Beach · Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
A pebbly swim stop beside an old shipping port.
Overview
The shore's stones include basalt, granite, chert, limestone and fossil coral. Petoskey stones are fossil coral; look for their distinctive pattern of small hexagons. Leave every stone where you find it: collecting natural objects is not allowed in the Lakeshore. The pebbly surface is part of the appeal if you like beachcombing, but it can be rough underfoot.
Parkwolf’s verdictStones worth a closer lookMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sleeping Bear Dunes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Glen Haven: Village, Boats and Beach“You're nearing Glen Haven, a small historic village beside a pebbly Lake Michigan beach.”
Plays as you drive up to Glen Haven Beach in the Parkwolf Sleeping Bear Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Glen Haven Beach is a pebbly Lake Michigan shore on Sleeping Bear Bay, immediately beside the historic village of Glen Haven. It's an easy place to take a swim, wade or walk the waterline while exploring the old port. Paved parking sits alongside the beach; a picnic table, seasonal restrooms and a seasonal bottle-filling station are nearby. Swimming is unsupervised, and Lake Michigan can be cold or rough, with rip currents possible.
In 1857, CC McCarty founded a port settlement here as Sleeping Bearville, then renamed it Glen Haven. He built a dock about 150 feet into the lake in 1865. Around 1900, as many as 70 vessels anchored in Sleeping Bear Bay during shipping season. When lake levels are low, traces of the old dock may reappear. Look for them from the beach and include the stones in the foreground for a photo that connects today's shore with its port history.
Piping plovers nest on the Lakeshore's cobbled beaches, and parts of Glen Haven Beach can close seasonally to protect them. Pitcher's thistle is another threatened Great Lakes shore plant; it blooms only once, at about seven years old. Check current signs and the park's pet map before walking the shore, since pet access has specific boundaries and can change seasonally.
Wildlife
27 sightingsPiping PloverMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
56 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
68 sightingsSandhill CraneMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
58 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
31 sightingsLoonMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Sleeping Bear Dunes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingSleeping Bear Point Trail2.8 mi · 2 hr · 0.8 mi awayGhost forest, open dunes, and Lake Michigan in one sandy loop.
EasySleeping Bear Point Spur Trail0.7 mi · 36 min · 0.8 mi awayA quick sandy walk ends at the Lake Michigan beach.
ModerateAlligator Hill Advanced Loop4.6 mi · 2.8 hr · 1.1 mi awayFollow the steep southern loop to Islands Lookout above Lake Michigan.EasyAlligator Hill Easy Loop3 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.1 mi awayA forest climb opens onto Lake Michigan and the islands.ModerateAlligator Hill Intermediate Loop4.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA hilly forest loop to Islands Lookout and Manitou views.
ChallengingDunes Hiking Trail3.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayNine sandy hills stand between you and Lake Michigan.
ModerateCottonwood Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 2.5 mi awayA marked dune loop reaches a bench above Glen Lake.
ModerateWindy Moraine Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 3.5 mi awayA short hill loop for a Glen Lake glimpse and forest stories.
Sight · At the trailheadGlen Haven Cannery and Boat MuseumFruit cannery, Great Lakes boats, and a cordwood town’s story.
Lodging · 0.1 mi awaySleeping Bear InnSleep in Glen Haven's historic inn, with the beach across the road.
Store · 0.1 mi awayGlen Haven General StoreA small shop with a surprisingly big role in company-town life.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayGlen Haven Blacksmith ShopCatch a live forge demonstration in a shop from the 1860s.
Sight · 0.5 mi awaySleeping Bear Point Maritime MuseumA 1901 lifesaving station, its rescue boats, and the Manitou Passage.
Campground · 0.6 mi awayD.H. Day CampgroundWooded campsites put the beach walk and Heritage Trail close.
Beach · 1 mi awaySunset Shores BeachStony Lake Michigan shore, with one boulder worth framing.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayAlligator Hill Charcoal KilnsSawmill scraps once became charcoal here for Michigan campers.Parkwolf’s Sleeping Bear Dunes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
