by Julia Kelly
If you’re looking for a great family vacation spot within a day’s drive of C-U, then you have to discover Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Our crew of budding outdoorsmen made the trip this June. It was about a 7.5-hour drive from Champaign, but the cool, breezy lakeshore was a world away from our steamy summer weather. Breezy days and cool nights made our trip perfect.
We camped out at the Platte River Campground. Our campsite was private and quiet and was less than a mile hike away from the sugar sand beach of Lake Michigan. (Plus, it had real toilets and showers close by so this mom could feel like a human being!) Because it’s run by the National Park Service, the rangers were happy to answer questions and our fellow campers, including several families with small children, were friendly and fun. And I don’t mind telling you, at $15 per day, it was well within our budget.
For a more rustic camping experience, the DH Day campground near Glen Arbor is another way to enjoy the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Or, in Frankfort/Elberta to the South and Glen Arbor to the North, there are a variety of Bed and Breakfasts, rental cottages, and small inns to suit your family. We have sent my husband’s parents for a weekend at La Rue House in Elberta, and they loved it. Next time, though, we’ll probably try the Thyme Inn in Glen Arbor. It’s a gardener’s dream adjacent to Glen Arbor shops and farmer’s market.
We are a family of swimmers, and we swam every day on our Sleeping Bear vacation. The National Parks offer stretches of peaceful, undeveloped beach for miles along the lakeshore. Often, we were one of only two or three families swimming in the cool, clear water, shallow enough for me to give my 9- and 7-year-old complete freedom while my 4-year-old built sand castles to her heart’s content.
Our trip had a few drizzly days, but it was never difficult to find something to do. We hiked the Empire Bluffs Trail and took in the vistas on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which included a view of the lake from 450 feet atop the Sleeping Bear ridge dune. Adventurous climbers can visit the Dune Climb. But families with younger children might be happier hiking Sleeping Bear Point or visiting the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Museum to the north.
Sleeping Bear Dunes was a rock hunter’s paradise. My children left with their pockets full of treasures to bring home – great souvenirs of our visit. They loved watching black squirrels, nesting Piping Plovers, thirteen-lined ground squirrels and bugs, butterflies and birds we don’t have in Central Illinois.
We also enjoyed Platte River Point Park, where the Platte River empties into Lake Michigan. There, you can go tubing, kayaking, or canoeing. But we swam, as usual, letting the river current carry us out to a sandbar separating the warm river water from the cooler water of the lake.
Our last night of the trip, we watched the sun set from Empire Park in Empire, Mich. The kids went crazy on the beach playground while my husband and I grilled out. There were several families with open fires on the beach as we watched the sunset – a perfect ending for a perfect vacation.
On the day we packed up to drive home, the kids were sorry to go. We drove south, leaving the cooling lakeshore breezes behind, and made ourselves feel better by re-living our adventures and planning a return trip. We’ve found a gem in Sleeping Bear Dunes, that’s for sure. It’s a place our family will go back to again and again.
Julia Kelly lives in Danville, Illinois and is a teacher, wife, and mom of three. She writes about her adventures in parenting, gardening, cooking and life on her blogs, Midwest Moms and Recipes from Midwest Moms.