Alligator Hill Trail
Sleeping Bear Dune National Lake Shore, Empire Michigan
By Matthew Eddy, 6/7/17
Summary
Overall Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Trail Type: Dirt and some gravel
Water: None available for the horses
Requirements: National Park Pass, no bridal tag or coggins required
Parking: Tight for trailers
Trail Markings: OK - you won't likely get lost
Cell Reception: Spotty
Technical Obstacles: None that we saw
Date/Time of Ride: 5/27/17, 3pm
Weather Conditions: ~70°F, low humidity
Looking for Site Contributors if you are interested click HERE.
Description:
The trail head is located in the Sleeping Bear Dunes park between the famous Dune Climb and the quaint little town of Glen Arbor. In August of 2015 a storm struck the area that toppled numerous trees, knocked out most of the county's power, and damage property. The scars of this storm are still visible today along the trail. In some ways, it adds to the splendor by opening up large vistas along the paths that would otherwise be obscured by trees. Plus, seeing the damage, even nearly two years later, is humbling.
The parking lot is small, and will not accommodate a lot of horse trailers plus the possible pedestrian crowd. We went on Memorial weekend, so hopefully we saw it at peak usage, and if that is the case, there will be just enough room for a couple rigs to park and turn around.
The trails are pretty amazing. A good deal of hills and valleys, mostly in the cool shade of the trees. There is one vista point that I didn't bring my horse over to it because my wife is just very cautious and didn't want me to get any closer, but it was quite spectacular. It is these stellar views that gives this trail ride a 5 star rating.
Here you can see the damage from the storms and what a good deal of the trail looks like.
If you look at the trail map below, we started from the parking lot up the 1.3 miles to the over look, then headed to the Big Glen Overlook. Back tracked and head down the Intermediate trail counter clockwise as indicated by the map. However, and I note it above, the trail markers aren't super clear and I had wanted to take the Beginner Trail back to the trail head, but missed the turns and instead came down the same trail we went up. Oh well. I believe the trails are labelled Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced due to the distance and elevation change and not that they are technically more challenging.
Map:
Here is the map to get to trail head. Click here for a link to Google Maps.
Conclusion:
Of the places we have been so far (that is public land) this is my favorite. I like having some hills and I particularly like vistas and great views. The only down side with this particular park is the size of teh parking lot and I suspect the park is usually not very busy and this isn't an issue. If you find otherwise, please let me know. I figure that if it's not busy on Memorial Weekend, then when is it busy? The only other downside is that the trail markers aren't the greatest, but you shouldn't get lost.
Sleeping Bear Dune National Lake Shore, Empire Michigan
By Matthew Eddy, 6/7/17
Summary
Overall Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Trail Type: Dirt and some gravel
Water: None available for the horses
Requirements: National Park Pass, no bridal tag or coggins required
Parking: Tight for trailers
Trail Markings: OK - you won't likely get lost
Cell Reception: Spotty
Technical Obstacles: None that we saw
Date/Time of Ride: 5/27/17, 3pm
Weather Conditions: ~70°F, low humidity
Looking for Site Contributors if you are interested click HERE.
Description:
The trail head is located in the Sleeping Bear Dunes park between the famous Dune Climb and the quaint little town of Glen Arbor. In August of 2015 a storm struck the area that toppled numerous trees, knocked out most of the county's power, and damage property. The scars of this storm are still visible today along the trail. In some ways, it adds to the splendor by opening up large vistas along the paths that would otherwise be obscured by trees. Plus, seeing the damage, even nearly two years later, is humbling.
The parking lot is small, and will not accommodate a lot of horse trailers plus the possible pedestrian crowd. We went on Memorial weekend, so hopefully we saw it at peak usage, and if that is the case, there will be just enough room for a couple rigs to park and turn around.
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| Our Rig Parked Along Entrance Roadway. |
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| A view of Tacking up Horses, Plus the Parking Lot in the Distance. |
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| Islands Lookout, the Manitou Islands are in the Distance. Quite Beautiful. |
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| Panorama of the Storm Damage at the Ridghline |
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| Some of the More Shaded Trail Portions |
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| Riding the Ridge |
Map:
Here is the map to get to trail head. Click here for a link to Google Maps.
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| Location of the Trail Head |
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| Overhead View of the Parking Lot Along with Diagram of Where We Parked. |
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| Trail Map - The Yellow Path is What We Took. |
Conclusion:
Of the places we have been so far (that is public land) this is my favorite. I like having some hills and I particularly like vistas and great views. The only down side with this particular park is the size of teh parking lot and I suspect the park is usually not very busy and this isn't an issue. If you find otherwise, please let me know. I figure that if it's not busy on Memorial Weekend, then when is it busy? The only other downside is that the trail markers aren't the greatest, but you shouldn't get lost.
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