We had wanted to visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore last year when we were in Mackinaw City, but had decided it was going to be too long of a drive. So, we decided when our itinerary got replanned this spring to spend the time getting up to see it. We drove along the back roads toward Empire and stopped at the Point Betsie Lighthouse. It’s not part of the National Lakeshore but is run and maintained by the county. It is a beautiful old light house and rescue station. From the lighthouse, there is a beautiful view of Sleeping Bear Dunes along the sweeping lakeshore. From there, we made our way to the visitor center in Empire. We got our passport stamp, watched the park film, and talked with the Rangers about possible hikes. They gave us a nice suggestion for a short hike that was dog friendly and did not involve climbing any Dunes. After that we drove up to the northern section of the park and did the Peirce Stocking Scenic Drive and enjoyed the views from the top of the dunes out over the lake. We really could not see the outline of a sleeping bear at the top of the dune. Erosion caused by construction in the early 1900s has flattened it out. We then drove on up to Glen Haven, over to Glen Arbor and then up to Pyramid Point. On the way back to Frankfort, we stopped in Glen Haven for dinner.
For our second day, we drove up to the trailhead for the Empire Bluffs trail (1.6 miles, 154ft of elevation gain, 381 calories burned) that the ranger recommended and were happy to see other hikers with dogs. This was our first hike with Keira. It’s a wide, sand and gravel surface trail through the shady forest up to the top of the Empire Dunes with wonderful views of the lake. Keira settled down into our hiking rhythm and did really well. She would pull on the leash if Leslie was out in front, but would walk along just fine between us is we walked side by side. Most of the climbing was in the first quarter mile which had all three of us breathing hard! It has been a few months since our last hike in New Zealand. Once we returned, we decided to see how Keira would do in a patio situation. Se we headed up to the Leelanau Peninsula Wine trail. We stopped at the Bel Lago Winery and enjoyed a wine tasting. Keira was a little nervous on the patio at first since there were other dogs and live music, but she eventually settled down and relaxed. We liked a couple of their whites and rose wines and picked up a couple to enjoy later. Keira passed out in the back seat on the drive back to Frankfort.
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