Summer at Sleeping Bear

If you’re looking for a great family Midwest vacation spot , then you have to discover Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a complex of camping, hiking, and historical sites in and around Empire and Glen Arbor, Michigan. If you are raising a crew of budding outdoorsmen, like I am, then this is the place for you.

Where to Stay

We camped our hearts out at the Platte River Campground, and couldn’t have been happier – despite a few instances of unpredictable weather. Our walk-in tenting site was wooded and quiet, but had easy access to bathrooms and showers and was less than a mile hike away from the sugar sand beach of Lake Michigan. The campground is run by the national park service and has sites for tents, campers, or groups. Rangers were on hand at the campground were happy to answer questions and our fellow campers, including several families with small children, were friendly and fun. Every night, there was ranger-led educational program at 8:00 p.m. about area wildlife, history, or the night sky over the Lake. Many campsites at the Platte River Campground are reservable online, but there are also sites saved for walk-in campers. And I don’t mind telling you, at $15 per day, our stay at Platte River Campground was well within our budget.

For a more rustic camping experience, the D. H. Day campground near Glen Arbor is another way to enjoy the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Sites there are walk-in only, and offer vault toilets and easy access to the beach.

In nearby Frankfort/Elberta to the South and Glen Arbor to the North, there are a variety of Bed and Breakfasts, rental cottages, and small inns to suit your family. We have sent my husband’s parents for a weekend at La Rue House in Elberta, and they loved it. Next time, though, we’ll probably try the Thyme Inn in Glen Arbor. It’s a gardener’s dream adjacent to Glen Arbor shops and farmer’s market.

Swimming & Boating

We are a family of swimmers, and we swam our hearts out every day on our Sleeping Bear vacation. The dunes are made of soft sugar-sand, and the National Park campgrounds offer stretches of undeveloped beach for miles along the lakeshore. Often, we were one of only two or three families swimming in the calm, clear waters, shallow enough for me to give my 9 and 7 year-old complete freedom while my 4 year-old built sand castles to her heart’s content.

Sleeping Bear Dunes lies at the heart of Michigan’s Lakes region, where retreating glaciers have left a complex of gorgeous clear water lakes. Every lake community has a public beach, so there is plenty to go around. We also enjoyed Platte River Point Park, where the Platte River empties into Lake Michigan. It was fun watch people tubing, kayaking and canoeing while we let the river current carry us out to a sandbar that separates the warmer river water from the cooler water of the lake.

Our last night of the trip, we watched the sun set from Empire Park in Empire, MI. The kids went crazy on the beach playground while my husband and I grilled out. There were several families with open fires on the beach as we watched the beautiful sunset over the Lake in the West – a perfect ending for a perfect vacation.

Hiking and Biking

Our trip had a few drizzly days, but it was never difficult to find something to do. We loved the quiet of the Empire Bluffs Trail and took in the vistas on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which included a view of the lake from 450 ft atop the Sleeping Bear ridge dune. Adventurous climbers can visit the Dune Climb. But families with younger children might be happier hiking Sleeping Bear Point to the north.

Because of the fragile nature of the dunes themselves, vehicles are not allowed on the dunes. But we saw many road bikers along the Betsie Valley Trail and M-22. The rolling landscape -- a blend of forest, lakes, and fields -- would be a dream... and a challenge.

Plenty to Learn

Sleeping Bear Dunes was a rock-hunter’s paradise. My children found treasure upon treasure on the beach, including fossils, rose quartz, and petosky stones. Park Rangers are a ready source of information on the rocks of the area to help you identify the nature of your find.

We had the good fortune to visit the U.S. Coast Guard Outdoor Maritime Museum, just as they were beginning a Breech Bouy rescue presentation. Ranger Rebekah invited children in the audience to participate in the rescue. My oldest got to aim and fire a cannon, my youngest was the bullet that carried a rescue rope to Captain Bob, and my 7 year-old got to join a crew of surfmen hauling out and in the rope that carried the buoy. They had a great time, learned a lot, and received certificates at the end of the program. (Ranger Rebekah also earned herself a hug from my bullet-daughter.)

Wildlife enthusiasts, like our crew, will be amazed to see black squirrels and nesting Piping Plovers. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels were a treat to see with their babies as well as bugs, butterflies and birds we don’t have at home in Central Illinois.

Good Eats

Northwestern Michigan is known for its fresh fruit, and where better to get it than the Glen Arbor Farmer’s Market? We enjoyed a couple of quarts of fresh strawberries during our visit in late June. July is the month for cherries, though, and August is peach month. You don’t get better than fresh from the orchard, so if you’re visiting, be sure to taste and enjoy!

On our Tuesday visit to the Glen Arbor Farmer’s Market, we stopped at Cherry Republic to share a Double Monster Sundae (Yes, we’re decadent parents… but hey! This is vacation, right?) We got 6 scoops of ice cream, 2 toppings, and three cookies called “Boomers”. Literally, they were each as big as my daughter’s face. What a lunch. Too bad we had no room for pie or cherry wine. With its gorgeous garden and comfy layout, Cherry Republic is a place that’s definitely worth a family visit.

We also felt right at home at the Hungry Tummy in Beulah, where the popcorn was fresh, our waitress was super-friendly, and they had Pabst on Tap for the hubs. It may be that hiking makes a body hungry, but my kids thought the macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese with bacon were divine. If we go back, it’ll be for the pizza. :D

So much to Enjoy...

There was so much to do on our trip, we didn’t nearly get to all of it. We loved golfing at Crystal Falls golf in Benzonia and playing at the playgrounds at Empire Beach and Glen Arbor Township Park. Downtown Glen Arbor was filled with the work of local artists and artisans that any shopper worth her salt will love.

We had such fun, it was hard to find a low point to our trip. If there was one, it was the day we had to pack up and come back home. As we drove south and left the cooling lakeshore breezes, we made ourselves feel better by re-living our adventures and planning when we would return. We’ve found a gem in Sleeping Bear Dunes, that’s for sure. It’s a place our family will go back to again and again.

- Midwest Mom

Conquering Fear

This was a big weekend for us. Each of the kids made huge progress conquering their fears at the swimming pool.

It all started Friday night. We went for our usual evening swim, only to find out that the pool was sponsoring a Flick & Float -- essentially a drive-in movie right at the pool with night swimming until 11 p.m.

I asked the pool director what movie they were showing. In one word, she became my sons' favorite person.

Transformers.

So, Friday night was spent swimming and cuddling in sweatshirts and beach towels to watch a great film.

But... back to the fear. As we were walking from our seats over to get into the shallow end, my three-year-old daughter was looking at her brother instead of watching her step. She walked right off the edge into the water.

I jumped in after her and pulled her out, but not before she had quite a shock. She cried more out of surprise than actual hurt, and as I comforted her, I stressed again that you have to watch where you're walking when you're near water!

When she calmed down, and the pool director was sitting near us making sure she was okay, I told her, "Congratulations! You just jumped into the pool for the first time!" Through the tears, she gave me a high-five.

What a trooper.

She was a little clingy afterward, but once we were back in the shallow end, she was too busy making friends with other girls to worry about clinging too much to me. I was relieved, but thought the jury's still out on whether or not fear of the water will kick in.

Saturday was a busy day with chores and church. Sunday, we were the host family for coffee and donuts for the parish, so I spent equal time serving people and making sure my children didn't gorge themselves on donuts.

As the weather turned hot, I pulled my husband aside. "Do we have time to go to the pool again this afternoon?" I asked. He smiled. Of course.

So, off we went for another evening swim. I held my breath as my daughter approached the water. Her brothers had struggled for years against water fear, but she was our little mermaid. The boys still only swam with a noodle or lazy river ring, even though they had the mechanics of swimming and floating down pat. I worried we would have the same struggle now with our daughter.

Then she smiled at me and jumped right in.

I was thrilled... And I wasn't the only one who noticed how brave she was. Her six year old brother told me he could jump in, too. (Although he never had before.) A minute later, there he went! So did my oldest. The boys and their sister spent the next hour climbing out and jumping in, with no worry about getting their faces wet or getting water up their noses. They just laughed and had fun.

Then came the real shocker.

My oldest came out of the pool to put his lazy river ring by our seats. "I'm going to swim without it." He said matter-of-factly.

He jumped in.

And he swam!

He didn't need any help or support. (Just an attentive audience and plenty of praise, which I was happy to provide.) I was so proud of him. Better yet, he was so proud of himself. He positively glowed with confidence.

He said to me, "Mom, I know why I couldn't swim before, but now I can.
F - E - A - R. I don't have it anymore."

"That's right," I said and returned his grin.

Check one fear off the list. My boy is growing up.

- Midwest Mom

Right Here in River City

Trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!

~ "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man

Yesterday, we had our first visit to the community pool. The pool actually opened on Saturday, but as luck would have it the weather was cool and overcast. My husband got called in to work to boot.

So, Sunday it was. We packed up the beach bag and a cooler of snacks, noodles, goggles, and lazy river rings, and headed out the door for an afternoon of swimming.

It was fantastic.

The boys jumped right in and started swimming. It's the doggy paddle, but it worked for them. I think their goggles made them feel a lot more confident about whether they would survive getting water in their eyes. Plus, this year, they are taller than last, so they could explore the pool more confidently without feeling like they would get in over their heads.

There was one problem I hadn't anticipated, though. My Little Mermaid, who has always been the most comfortable of my three, started acting afraid of the water! I thought, "unbelievable! Just when the boys are finally finding their feet... this happens!"

I took her out a few times, usually against her will at first, and got her to kick and float on her back. We decided to buy a membership at the pool this year (they just opened a new Sprayground adjacent to it!) So, we'll be swimming our hearts out several times a week.

Hopefully, it will just take a little time, patience, and persistence to bring back the Little Mermaid's fins.


... if I don't turn into Ursula the Sea Witch first.






(Wish me luck. )

- Midwest Mom