Glen Lake Overlook Stop #2

The turquoise lakes glimmer in the sun.

NPS credit

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

Glen Lake, with its remarkably blue waters, is famous for its beauty. The lake appears divided into two parts by the constriction at the “narrows” bridge. Big Glen Lake reaches 130-feet deep in places, while Little Glen (closest to you) is only 12-feet deep. Different shades of blue indicate lake levels.

Glacial erosion carved out both lakes during the Ice Age. In post-glacial times, a sand bar developed, separating Glen Lake from Lake Michigan. Both the D. H. Day Campground and the village of Glen Arbor are located on that sandbar.

The hill on the north (left) side of Little Glen Lake is called Alligator Hill because of its shape. It is a product of the Ice Age and early post-glacial times. Glaciers carried a tremendous load of sand, gravel, and other rock debris frozen in the ice. When the ice melted, the run-off streams deposited great piles of sediment to form the hill. Imagine how thick the ice must have been to have left hills of debris several hundred feet high. Can you see the Alligator's snout down by the bridge?

Continue on to the next stops: the Dune Overlook and Picnic Mountain picnic area.