Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
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About Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
According to a Chippewa legend, a bear and her two cubs swam across Lake Michigan to escape a fire on the other side. The mother reached exhausted safety on the shore, but was unable to save her cubs, who drowned within sight of shore. The Great Spirit Manitou transformed the mother into a huge sand dune (looking out toward the lake), and the cubs into islands. The area became important to Great Lakes shipping in the 19th century, as one of the few large safe harbors on the way around the Lower Peninsula to Chicago. Farming, both for subsistence and to supply passing ships was an important local industry. The National Lakeshore was assembled in the 1960s and 1970s, largely from private land (and not without some controversy), eventually including not only the recreational immediate area
Top Attractions in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Explore the best things to see and do in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:
- ★Phillip A. Hart Visitor Center
- ★Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
- ★Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Station and Maritime Museum
- ★South Manitou Lighthouse and Coast Guard Station
Where to Stay in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
- 🏨Bay Campground
- 🏨D.H. Day Campground, NPS
- 🏨Platte River Campground, NPS
- 🏨Popple Campground
- 🏨Valley View
- 🏨Village Campground
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 12 sections including: