Horvath Travels: 2020 Dunes

During our previous road trip, we came close but weren’t able to visit Indiana Dunes National Park. It’s one of the closest National Parks that we have yet to visit. Being retired and all, we decided to do another trip to rectify the situation. Then, thought us, why not make our way up the western coast of Michigan, and revisit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore? Why not, indeed?

This is also not to mention that there are wineries and other sights in the vicinity of the tip of the little finger of the hand of Michigan requiring a visit as well.

Indiana Dunes National Park

Kemil Beach

Lying in the shadow of Chicago, and situated next to Gary, Indiana Dunes National Park sprawls over a vast swath of the northern Indiana lakeshore. Formerly a National Lakeshore, it’s now one of our newest National Parks. It’s also disjointed, so you are rarely entirely sure whether you’re in or out of the park itself (there’s also a state park here as well). Over a day and a half, managed to visit most of the major park areas and to explore several trails.

Did I mention disjointed? In between some of the pristine beaches and untouched natural dunes are power plants and steel mills. The proximity to Gary is always in your face. Yet, the beaches, dunes, trails, and woodland are still wonderful, and fun to explore.

Upon arrival, we walked around the Kemil Beach area, before taking the short hike around Mount Baldy (the largest of the dunes). It was raw – cold and windy, and the lake seemed angry. We were surprised that we could see the Chicago Skyline across this corner of the lake. Of course, we could see Gary and other industrial areas as well. But the lake dominates all.

Chicago across Lake Michigan

Mount Baldy Trail

The next day, the weather and the waves were a little more tame. We did four short hikes, all in different parts of the park. I think my two favs were the Dune Succession Trail (with its 270 stairs), and the Bailly Homestead and Cherberg Farm trail. I think I prefer one long hike rather than several short ones, but Lady A., who rules over such matters, begs to differ. It’s good to see all these different areas for sure, but all the starting and stopping tuckers me out.

Dunes Succession Trail

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Traverse City Area

We took the slow route north from Indiana in order to enjoy the Lake Michigan shoreline in western Michigan. And what a route it was. There are wonderful, picturesque towns galore along the lake. And we visited too many to mention. During the times that we drove in the interior and away from the shore, we witnessed autumn colors at their peak.

Along the West Coast of Michigan

It has been on the order of 25 years since we’ve visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. If the duneage we experienced in Indiana wasn’t enough, these in Michigan completed the fulfillment of our dune needs. This park is also sprawling, and there are indeed many big dunes. We stopped at most of the major attractions.

Sleeping Bear Dunes - Empire Bluffs Trail

We managed to do some nice hikes, notably the Empire Bluffs Trail and the Alligator Hill Trail. During that latter hike, Lady Adventurer managed to trip on a very small rock and fall and hurt herself. Although she twisted her ankle, it didn’t prevent her from finishing the walk. That’s good because carrying her may have been on the tough side. But she also landed on her face, resulting in a black eye.

Sleeping Bear Dunes Alligator Hill Trail

Lady A., After the Fall

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is located on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula. Whoever wrote, ‘If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you,’ was either talking about Michigan in general or Leelanau in particular. Or else he or she was completely nuts – who seeks a pleasant peninsula? But Leelanau surely is pleasant with great scenery and many wineries. The wineries seem to be a fairly recent phenomenon; we weren’t so aware of them when we lived in the state. We stopped at several, and they were great.

Farm Animals at the Green Bird Organic Winery

More Farm Animals

With three days to spend in the area, we decided to explore Traverse City itself more. We walked around The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. It’s a huge old mental institution covering a large campus area that’s been turned into shops, restaurants, living areas, offices, and other uses. We mostly walked around the campus, visiting inside only briefly. You can also take a tour. We also explored the Old Mission Peninsula, driving to the end to see the lighthouse. As with everywhere else, the fall colors were at their peak. Yes, it’s yet another pleasant peninsula that juts out into Grand Traverse Bay. I ran a race here in the nineties, but things have changed here as well. Guess what? There are more wineries!