Pyramid Point Loop(edit)

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Leelanau County, Empire, Michigan 15 October, cloudy and seasonal, temperatures around 60 I left Gaylord and headed west to the Traverse City area to do a couple very short hikes at Sleeping Bear Dunes. After a long day yesterday hiking the Jordan River Pathway, the goal was to get a couple nice views of Lake Michigan and no better choice than Pyramid Point and Empire Bluff hike. I purchased a weekly pass for $25 at the nearby Homestead Resort. As usual, there were quite a few cars parked at the trailhead parking lot. The trail ascends 205 feet over 0.4-mile and there is a junction with an option to take a short 0.2-mile spur to the overlook or head southeast towards a meadow. What’s nice about this hike is that you do not see the lake at all until climbing a small dune where the overlook appears. It was fairly overcast but the view of Lake Michigan from the overlook never disappoints. The sandy dune below the overlook is about a 400-foot drop. There are a few small paths leading to different viewpoints. The view of Lake Michigan and both Manitou Islands is one that keeps you on the overlook for endless minutes. I ate an apple and hung around for about 20 minutes. A great stress reliever. I picked up the trail and headed the other way to the meadow. The single-track trail leads south through a large meadow lined on the hillside with beech-maple trees. There is a steady climb of 285 feet from the meadow to Basch Road. I then walked 0.4-mile along Basch Road back to the parking lot. The Pyramid Point Overlook is a must-see and I would imagine the views take on different hues depending on the sky and time of day. The kind of overlook where you could spend an hour dreaming away. 2.7 miles, 490’ gain DS, 1 hour, 28 minutes