Park Rangers Announce Summer Programs

Date: June 19, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Wurts, 231-326-5134

(This information is outdated)
Would you like to know more about shipwrecks, beavers, native plants, or early farm life?  Would you like to go on a bike tour, guided hike, or learn the latest information on stargazing and the night sky?  National Park Service Park Rangers are offering a variety of interpretive programs throughout Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this summer and they invite everyone to join them. Every day, visitors to the National Lakeshore will have several options.

July’s schedule includes the always-popular “Heroes of the Storm” program every day at 3:00 p.m. at the Maritime Museum in Glen Haven.  Park Rangers recruit the assistance of young audience members to serve as U.S. Life Saving Service surfmen to recreate a shipwreck rescue on land. They haul lines and use replicas of historic equipment in an effort to save Raggedy Ann and Andy from their sinking vessel.

Each evening, there are two programs from which to choose - one at the south end of the park at the Platte River Campground Amphitheater and one in the north end of the park at the D. H. Day Campground Amphitheater. Park Rangers will teach you to identify invasive plants and animals, amaze you with facts about wildfires, identify constellations of the night sky, and share stories and legends of the area.  You do not have to be staying at the campground to attend the evening programs.  Starting time is at 8:00 p.m. from June 28 through August 1.

There will also be late morning and afternoon hikes with a Park Ranger to see first-hand the National Lakeshore’s natural and historic features.  These small groups provide an excellent opportunity to enjoy the park while learning about its resources from a knowledgeable guide.

Ranger-guided bicycle tours will also continue this year.  Enjoy riding the back roads of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District while learning about the landscape features that make this district significant.  Other bike tours will explore the back roads south of Empire while discovering the history and habitats of this area.  There you will bike through a “sugar bush” stand of maples, past a town that vanished, and along a creek with beaver lodges. 

Interpretive programs are free and suitable for all ages. No reservations are needed, and participants need only purchase the park entrance pass to join in the fun ($10.00 a vehicle valid for seven days or $20.00 a vehicle for an entire year). For more information about the schedule or other Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore activities, please call the Visitor Center at 231-326-5134.