Sight · Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
An old orchard grid marks Port Oneida's first market cherry farm.
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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.
See the Sleeping Bear Dunes audio tourRecorded for this place
Thoreson Farm: The Old Orchard Rows“You're nearing Thoreson Farm, a small stop for anyone interested in old farm buildings. Its seventy-five-tree orchard was the first in Port Oneida to grow cherries for market.”
Plays as you drive up to Thoreson Farm 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
Thoreson Farm is a preserved family farm in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, on the west side of Thoreson Road about two miles from M-22. Keep it for a slow drive through the district or if old farm buildings interest you: this is a small heritage stop, not a full museum visit. Routine visiting hours and building entry aren't listed, so check ahead before planning an indoor visit.
John and Ingeborg Thoreson ran a general farm with livestock, grain and hay. Their 75-tree orchard was the first in Port Oneida to grow cherries for market. Remnants of the old apple and cherry rows remain in a field northwest of the farmyard, where the planting grid is still visible. If the field is open to you, look for that pattern; it connects the landscape to the farm's work.
The farmhouse, timber-frame barn, granary, corn crib, chicken coop and milkhouse each served a job. The slatted corn crib let corn dry, while the hillside milkhouse helped keep milk cool. Glen Arbor Arts Center uses the machine shed for art classes; check its schedule if you want to see a program, but don't count on a general interior tour.
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
ModerateBay View Ridge Loop4 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayLake views, Port Oneida farm history, and one honest uphill pull.
EasyBay View Farm Loop2.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayA 2.4-mile farm loop to a schoolhouse and Lake Michigan view.
ModeratePyramid Point Trail2.7 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.6 mi awayA short climb, then a bluff view across the Manitou Islands.
ModerateAlligator Hill Intermediate Loop4.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.2 mi awayA hilly forest loop to Islands Lookout and Manitou views.EasyAlligator Hill Easy Loop3 mi · 1.8 hr · 4.2 mi awayA forest climb opens onto Lake Michigan and the islands.ModerateAlligator Hill Advanced Loop4.6 mi · 2.8 hr · 4.2 mi awayFollow the steep southern loop to Islands Lookout above Lake Michigan.
ChallengingSleeping Bear Point Trail2.8 mi · 2 hr · 4.3 mi awayGhost forest, open dunes, and Lake Michigan in one sandy loop.
EasySleeping Bear Point Spur Trail0.7 mi · 36 min · 4.3 mi awayA quick sandy walk ends at the Lake Michigan beach.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayJoseph & Margaret Brunson BarnOne surviving barn holds the story of a Port Oneida farm.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayFrederick and Margretha Werner BarnA family farm moved south after a boundary dispute.
Visitor center · 0.9 mi awayPort Oneida Farms Heritage CenterA 1918 farmhouse with Port Oneida's first indoor plumbing.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayDechow FarmPort Oneida farm history, told through a whole cluster of buildings.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayJohn & May Burfiend BarnAn 1890s barn with the machinery behind Port Oneida’s farm history.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayPort Oneida SchoolA one-room school, bell tower, hand pump and crescent-moon privy.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayWilliam & Charlotte Kelderhouse FarmA farmhouse that held Port Oneida's store, post office and phone exchange.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayFred & Grace Baker Pig BarnOld walnut timbers carry an older Port Oneida story into this barn.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.
