This is a lightly trafficked 3 mile loop across the road from Mitchell SP. There is a visitor…read morecenter with a dedicated and spacious parking lot. The trail is groomed and the path varies from forest floor, to gravel, to grass and then bridges and wooden platforms. There are 10 points of interest with point 6 being an out and back path to an observation deck over looking the wetlands. There is also a gorgeous path from 7-9 that I decided to take both ways to add to my walk distance. While on the trail you will see plenty of signage with maps and loads of awesome plaques offering information about the landscape, wildlife and plants you come across. Lots of insect activity so I'd recommend bug repellent before you venture in. Heads up: There are no rest rooms in the trail. I was amazed by the amount of birds, turtles (SO MANY TURTLES) and snakes I can upon while I walked. Dogs are allowed as long as they are leashed of course. Really awesome gorgeous trail.

The Michigan Legacy Art Park, located within the Crystal Mountain resort, is about half a mile away…read morefrom the "main" area of Crystal Mountain where you get your rentals and lift passes. It's an easy trek over and then the actual park is about 1.5-2 miles round trip depending on which routes you take. This is such a cute idea for a park and honestly, I wish all parks were like this! There were a lot of interesting art pieces stationed throughout the park and most were highlighting local artists and organizations. There was some student art as well, but predominantly professional artists having their art on display. It's a very intentionally curated art park. We came here in the winter, so some of the smaller and/or lower down pieces were buried under the snow, but the vast majority was still accessible. There's an informational plaque next to each piece of art, so you can't miss each "exhibit". My personal favorite piece was the gazebo one with a mobius strip sculpture located in the middle of it. The sculpture was made entirely from one piece of Black Willow tree wood, which I found so impressive! This gazebo area was also just so peaceful and a great place to meditate and just listen to all the sounds of nature around you. Because it's located a bit away from the rest of the resort, you don't get a ton of foot traffic here. But the art park does connect to some of the cross country skiing trails, so if you want to do a proper "loop" hike around the art park, it will involve going onto the cross country trails for a short portion of it. So be mindful of your surroundings and share the trails with the skiiers during those parts! But other than that, I think my friend and I only encountered two other groups of people as we hiked throughout the park and we spent around 1.5 hours here, stopping to appreciate each piece of art throughout our hike as well. There's also a cute little free library at the front of the park, so definitely very family friendly! All in all, a great activity that I can imagine would be stunning and unique during each and every season and a great option, especially during the winter, if you're looking for other activities to do at Crystal Mountain outside of skiing and snowboarding!

Amazing experience. Beautiful easy 2ish mile hike dotted with beautiful art. I found the place by…read moreaccident and so glad I did.

Love this area! Just north of Ludington with way less traffic and completely different adventures!…read moreYou can walk in and camp basically right on the beach here, which is absolutely dreamy and there are just such wonderful hiking trails throughout that offer you challenges and just the most gorgeous sights as well! This spot definitely isn't for everyone and there won't be any "easy" hikes. Nordhouse Dunes makes you work for it, but the payoff is immense and completely worth it! Uninterrupted access to Lake Michigan and stunning vibes - what more could you ask for?! Love Nordhouse Dunes!!

It's crowded but the hike is nice. We were there the first week of September and I was surprised to…read moresee the campground full of campers. I got some great shots with my cannon and my kids enjoyed the hike...it was longer than we thought it would be!

A short walk from the parking lot to the lake. Maybe a 1/3 of a mile. The wide open beach is a…read morewonder place. there are also miles of trails. Their trail maps are a little confusing, a you are here would be helpful. I took a wrong turn and ended up going on a 2 and a half mile hike. The dog truly loved it though. Honestly so did I. Overall definitely a 5 star review and would highly recommend this place for people looking for a nice beach with a small wall or people looking to go on a hike.

Beautiful! Lovely nature area as well as views of the lake!…read moreRemember to bring bug spray if in bug season!

This little off-the-beaten-path nature preserve came across my radar thanks to AllTrails app. We…read morewere heading back down south to wrap up our vacation and decided to check this short 2-mile trail out after leaving Sleeping Bear. I'll say that this was one of my favorite trails we hiked (and yes, that includes the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore). It was very, very clean, had beach access, and literally no one was anywhere in sight (aside from a few hikersby), it's a relatively simple trail. Has great views, both at ocean level and also above to give you different perspectives. One of my fave hikes in the area and I would highly, highly recommend checking it out. Use AllTrails app for more hike-related details!

Pretty easy trail to follow. The whole map, if you walk fast can probably finish in 2 hours. There…read moreare no trash can on the trail so don't leave anything behind. There is a trail that reach the cliff and it has great views. If you physically can't climb Bear dunes, it is a good alternative

Really great place to check out for some trail time in nature! I can't wait to come back in summer…read moreor fall, as our visit was in winter- but still beautiful. We only saw one other couple hiking, so it was very serene. We started at the Mt Baldy trailhead parking area and went to the outlook trail. It was a fairly easy half mile with beautiful views and benches. We then went to the dune trail for the dune/bluff overlook. That, especially the part going right up to the dune, was a bit more challenging and steep. Could have been the snow obscuring steps or something though. It was VERY windy right on the lake but so beautiful with the epic views and the sand mixing with the snow. After that we headed back to the parking lot. Total it was about 2.5 miles. Trails are well marked and in the winter it appears appropriate for snow shoes or cross country skiing. There's so much more to check out than that at this preserve, so I'll definitely come back if we come to this area again.

This Pyramid Point Overlook has such a colorful setting here on the banks of Sleeping Bear Dunes…read moreNational Lakeshore. I really admired the surroundings and simply looking down upon Lake Michigan's beautiful sand and beaches. Pyramid Point Trail was recommended to me by the park ranger at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center back in the town of Empire, MI. It's a casual 1/2-mile climb to arrive at this observation point. Though...you can hike a 2.7-mile round trip loop around the lakeshores to get a more real feel perspective of being here at Sleeping Bear Dunes rather than just heading straight for this Pyramid Point vista spot. I visited on a random Tuesday back in late May 2021 around 12pm and had the trail and observation point all to myself. So, from high above the waters I was able to hear the waves crashing down below. It was quite nice, and I genuinely appreciated the ambiance. And...I couldn't believe how scenic the turquoise green colors of Lake Michigan appeared especially when highlighted by the sun's strong reflections. Btw...while exploring at Sleeping Bear Dunes I also recommend hiking Empire Bluff Trail and driving the 7.5-mile Pierce Stocking Drive on the outskirts of Lake Michigan. And when traveling along Pierce Stocking Drive, my favorite pullovers were stop numbers 9, 10, 11 to capture the best backdrops for what makes the lakeshore special. Also, don't forget trekking up the 3.5-mile roundtrip Dune Climb to access the beach shores of Lake Michigan. Finally, this Pyramid Point Overlook and Trail was my last full activity here at Sleeping Bear Dubes NL. The crisp, clear background scenery was a terrific way to end my explorations in the Lower Peninsula section of Michigan before venturing further north towards the "UP" driving "Shipwreck Coast" and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore before ultimately ending at Isle Royale National Park. But...I highly suggest hiking the 1/2-mile (each way) Pyramid Point Trail to arrive at this visually appealing overlook!

Fabulous experience that is well-worth visiting. Hiked through the wooded area to eventually see an…read moreoverview of Lake Michigan. A must visit!

We rolled into this campground fairly late in the day after an extremely long drive from New York…read more The check in process was super quick and we were able to purchase our Michigan recreation pass. All of the sites are super close together, but well kept and clean. We were in site 380 and were close to the restrooms, but not too close that it was a nuisance. The sunrise on the lake was beautiful. Overall, we had a great single night stay here !

Super bummed. According to the entrance attendant - who is very friendly, by the way - the park is…read morecompletely closed except for those with the boat.

The vast array of hiking trails found behind the historic State Hospital grounds is one of my…read morefavorite discoveries since moving to TC a couple of months ago. It is a perfect place to "get lost", but not in the sense that a search party has to come and find you later! The trails are easy to follow and routes/loops are well marked. You can easily spend several hours wandering around in here. When you get tired of hiking up the big hills, there's usually a bench waiting for you. There are bridges over the creeks and nice boardwalks over wet areas in a cedar grove. If you make it up to the top, which isn't hard to do, you have beautiful views of the bay through the trees. Dogs are allowed and so are bikes - the hubs is looking forward to biking the trails when spring arrives. Park anywhere at The Village and head on up any of the trails going in to the woods and you're there. I like to park by Left Foot Charley and go up Yellow Dr., past the Underground Cheesecake Factory... that way, when you come back, you can easily grab a tasty snack, sip of wine, or cup of coffee from Higher Grounds.

Wow is this trail absolutely beautiful! My friend and I recently completed this hike and we were so…read morehappy we decided to make a pit stop here on our road-trip up north. This 1.5 mile hike is short, relatively easy, and offers some of the best views in the area. There is a small parking lot with a bathroom accessible at this trail. You mainly walk through wooded areas with small inclines before you reach the overlook. This is perfect for families, friends, and anyone who is interested in exploring the outdoors.

Empire Bluff Trail is a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike but if you want to be a rebel, you can make this…read moreover a 5 miler by continuing on the well marked trail past the guard rail. The trail can take you all the way to an area called Treat Farmstead which is what we did. The trail starts off in a parking lot and well marked trail map. There's a slight incline up through a wooded area to the bluffs. Off to the right hand side not to far along your journey you will see an old logging saw of some sort that was neat. Once you get through the forest (maybe 0.5-0.75 miles) you end on the sandy bluff over looking Lake Michigan. The views are absolutely stunning. Seeing the shoreline from high above was amazing. After we took it all in, we made our way along the trail to Treat Farmstead. The trail is pretty sandy most of the way as you go up and down the bluff. We actually saw an Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake along the way (see picture). I had no idea they had poisonous snakes this far north. Apparently they are very rare. You end up back into another wooded area before it opens up again with a different but equally beautiful view of the shoreline. In the forest we found wild apple trees that according to Google you can eat. Don't take my word for it though. I'm no expert so if you go all Chris McCandless from 'Into the Wild' eat one and die don't hold me liable. Definitely worth going the extra distance and checking it all out just be prepared to get a lot of sand in your shoes.