• Looking out at the lake

    Sleeping Bear Dunes

    National Lakeshore Michigan

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  • Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive will not open until Memorial Day Weekend

    Changes to visitor service due to Sequestration. Due to mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts, some visitor services in this park have changed. Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive will not open until Memorial Day Weekend and will close after Labor Day. More »

  • Some restrooms and trash cans not available until Memorial Day

    Changes to visitor service due to Sequestration. Other than those at the visitor center and campgrounds, restrooms and trash cans will not be available until Memorial Day Weekend and will close after Labor Day. This includes the Manitou Islands. More »

Rivers and Streams

Otter Creek Spit at Esch Road
There are 2 small rivers and 2 creeks that flow within the Lakeshore. The Platte and Crystal Rivers are favorite canoe, kayak, and inner tube rivers for families and groups. Shalda and Otter Creeks are small streams that are favorites for fishing and viewing beaver, otter, and muskrats. The waterways come from inland lakes and empty into Lake Michigan. They sport annual runs of salmon and other species such as smelt that migrate in from Lake Michigan. There are a number of wetlands associated with each, and several forest and wetland habitat types can be seen whether hiking or floating along their courses.

Did You Know?

Port Oneida Fair

Each year Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Park Partners sponsor the Port Oneida Fair the first weekend of August to celebrate the history and culture of rural America. Come and see what farm life was like around 1900 and learn about the arts and crafts of the time. More...