Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in western northern Michigan.[1][2]
Specifics
The Scenic Drive is a 7.4 mile (12 kilometer) self-guided tour that can be driven or bicycled.[1] It provides the visitor with overlooks of Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, both the Glen Lakes, North Manitou Island, South Manitou Island, Pyramid Point, Sleeping Bear Bay, the Little Glen Lake Mill Pond, and the historic D.H. Day farm.[2] It is a popular summer activity for tourists of Michigan.[2]
The Scenic Drive is open generally from the end of April through the first part of November. The hours are from 9:00 a.m. to one half hour after sunset.[2] The speed limit on the drive is 20 mph (32 kph).[2]
History
The road is named after Pierce Stocking who spent his youth working as a Michigan lumberman. He self-taught himself on Michigan’s nature and used to walk these bluffs above Lake Michigan. Stocking then conceived the idea of a road to the top of the dunes so that others could enjoy the beauty.[1][2]
As a lumberman he had experience building roads. Stocking began building a road to the top of the dunes in the difficult terrain around the early 1960s. The road was originally known as the Sleeping Bear Dunes Park when he first opened it to the public in 1967. He operated the scenic drive until his death 1976.[1][2]
The road became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 1977 and the name eventually changed to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. The scenic drive is designated an area of the National Lakeshore within the National Park Service system.[1][2] The drive gives the visitor an insight to the history of the area as well as a sampling of the vegetative communities found within the park.[1]
Touring the Scenic Drive
A Park Pass fee is required for using the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (accept for Golden Age Passport/Senior Pass holders). [1]
A free interpretive guide for the Scenic Drive is available at the Visitor Center in Empire, Michigan or at the entrance gate.[1][3] Along the scenic drive are numbered signs that relate to the information on the guide.[4]
There are scenic views of Lake Michigan, the Manitou Islands and the dunes from several stops, especially at numbers 3, 9, and 10.[1] The first stop, for example, is a covered bridge replica.[5] The most popular is Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook. [6]
There is a relatively strenuous 1.5 mile dunes trail at number 4 called the Cottonwood Hiking Trail[7] Here the hiker will see areas that are stabilized with native dune vegetation such as buffaloberry and bearberry.[8]
Cautions
It is recommended that you do not descend the moraine bluff dune at the Lake Michigan Overlook located at spot number 10. Some people do this anyway even though it is composed of large quantities of loose rock and gravel. Many are hurt and cannot renegotiate the extremely difficult climb back up, even when they are in excellent health! There is a nearby Dune Climb area provided where one can climb safely.[1][2]
Bicycling is allowed on the Scenic Drive, however recommended for expert-level cyclists only.[1][2]
Hang gliding
Occasionally during the spring and summer months there are hang gliders that take off from the high dunes at stop number 9. This is at the observation deck at the Lake Michigan Overlook. The launch point is about 500 feet above the lake level where they take off.[1][6]
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sleeping Bear Dunes - Scienic Drive
- ^ Scenic Drive includes
- ^ Pierce Stocking Virtual Tour
- ^ Wooden Covered Bridge
- ^ a b Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook Cite error: The named reference "overlook" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Cottonwood Hiking Trail map
- ^ Cottonwood Trail description