Recreate Responsibly at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Camping and hiking tips, 2025 updates, and advice for your visit

By Ren Brabenec | May 24, 2025

With summer around the corner, locals and visitors alike are turning their attention to one of just three National Lakeshores in the United States: Sleeping Bear Dunes.

What can visitors expect at the park in 2025? And how should they prepare? Whether your adventure involves a day hike or a weekend camp-a-thon, we sat down with a park ranger to find out.

2025 Updates

Director of Interpretation & Visitor Services Merrith Baughman opened our conversation by saying it was serendipitous that we were connecting on that day, because a local youth group had just been volunteering in the park, cleaning up campgrounds and getting them ready for visitors.

“We’re prepping campgrounds, cleaning up trails, stocking offices, and double-checking our infrastructure,” Baughman says. “There are a few important updates to keep in mind, but for the most part, it’s business as usual at Sleeping Bear.”

That is, on the mainland, at least. Baughman reminded us that the North Manitou Island Village and Dock will not be available in 2025 while the National Park Service (NPS) carries out infrastructure upgrades on the island.

The island is still open for those who can access it via private boat, but the Manitou Island Transit that’s taken visitors to the Manitous for 108 years will not be bringing passengers to North Manitou this year. (It will, however, still be transporting visitors to South Manitou Island, which is open and fully accessible this year).

“Visitors to North Manitou need to know they can only access the island by their own boat, and even then, they’ll need to anchor offshore and come ashore in a smaller motorized or non-motorized vessel,” Baughman says. “There are no mooring buoys or protected anchoring locations around the island. Given the closures at the Village, potable water will not be available on the island in 2025. Campers must be prepared to bring water from the mainland or to treat water from a natural source.”

In February 2024, the NPS had to close large sections in the Old Indian Trail area to battle Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). HWA was initially found on over a dozen hemlock trees, with an additional 80 trees in the area that could have been infested. Those park sections are now open, but Baughman says park rangers are still monitoring for and treating trees for HWA.

“We quickly treated for HWA in the Old Indian Trail area, as the infestation put about 65 percent of all forest habitats in the park at risk. The adelgids target Eastern hemlock trees, which provide food, shade, and cover for many species of birds and mammals. Though we successfully treated the infested areas in 2024 and have since reopened those sections of the park, we’re still monitoring and treating trees infested with HWA, as much of the park’s biodiversity relies on the hemlock trees.”

Traditionally, Volunteer Coordinator Matt Mohrman has performed an annual “Firing of the Lyle Gun” demonstration as a part of the park’s programming. According to Baughman, Mohrman retired last year, so the park has canceled that event until personnel can be allocated.

Ticks, Campfires, and Trails

Moving on from updates, Baughman also had some advice for visitors.

Ticks were spotted in the park in February, meaning visitors must take precautions to prevent tick-related illnesses. Baughman stressed regular and thorough tick checks as the best way visitors can prevent the transmission of tick-borne illnesses. Most (but not all) tick-borne illnesses stem from a tick being attached to a human for 24 hours or more, so finding and removing ticks as quickly as possible is essential.

“Visitors staying on trails helps quite a lot, as they’re less likely to pick up ticks when on a groomed trail that does not have thick undergrowth,” Baughman says. “People should also wear light-colored clothing that makes it easy to spot ticks, and they may consider wearing tick gaiters on their legs and being especially aware of ticks when recreating in areas of the park that have lots of deer.”

All the same campfire rules from 2024 apply in 2025, and Baughman stressed the importance of following all fire safety precautions to protect the park from wildfires. North Manitou Island does not allow for fires of any kind. There are designated fire rings on South Manitou Island, and campgrounds on the mainland also have fire rings.

We asked Baughman about increased bear activity in the northern Lower Peninsula. While she says there have been occasional bear sightings in the park around Alligator Hill and the Heritage Trail, park rangers aren’t particularly concerned about bear activity. “We stress good food management and waste disposal to deter bears from interacting with humans,” she says.

Baughman closes by reminding visitors to head to nps.gov/slbe before coming to the park, as the Park Service’s official website for the Lakeshore is the primary resource for news, updates, closures, travel advice, and up-to-date information on the full schedule of programming, interpretive events, educational opportunities, and other activities the park has planned of 2025.

From the Desk of the National Park Service

To bolster Baughman’s information for park visitors, we contacted the NPS’s Washington D.C. office for information on recreating at NPS sites in 2025.

They informed us that this year’s focus is to inform park visitors to prepare, have a plan, and always share those travel plans with an emergency contact and use the buddy system in the parks when possible.

“It’s always a good idea to leave your trip plan with a trusted friend who isn’t on the trip with you so that they can keep an eye on you and let authorities know if they haven’t heard from you,” says a spokesperson for the park Service. “We try to remind visitors to check the park website in the weeks and days leading up to the visit to see if there’s anything visitors should know before coming to the Park, like inclement weather or changes, services and hours of operations, as well as safety notices. And as a reminder, parks are not petting zoos! Visitors should not approach, interact with, attempt to feed or pick up wildlife.”

(This advice comes on the heels of a man being gored by a bison at Yellowstone in early May. We don’t have bison, but the rule still applies.)

The spokesperson continued, “Whether you’re visiting a ‘bucket list’ park, checking out a historical site, or simply enjoying the outdoors with friends and family this summer, please make sure to be a good steward to these treasured spaces. This means following all rules, staying on the designated trails, picking up after yourself, and being kind to others.”

The 10 Essentials

Here’s your list of 10 items to memorize for any NPS outing. For anyone who plans to explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, it’s recommended to have on hand:

1) Navigation: Map, compass, GPS
2) Sun Protection: Sunglasses, sunscreen, hat
3) Insulation: Jacket, hat, gloves, rain shell, thermal underwear
4) Illumination: Flashlight, lanterns, headlamp
5) First-Aid Supplies: First-aid kit
6) Fire: Matches, lighter, flint
7) Repair Kit and Tools: Duct tape, knife, screwdriver, scissors
8) Nutrition: Food
9) Hydration: Water and water treatment supplies
10) Shelter: Tent, space blanket, tarp, bivy

Pictured: Narada Lake, Credit NPS/S. Hallowell