Parking
Start on the road behind the village boathouse and follow it to Burdick Road. NPS does not identify a separate trailhead parking area.
Overview
About Florence Lake Trail
Why go
- A direct walk to the lake's sandy east shore.
Heads up
- Most of the distance is on roads; the shore path is short.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Sleeping Bear Dunes map
Full mapElevation584–608 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Sleeping Bear Dunes alerts
- ClosureManitou Islands closed during dock constructionNorth and South Manitou Islands have major access and facility closures during dock construction; the passenger ferry will not operate in 2026.Official details
- CautionHunters may be present during fall seasonsHunters may be present in Sleeping Bear Dunes while fall hunting seasons overlap with visitor use. - Several Michigan hunting seasons overlap and begin in mid-September.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sleeping Bear Dunes Tour Guide
Your drive to Florence Lake Trail, narrated.
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 tour- 73 audio storiesacross Sleeping Bear Dunes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 34 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Florence Lake Trail
The short route to the lakeFlorence Lake Trail is an easy out-and-back from South Manitou Island's village to a sandy…
Florence Lake Trail is an easy out-and-back from South Manitou Island's village to a sandy beach on the lake's east shore. The full walk is about 2.5 miles round trip: roughly 1 mile on Burdick Road to Ohio Road, then about a quarter-mile on the path to the water. Turn around at the shore and return the same way. Allow about 1½ hours with time to stop at the lake.
From the village to the shoreStart on the road behind the boathouse, pass the village houses, and follow Burdick Road to…
Start on the road behind the boathouse, pass the village houses, and follow Burdick Road to Ohio Road. The route spends most of its distance on island roads; the last short stretch is a footpath to the sandy shoreline. NPS describes a separate path to the lake's north side farther along Ohio Road, so don't add it to the east-shore mileage above. A park entrance pass is required for island visitors.
Florence's namesakeThe lake is named for Florence Haas, who became the island postmaster in 1912.
The lake is named for Florence Haas, who became the island postmaster in 1912. She also worked as a midwife for island families and later joined the crew of the Pere Marquette railroad car ferries between Michigan and Wisconsin. That small piece of island history gives this simple lakeshore walk a more personal endpoint.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Sleeping Bear Dunes
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.
