Bicycle Travel Destination: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

This is a place you will definitely want to add to your bicycle-touring bucket list. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore incorporates 31 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline (with an added 34 more miles if you include North Manitou and South Manitou Islands) and will be a key destination on the soon-to-be designated U.S. Bicycle Route (USBR) 35. "Good Morning America" recently awarded the national lakeshore the title, "Most Beautiful Place in America.?

Logistically speaking, the national lakeshore is located near the town of Empire, Michigan, which is about a two-and-a-half-hour bike ride west of Traverse City. The National Park Service website describes the lakeshore as, "miles of sand beach, bluffs that tower 450? above Lake Michigan, lush forests, clear inland lakes, unique flora and fauna make up the natural world of Sleeping Bear Dunes. High dunes afford spectacular views across the lake. An island lighthouse, U.S. Life-Saving Service stations, coastal villages, and picturesque farmsteads reflect the park?s rich maritime, agricultural, and recreational history."

I am one lucky gal. I have the opportunity to visit this amazing national park as part of my visit to Traverse City for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) spring meeting. I am there to answer questions and bear witness to the next round of U.S. Bicycle Route applications as they are presented to the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (USRN). One of these applications is for USBR 35 and, anticipating no problems, I will help the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Traverse City officials and the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails, Inc. (TART Trail) staff conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony and inaugural bike rides along the newly designated route.

A sideline benefit is having the opportunity to see one of the most amazing places yet to be included as part of a U.S. Bicycle Route. I will also be joined by Kerry Irons and Paul VandenBosch, two key volunteers in the effort to designate U.S. Bike Routes in Michigan. Our tour guides include Barbara Nelson Jameson from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program of the National Park Service and National Lakeshore Deputy Superintendent Tom Ulrich. Barbara's assistance has been key to the development of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a 27-mile multi-use trail, mostly paved, that includes some stretches of boardwalk and crushed limestone.

The trail begins at the northern end of the lakeshore (where M-22 and County Road 651 meet), to a point just south of Empire, Michigan, on Manning Road. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is working in collaboration with MDOT, local organizations, municipalities, and area businesses to develop this recreation trail which will provide a safe, non-motorized transportation alternative connecting the lakeshore?s main visitor destinations with the neighboring communities. The trail will give people of all levels of physical ability (including those with an interest in bicycling off the main road) the opportunity to experience and explore the lakeshore?s beautiful natural areas, scenic landscapes, and historic districts. The first segment of trail will be open this summer.

Deputy Superintendent, Tom Ulrich explained to me, "to date this partnership has secured $6.3 million from Federal Transportation Programs (such as the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks program, the National Scenic Byways program, and the Public Land Highways Discretionary Program) and $1 million from the private sector to provide a meaningful transportation alternative, as well as an outstanding recreational opportunity. Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of the Agency?s great examples of how our parks can integrate active travel into the visitor experience while sustaining our preservation and stewardship goals."

I am looking forward to my visit to Michigan -- to explore the beauty of the region by bicycle, meet the incredible people that are working on active transportation initiatives in the region and to see first hand how bicycling is benefiting local communities and international destinations like Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. 

Photos provided by Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail on Flickr.

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/05/bicycle-travel-destination-sleeping.html

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