Sight · Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
A two-track reaches a small-boat launch on Round Lake.
Overview
Map
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
Round Lake Access: A Small-Boat Outing“Round Lake Access is coming up, a small-boat launch reached by a two-track off M twenty-two. Choose it for a canoe or kayak outing, with wetlands at the lake's south end and hardwoods along the north shore.”
Plays as you drive up to Round Lake Access 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
Round Lake Access is a small-boat launch at the southern end of Sleeping Bear Dunes, east of M-22. A two-track reaches the water for kayaks, canoes and other small boats, with auto parking. Plan it as a water-access stop: there’s no restroom here, and Benzonia is a few miles south for town services.
Round Lake is the park’s only lake in the Crystal Lake watershed. Its south end is wetland, while the north shore rises into upland hardwoods. The park lists 15 fish species here, including bass, perch, shiners and minnows; the wetland also provides habitat for nesting birds, amphibians and reptiles.
Power-driven boats aren’t allowed from April 1 through October 31. From November 1 through March 31, motors are limited to two horsepower. Clean, drain and dry your boat before moving to another body of water to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
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
EasyOld Indian Green Arrow Loop2.3 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.7 mi awayGentle woodland dune loop, with an optional Lake Michigan beach spur.
ModerateOld Indian Black Arrow Loop2.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA shady loop over old dunes, steeper and twistier than Green Arrow.
ModerateLasso Loop Trail7.6 mi · 4 hr · 3.9 mi awaySoft sand, old dune ridges and a bay view toward the islands.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayKen-Tuck-U-InnA 1925 mail-order inn tells Aral’s logging-to-tourism story.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayBoekeloo LodgeA cabin and hand-dug pond where a cranberry bog never took hold.
Beach · 3.1 mi awayPlatte River Point BeachWade the river, then step into Lake Michigan.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayEl Dorado Platte River AccessA compact put-in for an easy one-mile float to Lake Michigan.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayLoon Lake AccessA slow-water launch with a fishing dock and picnic area.
Beach · 3.6 mi awayTiesma Road BeachA quiet Lake Michigan shore reached by a soft-sand dune climb.
Picnic area · 3.6 mi awayPlatte River Picnic AreaA shady picnic stop with river access and a one-hour float option.
Campground · 3.7 mi awayPlatte River CampgroundA wooded basecamp for the Platte River and Lake Michigan.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.
