Once we left Glen Haven we drove south towards the "Great Dune Climb." It seemed to be one spot that was open despite the season, and the weather actually worked in our favor. The dune in question is rather tall and I've heard that normally people take one step up and two steps back. However, it had rained the day or night before and so there was somewhat of a damp crust on top of the sand, making it much easier for us to climb.
The Dune Climb is the main attraction for the kids who love to run and roll down the dunes. Located just about 5 miles north of Empire on M-109, you can see it on the west side of the road. Visitors love to bring their children and friends to the Dune Climb because they remember how much fun they had playing in the dunes when they were here as children. Parents and grandparents enjoy watching the activities from a picnic table or blanket at the bottom of the dunes. It's a great spot for a picnic too. The Dune Center, located at the base of the Dune Climb, offers modern restrooms and a bookstore.
--from NPS Sleeping Bear Dunes website, Dune Climb page
Partway up the colors were very wise with blue, green, white, and tan. There weren't too many other people climbing with us.
But there were enough people that I couldn't easily get a shot with nobody in view, ;-).
This is the view from the top of the dune.
I stitched this panorama together with several shots from my phone.
Amy was a bit chilly, but she enjoyed the climb up--especially as we did it together, holding hands most of the way.
On the way down I decided to record the trip. It is a bit jerky since I was holding the camera and half-way running, but I hope it gives you an idea of the scale of the dune.
At the bottom I saw more flowers.
The bookstore was closed for the season and the only staff in the area was the person in the booth taking payment or checking passes before you could park and climb. Knowing that we didn't have too much more time before we need to head south toward's my aunt's place (where we were spending the night) we headed towards the scenic drive.
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is certainly a must-do activity when visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This 7.4 mile self-guided auto tour provides the visitor with insight to the history of the area, a sampling of the vegetative communities found within the park and, best of all, spectacular overlooks of the Glen Lakes, the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Michigan.--from NPS Sleeping Bear Dunes website, Scenic Drive page
We got to drive through this covered bridge early on in the drive.
Sadly the fall color wasn't fantastic, but there were plenty of leaves
Because of our limited time we didn't do much walking off of the drive (I think I only got out of the car once or twice for a couple pictures off the road), but we still saw some neat sights like this view of Lake Michigan.
There were a few wildflowers blooming also.
I'm not sure what type of tree this is, but it looks amazing with its tangle of roots.
There were quite a few different types of tree in view also, some of which if I recall correctly may have been planted for logging purposes.
As I mentioned above there were several spots where you could park and walk for a short ways to enjoy even more scenic views.
The water looked great from a distance.
After exiting the drive we headed south for my aunt's place. The next day we drove home and as we didn't stop by any other notable place on the way home I have no more blog posts for this trip. Thus ends my account of our September trip through New York, Ontario, and Michigan!
~Matt
PS Here are all of the pictures from Sleeping Bear Dunse:
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