Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes

Thousands of people are drawn to the beautiful beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore each year. Each person is responsible to leave the beach in the same or better condition than they found it. Visitors are encouraged to take out all their trash and used containers and to pick up any trash that they see while at the beach, but it is important to have a program of regular maintenance to assure the beauty of the beaches.

The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes in cooperation with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the Alliance for the Great Lakes has developed an Adopt-A-Beach program to provide regular monitoring and clean-up … Read & Learn More

Many of the historic farms in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore had flower and vegetable gardens around the house or out-buildings. The role of the Adopt-A-Garden project are to maintain some of these gardens – especially flower gardens to maintain the historic landscape. This is especially important in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. The Lawr Farm on M-22 was the first farm garden to be included in the program. A few volunteers work to weed and prune the flower garden there each year.

In addition, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore would like to have a native plant garden to educate students and visitors about the value of native plants … Read & Learn More

Each year thousands of people kayak, canoe, or tube the two rivers (Platte River and Crystal River) in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to experience the fun of navigating a flowing stream and enjoying the flora and fauna on the river. Downed trees or branches or other strainers and erosion of banks, can make the river trip more difficult or dangerous. River adopters commit to patrolling their river section about once each month on their own schedule to clear small obstructions by hand or with hand tools and to communicate larger obstructions or erosion to Park Trails and Roads Maintenance. Also, even though most people who boat the rivers … Read & Learn More

Each year thousands of people use the over 100 miles of trails in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to experience the variety of natural ecosystems that exist in the Park and to see beautiful vistas that are inaccessible from a vehicle. Downed trees or branches due to high wind, snow or ice sometimes block the trail, or erosion can cut gullies into the making a hike more difficult or dangerous. Trail adopters commit to hiking their trail about once each month to clear small obstructions by hand or with hand tools and to communicate larger obstructions or erosion to Park Trails and Roads Maintenance. Also, even though most people … Read & Learn More

Several old orchards exist in historic areas of the park – especially in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. For several years, the National Park Service has conducted pruning workshops to teach members of the public how to care for old apple and pear trees like these. In 2011 some of the workshop attendees offered to “adopt” an orchard to keep the trees pruned and grass mowed to help keep these orchards alive. We have just a few orchards adopted, and we are looking for more volunteers. If you would like to help us maintain one of these historic orchards, contact Kerry Kelly. You will have to attend … Read & Learn More

Visitors looking for a remote section of Lake Michigan beach to enjoy often find that access to these remote areas is difficult – requiring descent of steep bluffs from the road or trail to the beach. This often causes erosion of the bluffs and then trees fall creating even more hazardous conditions. In 2009 the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Cherry Republic teamed up with the NPS Roads and Trails crew to build beach access stairs at the end of Lane Road in Port Oneida. In 2011 we plan to build another set of stairs about a mile north of this site to provide safe, erosion-resistant access to … Read & Learn More

The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes publishes 12 inexpensive visitor guide booklets covering a wide variety of topics from visitor information, area history, and environmental or scientific topics related to the Park. Many extensive research reports have been written about these topics, but they were in large reports which were expensive and not easily accessible to the average visitor. These booklets are short, easily read, and inexpensive. The booklets are available in several locations in and near the National Lakeshore for a donation of $2 per booklet, which covers the cost of printing. Over 22,000 of the booklets have been sold since 2006 when the first booklets were published. … Read & Learn More

The historic agricultural landscape is an important part of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Viewing the relationship between the farms and fields of the district gives the visitor appreciation of the lifestyle and challenges of the people who lived here. These fields have not been farmed for many years and trees and other woody vegetation begin to reclaim the fields back into forest. For this reason, the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes has purchased a tractor and brush hog mower to mow the historic farm fields. This is part of a larger Landscape Management Plan for the historic district, which engages the … Read & Learn More

Volunteer Search and Rescue Supplies – Last year a group of ten volunteers was assembled and trained in the basics of search and rescue.  This VSAR corps provides park rangers with an team that can be called on short notice to quickly get trained volunteers to an area and reduce the likelihood of an extended event. Modeled after a similar group in Yosemite, the group has already been mobilized for a call once last year. $1,800

Firewood Bags for Campground Firewood Exchange – The transport of disease and insects into non-infected areas in the National Park is largely by campers bringing infested firewood to the campgrounds. This year, the Park … Read & Learn More

The Annual Port Oneida Fair celebrates the art and culture of rural agricultural communities in Northern Michigan. The 11th annual fair is scheduled for August 10 & 11, 2012 from 10 AM to 4 PM. This FREE two day event allows visitors to step back in time to the period of 1850 – 1945.  The Fair is held at six historic sites within the Port Oneida Rural Historic District of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Over 100 artists and craftspeople demonstrate their specialty during the Fair. Horses and oxen work the fields and music is in the air both days. Activities for children can be found at each site … Read & Learn More

The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is the biggest recreational project supported by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. There are no trails in the National Lakeshore where bicycles can be ridden, and this trail will provide a wonderful new recreational opportunity for families and individuals to experience the Park outside of their cars. We hope to see people parking their cars and safely riding bikes to many of the popular destinations in the Park.

The trail will be a 27-mile hard-surface, multi-use trail that runs from the Beach Access at County Road 651 near the northern boundary of the National Lakeshore and runs roughly parallel to the Leelanau Scenic Heritage … Read & Learn More