Fresh Water Springs and Sand Dunes

We woke up on Thursday and after a quick hotel breakfast we headed out. It was a three and a half hour drive to our first stop, we were so hungry by the time we got there that we first decided to have lunch.    

We ate at Big Springs Tavern. It was in the middle of nowhere and it really was the only option for miles so we were very pleasantly surprised that the food was really really good.We have had some hits and misses on this trip.

Afterwards we headed to our first stop, Kitch-iti-kipi. In the Ojibwe language the name means big cold spring. Located within Palms Book State Park, it is Michigan's largest natural freshwater spring.

While visiting the spring and riding the famous cable-drawn viewing raft is free you do have to pay to enter Palms Book State Park.

the raft

There was a long long line to get on the raft. The raft moved at a snail's pace and I was having my doubts about this whole venture. The boys were not impressed. After waiting half an hour we finally boarded the raft. 

While your first instinct is to peer out from the sides of the raft, don't, there is a cut out in the middle of the raft, that is where you get the best views. The roof blocks out the sun's glare making the view much clearer. 

Over 10,000 gallons of water per minute gush up continuously from underground limestone fissures. As water surges from the floor, it creates constant, swirling sand clouds, making the bottom look like it is  moving. Large lake, brown, and brook trout can also be seen in the water.

The boys were still not too impressed but M and I found it a cool stop.. the moving bubbling sand was especially mesmerizing. 

Once we were done we had another over 4 hour drive ahead of us so we grabbed some coffee from the visitor center and headed out. 

We happened to be driving through Traverse City around dinner time so we stopped at Little Fleet a fun little outdoor set up with fixed food trucks. Finding a place to sit was tricky but even tricker was deciding what to get.. there were so many great options. 

After dinner we continued our drive to Empire where we spent the night. 

The next morning we checked out and got breakfast at Joe's Tavern. After the first few days, the excitement of food photos wears off, lol, hence the lack of pictures. 

Then we headed to Sleeping Bear Dunes, a stunning nature preserve featuring giant sand bluffs towering up to 450 feet above Lake Michigan.

We started with the Empire Bluff Trail - 45 mins round trip. Parking here was very hard to find and we ended up waiting in our car for many minutes before a spot opened up. 

To be honest we were not too impressed with this hike. Yes, the view at the end was pretty but it still didn't seem to be a must do.

Next we headed to do the Pierce Stocking scenic drive. The drive itself wasn't anything amazing but along the drive there were numerous stops, overlooks and hikes. Our first stop was #4 Cottonwood Trail, a 45 to 60 min walk to the open sand dunes. 

This hike on the other hand was next level.. the sand seemed endless.. it was actually a 4 square mile field. The sand made climbing a little challenging which is why I stayed up there (photo below) while the three of them raced down the sand dune and then ran/clawed their way back up. 

Our next stops were #9 and #10, Lake Michigan Overlook and Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook. The Lake Michigan Overlook is a massive sand bluff that sits at an incredibly steep angle of 33 to 45 degrees spanning 450 feet down to the lake.. many people were running down to the bottom. There are large signs warning that while going down takes a mere 15 mins making your way back up may take a grueling 1 to 2 hours and there is a $3000 rescue fee. 

 

It was a stunning view.. M and H kept itching lower and lower tempted. But as you can see lady on the left crouched down and lady behind us in the picture below the climb was no joke. We saw one guy pulling his partner up the sand. 

This picture above was taken on our first hike, the Empire Bluff Trail.. behind us circled in blue is where we were now. 

Stop #10 was an extension of #9. From there we were supposed to be able to see the North and South Manitou Islands. The legend goes - To escape a Wisconsin forest fire, a mother bear and her two cubs swam across Lake Michigan. The cubs exhausted themselves and drowned just miles from safety. The heartbroken mother climbed the high bluff to watch for them. Moved by her grief, the Great Spirit raised North and South Manitou Islands where the cubs sank, and covered the mother in a blanket of sand creating the massive dune eternally watching over her children. 

When we were done we headed back into town and had tacos and the most amazing gelato at The Grocer's Daughter and then slowly made our way back home. It was a 14 hour drive so once again we found a place to crash at a midway point and continued our journey in the morning.

And so comes to an end our trip to Michigan.

 

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