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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Windy Moraine Trail
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| Distance: | Loop of 1.5 miles in length. | | Terrain: | Hilly | | Vegetation: | Beech-maple forest, fields, and pine plantation. | | Comments: | A self-guiding brochure with the theme of biodiversity is available at the trailhead. From the Windy Moraine Overlook, you can see GlenLake, Lake Michigan, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. | Click to download a map in pdf format.
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| NPS Map 2006 |
| Windy Moraine Trail Map |
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| Kerry Kelly 2006 | | Top of Windy Moraine Trail with a view of Glen Lake. |
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The Windy Moraine trail takes you through a field to the moraine left from when the last glaciers melted about 10,000 years ago. You will climb to the top of the hill on a modest incline through a beech-maple forest and a pine plantation. From the top of the moraine, you will get a few good views of Glen Lake. Views are best when the leaves are off the trees, but even in the summer you will get some nice views of the lake.
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| Kerry Kelly 2006 | | Stop and read the trail map brochure at each numbered post. |
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As you hike the trail, you will see 9 numbered posts. Be sure to pick up a trail map at the trailhead and stop at each post to read about the trees, birds, or other natural resources described.
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| Kerry Kelly 2006 | | Soil Exhibit on the Windy Moraine Trail |
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About half way through the hike, you will find a Soil Exhibit explaining the type of soil in this area which supports the plants and animals who make this their home.
If we think of soil at all, we tend to think of it as commonplace and unlimited. The truth is that soil is an irreplaceable resource of great complexity, beauty, and fragility. Along with air and water it interacts with the web of life, and must be protected to maintain a healthy environment for living things.
The Kalkaska Soil Series covers a million acres of Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, one of the factors that led to it being chosen as the official State Soil. Kalkaska is a well-drained soil of cold climate that formed on glacial sand and gravels since the retreat of the last ice some 10 to 12 thousand years ago. It is common in the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. Sometimes called “loamy gold” because of its woodland productivity, the typical natural forest cover includes sugar maple, American beech, yellow birch, and ash.
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Windy Moraine Trail (12 Photos)
Photos from the Windy Moraine Trail
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Did You Know?
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a popular field trip destination for school groups. Students can learn about geologic formation of the sand dunes, the fauna and flora that make this area home, and the logging and farming history as the area developed.
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Last Updated: September 27, 2006 at 12:48 EST |
