The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is located in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, west of Traverse City. This national treasure covers over 70,000 acres and has several campgrounds, including some on the Manitou Islands, located about seven miles off shore. With over 35 miles of coastline, this park offers many different camping experiences within its bounds, from rustic back-country camping to improved sites with water and electricity for RVs.
Back-Country Camping
The park has two campgrounds on the mainland accessible only by foot that offer a true back-country experience. White Pine Camp is located in the park's southern portion near the Platte River Campground. It has six rustic sites, a community fire ring, and pit toilets. No running water is provided, but Lake Michigan is a half mile away and campers with proper filtration equipment may get water there.
Valley View campground has five sites, all as rustic as White Pine, but there is no water at the camp or nearby. Campers must pack in all their water. This ensures that this camp is rarely full. Valley View is located in the northern part of the park near the village of Glen Arbor.
D. H. Day Campground
D.H. Day Campground is a rustic campground with a dirt access road, giving access to RVs and other vehicles. The camp's 88 sites are entirely rustic, however, with no hookups for campers or RVs and some sites have walk-in access only for tent camping. Running water is available at the campground, and fire rings and vault toilets are provided. A ranger station at the campground is staffed during the camping season from April to November, and programs are held each evening that focus on the park's environs and history.
Platte River Campground
The Platte River Campground is the park's most modern, with water and electricity, a sanitation station, and modern bathrooms with showers and camp sinks. Back-in, pull-through sites and walk-in sites for tent camping and groups make up the camp's complement of over 200 campsites. This camp is the park's busiest, and it is often full from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The campground has access to the Platte River, which boasts excellent trout fishing. A nearby fish-cleaning station is provided for camper's use.
North Manitou Island
North Manitou Island is a 15,000 acre wilderness area, and offers backpackers an opportunity to truly get away. Back-country camping is allowed over the entire island, as long as sites are located 300 feet away from any bodies of water, buildings, or other camps. Many deserted and crumbling buildings left from the island's past dot the island, and visitors should leave these unmolested. One campground is located on the island, at the site of the former village of North Manitou. This camp is also near some National Park Service buildings. It has eight sites and a community fire ring. Miles of trails allow hikers to explore the island and its woods, small lakes, and dunes. Transportation to this and South Manitou Island is provided by Manitou Island Transit, which operates from Leland, a small town north of the park's mainland. A link in the resource section leads to their site.
South Manitou Island
South Manitou Island, while smaller than North Manitou, has much to offer. Back-country camping is not allowed, but three campgrounds, all located on the Lake Michigan shore offer a rustic camping experience with access to sights and wonders found nowhere else. Bay Campground is on a mile-long pebble beach lining a deep bay on the eastern shore, a short distance from the boat dock and the National Park Service buildings, including a museum, ranger station, and the South Manitou Lighthouse, which is open for tours. Weather Station Campground, about a mile from the dock is on the south shore of the island and the wreck of the freighter Morazon is visible from a trail a short walk away. Popple Campground is the most remote, and is located on the north shore, with a view of North Manitou Island.
Along the island's western shore, a type of dune found nowhere else in the world is accessed by a steep climb up the back of the dune system. The perched dunes found here are much like other dunes along the Lake Michigan shore, but the whole dune complex is perched atop a 200-foot high bluff rising at a steep angle from the shoreline. This bluff and the dunes above were formed by thousands of years of westerly winds piling up the sand. Whole groves of dead trees hundreds of years old and ancient snail shells thousands of years old can be seen here. A book by Richard Ruchoft entitled "Exploring North Manitou, South Manitou, High and Garden Islands of the Lake Michigan Archipelago" is still in print and is a must for anyone wishing to camp on these islands.
Group Sites and Other Information
There are group camping sites available in other areas of the park, and these sites are not part of regular campgrounds. Their locations are marked on a map of the park which may be found on the park's website. See the resource section for links to the park's site, where you may find information on fees and reservations for the park's various campgrounds, which may vary. There is also a download-able PDF file of the current visitors guide.
Member Comments