Bass Lake Loop

Bass Lake Loop is a 3.5-mile circuit through the Platte Plains of Sleeping Bear Dunes. It winds over gently rolling ground through pine-hardwood forest and wetland pockets, with Bass Lake and Deer Lake along the way. This is a mellow woods-and-water walk, not a high dune climb or a Lake Michigan overlook hike. Plan about two hours with a stop at the lakeside bench.

Start at Bass Lake South Access at the end of Trails End Road. The loop returns to this access, but signs are missing at some junctions, so carry an offline map and watch where the paths split. Most of the route is natural trail, with some stretches on two-track. A park pass is required for trail use.

The Bass Lake water access has a bench for looking across the lake. The nearby paved path to the accessible fishing dock and the boat launch are at the access, separate from the forest loop. There is a picnic table and vault toilet at the trailhead, but no drinking water; fill up before you set out.

The “plains” are a lowland shaped by old Lake Michigan shorelines as the glaciers melted. Those former beaches left sandy ridges with wetter swales between them, which is why the trail keeps rising and dipping through a landscape that looks flatter on a map. In fall, look along the mid-loop for wintergreen berries. Mosquitoes can be fierce here. Pets must stay on a six-foot leash, and are prohibited December 1 through March 31 while the trail is used for skiing.