Winter Hiking

I went out to the lakeshore today to hike my trail for the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. This volunteer organization does important work to help maintain and improve the gorgeous National Lakeshore. Volunteers do a variety of tasks, including:

• Adopt-An-Access Point (Accessibility)
• Adopt-A-Beach
• Adopt-A-River
• Adopt-A-Trail 
• BARK Rangers
• PSAR Log
• Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail – Trail Ambassadors
• Track Chair Report
• Administrative Projects

I have been a volunteer trail hiker for a couple of years now. I periodically hike the Bay View/Farms Loop trail and report on any down trees or other conditions on the trail.

Chilly, but gorgeous hike

Panoramic of the overlook

I'm not sure what made this tiny little trail in the snow

Lake Michigan from the trail

I love getting out on the snowy trails. 

Great Lakes OTTERS

 Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Did you know that there are otters in the Great Lakes? Have you ever seen one?

During my adventures, I have seen otters on three of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron and Superior). I saw otter tracks on North Manitou Island. I watched them feed as the sun set on Lake Huron.

This week I took a drive out to Leland (Michigan) and saw something on the ice in the harbor. I parked as the otter finished chewing what it had caught and slid back into the harbor. 

I walked out on a dock to get a closer look and the otter surfaced again, spent some time chewing, then slid back into the water. 

Otters are fun to watch, especially if there is more than one. They are playful and animated.

Check out my photo and video from this encounter...and keep your eyes open for your own otter sighting.

First Hike of 2021

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Happy New Year!

My first hike of the New Year was out at the Dune Climb in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The first dune off the parking lot was dotted with kids on sleds. It's a great ride, even when there's just a dusting of snow.

I love to watch the interplay of sand and snow on these dunes:

And the sand and snow reveal which creatures are on the move in the landscape.

I love this landscape in any season. It's an extra-challenging workout when the snow begins to drift amongst the dunes.

A late season freighter moved through the Manitou Passage today (below).

Happy 2021 everyone. 

We made it through 2020. Yay!

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Trails

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I have enjoyed being an Adopt-A-Trail volunteer this year for the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. Each month (April thru September), volunteers hike their assigned trail and report on any downed trees, pick up trash, and greet visitors on the trail.

My trail is the Farms Trail which is part of the Bay View series of trails.

It has been wonderful to see this trail in three seasons. This month, the leaves were beginning to change and the old apple trees on the trail were laden with fruit. 

Did you know you can forage in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore? 

Yep. 

It's perfectly fine to pick a few apples along the way.

I usually head to the lakeshore after my hike. This time, the lake was calm and lovely.

Sleeping Bear Point Trail

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

One of the iconic hiking trails within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the Sleeping Bear Point Trail.

The trailhead is near the Maritime Museum. The loop takes you to within sight of Lake Michigan (a trail spur takes you down to the edge of the water), along the back of the sleeping bear dune, then through a ghost forest, through the dunes, then a forested area, before returning to the trailhead.

The trail is labeled #9 at the top of this map

Check out some photos from my hike in the dunes.

A Merlin falcon hovered above me

Into the ghost forest

There is SO MUCH to explore

in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Head to the Lakeshore

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

The best way to beat the heat is to head to the lakeshore...and I live very close to one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the Great Lakes:

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Today I went to one of my favorite beaches on Sleeping Bear Bay. With Lake Michigan nearing an all-time high level, the amount of beach here was reduced. 

Some sandy beach in places

Wading was a great way to beat the heat.

Enjoy these photos from today:

North Manitou Island shrouded in fog

Small waves broke on the shoreline

The Dune Climb

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I recently took a training hike at The Dune Climb in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

This expanse of dunes is between Glen Lake and Lake Michigan. 

And it's beautiful.

This transition time when winter is finally relenting is a special time to hike here.
The summer crowds are still a couple of months off, and the snow is not completely gone.
Check out these photos:

Glen Lake is still covered over with ice

Wind-sculpted sand

Wind shaving away unfrozen sand

Hiking the dunes

The snow fields are full of sand that was blown during the winter. As the snow melts, the sand collects into little blobs on the surface.

Deer tracks through dune field

Manitou Islands in distance out in Lake Michigan

Wood Grain Dunes

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I love hiking the dunes along 

Lake Michigan in the winter.

Wind and snow and ice conspire 

to change the face of the dunes in ways you only see in this season. 

Some sand may freeze, while the wind blows free sand around, sculpting the frozen sections.

Recently, I came across part of a dune that resembled wood grain. 

This was at The Dune Climb in

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Check out these photos 

(click on photo to see expanded view):