Start from 18 curated places around Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Cherry Public House
Glen Arbor's top-rated restaurant and gathering place, part of the Cherry Republic complex, with a patio, live music, craft cherry beers brewed on site, and a menu that leans into northern Michigan flavors. The cherry beer is the obvious order, and the outdoor scene on summer evenings is as good as it gets in Leelanau County.
Trattoria Funistrada
A beloved year-round Italian restaurant on the south side of Glen Lake in Maple City, drawing Leelanau Peninsula regulars who know it's one of the most consistent kitchens in the region. The pasta is housemade, the wine list is serious, and the small dining room fills up fast on summer weekends.
Trails & outdoors
Dune Climb Trail
The park's most dramatic and demanding experience: a 3.6-mile round trip entirely on open sand, climbing 666 feet to the Lake Michigan shore with no trees, no shade, and views that expand with every labored step. The lake appears suddenly at the top — one of the best surprise views in the Midwest.
Empire Bluff Trail
A short 1.7-mile round trip through beech-maple forest that opens dramatically onto a high coastal bluff where a boardwalk overlook hangs 100 feet above the Lake Michigan shoreline. The double-dune view from the observation deck is the most-photographed image in the national lakeshore.
Things to do
Cherry Republic
Glen Arbor's most entertaining retail experience and de facto town square — a cherry-everything compound with a flagship store, restaurant, ice cream, bakery, winery, and brewery, all built around the theme of Michigan's most celebrated fruit. The covered patio with lawn games and live music is where the village gathers on summer evenings.
Crystal River Outfitters
The best way to see the backcountry of the national lakeshore without hiking: a 7-mile kayak or canoe float down the Crystal River, one of the clearest cold-water streams in Michigan, ending at Lake Michigan. The water is shallow enough to wade in, cold enough to stay in on the hottest summer day, and transparent to the sandy bottom throughout.
Landmarks & sights
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Towering sand dunes that rise 450 feet directly above Lake Michigan, backed by inland lakes, dense hardwood forest, and 64 miles of undeveloped Great Lakes shoreline. The national lakeshore was famously voted America's Most Beautiful Place on Good Morning America, and a visit makes it easy to understand why.
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
A 7.4-mile one-way loop through the heart of the national lakeshore, with 12 numbered stops overlooking Lake Michigan, Glen Lake, North Bar Lake, and the open dune face. Stop 9 at the Lake Michigan Overlook puts you 450 feet above the water on a cleared dune with a view that stretches to the horizon.