Noel and I are big fans of the National Park System. While many people are familiar with the well known National Parks like Yellowstone or Everglades – there are other units of the NPS such as National Lakeshores and National Historical Parks that are also great places to visit.
We took the opportunity to start exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the greater Traverse City area. The park has several parts – including a couple of off shore islands named North Manitou and South Manitou.
Transportation to the two islands is done by Manitou Island Transit – which has once per day scheduled drop-offs and pick-ups at South and North Manitou Islands.
We boarded the people ferry (no cars or bikes) to South Manitou Island at 10 a.m. for an approximately 90 minute ferry ride from the “Fishtown” area of Leland, Michigan to the dock on South Manitou. The ferry departs South Manitou promptly at 4:00 p.m. – if you miss it you get a free night on the beach so it pays to be prompt when departing.
South Manitou in the 1900’s had a community on the island that farmed, operated a light house, and in general scratched out a living in a very isolated place.
As part of Sleeping Dunes National Lakeshore – the NPS has preserved the South Manitou Lighthouse and several of the structures that date back to when a life saving team was living there as well as several former private homes.
Once we arrived – we ate our packed lunch put together by Chef Noel. We enjoyed sandwiches and an “adult” lunchable (sliced cheese, turkey, ham and crackers) along with some tasty Michigan cherries, homemade Chex Mix, and lemonade.
After lunch, we set out to explore the island on foot.
The first stop – as always – was the Visitor Center for our NPS stamp! The center was unstaffed – and we worked our way room to room checking out the various displays. I turned the lights on in each room – and as I was taught growing up – turned the lights off when leaving the room.
After securing our desired South Manitou NPS stamp – we hiked about 0.25 miles to the South Manitou Lighthouse.
You could choose to climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse – Noel and I decided to take a pass on that. In addition to the lighthouse itself there was a building that supported the light keeper that is currently undergoing renovation. When fully renovated and open to the public – it will be a nice addition to the story of just how challenging it was to live and work in these remote areas of our nation.
We then hiked along several of the pathways – enjoyed the beautiful scenery and quiet solitude. We heard several song birds – but overall it was not a great birding excursion.
One of the best parts of our walk through the woods was how quiet it was – and how much it felt like the had the island to ourselves.
By the time we returned to the dock – we hiked around 3.6 miles (according to our Garmin) – and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Once we get back to the boat dock – we enjoyed spending some time relaxing and visiting the beach before boarding the ferry for another 90 minute ride back to the dock and the car.
Dinner was a quick one at Qdoba – so not quite at the same level as the night before – but we were tired, had been in the sun most of the day and were eager to get home to a cold shower and A/C.
Back at camp – Noel took her shower – and it was my turn. Midway through my shower there was a regional power outage – which also shut off the water. I managed to get the soap out of my hair by pouring some half empty water bottles over my head to get most of the soap out.
Who ever said that RVing was a glamorous life?
Overall the trip to South Manitou was a great way to start our exploration of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. The island was certainly something the majority of visitors do not see – and it somewhere we would return to in the future – perhaps with backpacks to stay overnight.
Kirk’s Travelogue 