Superintendent Dusty Shultz welcomes Ryan Locke to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as a Transportation Interpreter, a position sponsored by the National Park Foundation (NPF) and through the generous support of Ford Motor Company, Proud Partner of America’s National Parks.

Locke, from Spring Lake, Michigan, will spend the summer creating and offering bicycle tours to the public and promoting the use of alternative transportation in the National Lakeshore.

Locke is one of 18 students working in 15 national parks across the country providing visitors with information about the many alternative modes of transportation available to them.

“While we will still be offering daily ranger-led walks, historical demonstrations, and evening campground programs, thanks to NPF and Ford, park visitors and locals may choose another way to see and learn about the National Lakeshore with a knowledgeable guide,” said Shultz. “Ryan worked with us as an intern in maintenance and cultural resources last year, so he is quite familiar with the park and is very excited about pioneering these bike programs.”

Locke will pedal on two different routes, Wednesdays through Saturdays, beginning on June 25. The easy to moderate rides will cover between seven and ten miles and last approximately two hours.

Topics are:

• Backroads, Farms, and Forests: South of Empire, through an agricultural landscape, ghost town, and former logging area. Thursdays at 11:00 a.m., Fridays at 5:00 p.m., Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.
• Discovering Cultural Landscapes: North of Glen Arbor, through the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m., Fridays at 11:00 a.m., Saturdays at 5:00 p.m.

No reservations are needed, and participants need only purchase the park entrance pass to join in the fun ($10/vehicle valid for seven days or $20/vehicle for an entire year).

When planning to attend a program, be prepared for all kinds of weather, dress appropriately, and wear a bike helmet.

For more information about the schedule, meeting locations, or other Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore activities, call the Visitor Center at 231-326-5134, ext. 328 or go to www.nps.gov/slbe.

A chilly June means looking for great beach alternatives. Look no further than the Blacksmith Shop and other exhibits in the historic hamlet of Glen Haven just south of Glen Arbor off M-109.

The red building, built in the 1860s, is the original Blacksmith Shop. There’s not much use for a blacksmith these days, but before 1920, if something made of metal broke, the only way to get it fixed was to take it to the blacksmith. These fellows made horseshoes, fixed chains, anchors, and just about anything made of metal. Today, you can still hear the ping of the blacksmith’s hammer on a summer day, no matter the temperature outside.

The Blacksmith Shop is operational most days in the summer, staffed by volunteers. You can watch the blacksmith take a piece of iron, heat it in the forge and pound out useful shapes and parts. The exhibit is very interactive, so feel free to ask questions. You can see some of the parts they have made in the shop and ask the blacksmith questions about his trade or the history of the local area. While you are watching, you will learn about D. H. Day and his role in developing the Glen Haven area.

Hours: June to early October, daily depending on available staff, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The second-annual Girls’ Night Out will be on Thursday, June 19th from 5:30-8:00 p.m. in the Town Hall on M-22 in Glen Arbor. Women are invited to enjoy the provided music, chocolate, wine, and food, as well as shop for shoes, scarves, beauty products, lavender soap, jewelry, and clothing.  Local services such as insurance, dental, spa, and photography will also be available.

Get a massage, talk to an investment or insurance counselor, find out about local women’s groups-all under one roof. 

Free admission.

Contact the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce: (231) 334-3238

The Leland Wine & Food Festival is a northern Michigan tradition held on the second Saturday in June.  That means this Saturday, June 14^th, noon until 6 P.M., you can head north and sample the finest food and wine in northern Michigan.  Now in its 23rd year, the Leland Wine & Food Festival is the standard for fun and good taste by which all other Michigan wine festivals are judged.

Come enjoy a day near the Leland Harbor and Leland’s historic Fishtown tasting wines from local wineries and tasting the specialties from local restaurants and vendors.

Listen to live music in the park all day from local favorite The Fabulous Horndogs and enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands.

Admission is $10.00 and includes an etched wine glass and two tickets for wine tasting.  Additional wine tasting tickets are available.

Food vendors accept cash only.

For more information on Leelanau County’s wineries, visit the Leelanau Peninsula Vintner’s Association.

The wildflowers are out, the birds are singing, and the weather is just right for exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  So put down the garden rake, get off the lawn mower and treat yourself to a hike with a National Park Service Ranger.  “Saturdays at the Lakeshore” begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Visitor Center in Empire on M-72 where you meet a Park Ranger for an introduction to that day’s topic.  After the introduction, everyone drives a short distance to where the adventure begins.  The program/hike lasts until approximately 3:00 p.m.  Each week, a different topic and location in the National Lakeshore will be featured.

Park Rangers have planned activities that take advantage of the season.  For example, June is the best time to see the rare Piping Plover, an endangered shorebird that nests on the beach, and it is the only time to experience the variety of wildflowers that grow on the sand dunes.

 June 7 – Piping Plovers:  The Little Birds that Could!

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has the largest population of nesting plovers in the Great Lakes region.  See this rare bird and observe its nesting activities.  Discover why the Piping Plover is threatened with extinction, and what staff and volunteers are doing to prevent it.  This is the best time of the year to see several plovers in action.  A short walk is all that is required.  Some spotting scopes and binoculars will be provided, but bring your own if you have them.

June 14 – Mission Possible: Natives versus Non-Natives

With no enemies to keep them in check, an invasion of non-native plants and animals are crowding out our native species.  Learn what is being done here at Sleeping Bear Dunes and why we should care about the survival of our native species.

June 21 – Flowers in the Sand

Dunes are not always just barren places with scruffy grass.  They can also have some of the region’s most elaborate displays of showy wildflowers, if you know when and where to look.  Join Ranger Joanne, our wildflower expert, for an easy hike on the dunes to view and identify wildflowers that call Michigan’s sand dunes home.  

June 28 – Beneficial Bugs

Sure they bite and sting and get inside your shirt, but bugs do lots of good things, too.  Explore the world of bugs and learn how they help the wildflowers, our food crops, and our forest. 

“Saturdays at the Lakeshore” are free and are suitable for all ages.  No reservations are needed, and participants need only purchase the park entrance pass to join in the fun ($10/vehicle valid for seven days or $20/vehicle for an entire year).  For more information about the schedule or other Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore activities, please call the Visitor Center at 231-326-5134 or go to www.nps.gov/slbe.