• 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 »

Annual Park Pass Makes a Great Gift!

Annual Park Pass makes a great gift!
The Annual Park Pass for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore makes a great gift!

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Date: December 15, 2009
Contact: Paul Purifoy, 231-326-5134

If you are looking for a long-lasting, fun-filled holiday gift for someone who loves to regularly visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore), why not wrap up an annual park pass for them?  For just $20, a pass covers the entrance fee for one year from the date of purchase and is good for everyone in the vehicle.  Whether it is the National Lakeshore beaches from Platte Point to Good Harbor Bay, the Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, the historic village of Glen Haven, 100+ miles of trails on the mainland, or the Manitou Islands, an annual pass allows the owner an opportunity to visit anytime throughout the different seasons.

Passes may be purchased over the telephone by credit card or at the front desk of the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.  Also available at the Visitor Center is a wide selection of items based on the Ken Burns documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” including the 12-hour PBS documentary on DVD, a book with beautiful photographs, the series soundtrack, and even Scrabble and Uno!  From games to fascinating history, to stunning vistas, these gifts can help share the wonder of America’s national parks with all ages. 

“We are so fortunate to have this national park site in northwest lower Michigan,” said Dusty Shultz, Superintendent of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  “Recreational opportunities, incredible vistas, forests and farmlands, history and nature abound throughout these 71,000+ protected acres.”  Visitors may also be rewarded with a new perspective on the landscape if they come in the winter.  Beaches, with strange ice formations, are shaped before your eyes by storms that have been known to uncover long buried treasures.  The dunes are easier to hike in the winter and, sometimes, there is even enough snow to sled down the Dune Climb!  Fresh snows are also great for discovering animal tracks while you are out exploring. 

Please note that the Visitor Center will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and that the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which closes mid-November, will reopen in April.  In the meantime, visitors may use the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive for skiing, walking, and snowshoeing.

For more information on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, please call Park Headquarters at 231-326-5134.

Did You Know?

Port Oneida Rural Historic District

The Port Oneida Rural Historical District is a 3000 acre farming area preserved as it was in the early 1900's. This area was farmed for over 100 years and is now part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore More...