Top Hiking Trails in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Why Sleeping Bear Dunes Is Unlike Anywhere Else

In 2011, Good Morning America ran a viewer poll to find "The Most Beautiful Place in America." Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore won. It was not a surprise to anyone who had stood at the top of the Dune Climb and looked west toward South Manitou Island on a clear day. The sheer improbability of the landscape — 400-foot sand dunes dropping directly into Lake Michigan, backed by dense forests of beech and maple — makes it feel more like a hallucination than a national park.

The Lakeshore covers 35 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline across Leelanau and Benzie counties, taking in the towns of Empire and Glen Arbor. Here are the trails that define it.

The Dune Climb (Easy to Moderate, 1.5 Miles Round Trip)

This is the iconic Sleeping Bear experience — a 110-foot climb up a massive open sand dune with Lake Michigan visible at the top. What the trail signs do not adequately communicate is that walking in deep sand is roughly three times harder than walking on a normal trail. The descent back down involves uncontrolled sprinting that most people find to be the best part. Go early morning in summer; by 10am the dune surface can reach 110°F.

Pyramid Point Trail (Moderate, 2.7 Miles Loop)

This is arguably the best single hike in the park. The trail climbs through mature beech-maple forest to a high bluff overlook 200 feet above Lake Michigan. On a clear day you can see the Manitou Islands, the Leelanau Peninsula curving north, and occasionally freighters passing in the distance. The loop returns through the forest interior past ghost trees left by a 1990s blizzard. The trailhead is off Port Oneida Road north of Glen Arbor.

Platte Plains Trail (Easy, Multiple Loop Options)

The Platte Plains trail system south of Empire offers the best beach access hiking in the park. The main loop is 15 miles, but shorter combinations are easily done — the Otter Creek loop and the beach walk to Platte River Point are both outstanding for a half-day outing. In fall, the hardwood forest here rivals anything in New England for color.

Alligator Hill Trail (Moderate, 4.7 Miles)

Alligator Hill offers interior forest hiking away from the dune crowds, with several viewpoints looking across Sleeping Bear Bay toward the Manitou Passage. The trail passes through old growth maple and beech stands that have never been logged. Wildflower season in May is exceptional here — trout lilies, trillium, and hepatica carpet the forest floor before the canopy closes.

Lake Michigan Beach Walk (Easy, Any Distance)

Sleeping Bear's beaches are not swimming beaches — the water is cold even in August, and undertow can be serious. But as walking beaches they are world-class. The stretch between Good Harbor Bay and Sleeping Bear Point is miles of undeveloped shoreline with minimal foot traffic if you walk more than a half-mile from any access point. Bring binoculars for migrating shorebirds in September and October.

Practical Information

The Lakeshore charges a weekly vehicle pass fee. The Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire is the best starting point — rangers there give excellent trail advice and condition updates. Bear repellent is not necessary (black bears are present but rarely seen), but bug spray absolutely is from May through August. Bring more water than you think you need; sand hiking is dehydrating. Check Empire events and Glen Arbor events for ranger programs and guided hikes scheduled throughout the season.