. Chilly but lot of fun – real step back in time. kids were intrigued.

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