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Think Dunes: Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Several Changes Improve Experience for ORV Enthusiasts at Silver Lake Sand Dunes

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in lots of things last year, including operations at Silver Lake State Park’s ORV Area. If you didn’t make it up to the dunes in 2020, you weren’t alone. But when you return to Silver Lake this year, you’ll be in for some surprises. There’s a bunch of new stuff making the Silver Lake Sand Dunes better than ever. For one, there now are vault toilets placed within the 450 acres of sand dunes that are open to ORVs. “It sounds funny, but there weren’t any restrooms out there so people had to leave the dunes and come all the way back down to the parking areas to use the restrooms,” said Scott Beal, executive director of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes – Hart Visitors Bureau. “They now have them in three different locations.”

New Parking Lot for Trailers

The state park has opened a new parking lot for vehicles used to trailer in dune buggies and other ORVs that are not street legal. While there’s never been an official limit on the number of vehicles that can drive around the dunes at the same time, inadequate trailer parking resulted in a practical limit. Now, the DNR has created hundreds of new parking spaces for trailers in a new lot, ensuring enough parking for the Silver Lake Sand Dunes on all but the busiest summer weekends and holidays.

Two Lane Entrance Ramp, Shorter Lines

In addition to a better parking experience, an expanded entrance ramp now makes it easier for vehicles to get up on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. What used to be a one-lane road leading to the dunes past a DNR checkpoint now has two lanes. Traffic flow is much improved and lines to get onto the dunes are now much shorter, eliminating waits that were up to an hour long at times in the past.

Food Truck on the Dunes

Lighthouse Concessions has contracted with the DNR to operate two food trucks in the southwest corner of the ORV Area near Lake Michigan. Visitors can get a burger, snacks and drinks without having to leave the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and come back into town. The food truck will get taken up onto the dunes in the spring and remain there throughout the season.

Three Ways to Explore the Dunes Your Way

1. You can rent dune buggies and other ORVs from several places in town, look at Silver Lake Buggy Rentals and Wild

Bill’s ATVs for more information. 2. You can buy a ticket for the iconic Mac Wood’s Dune Rides, which lets you experience the dunes with an experienced driver at the wheel. 3. You can take your own vehicle up on the dunes with the proper permit and flag. The Silver Lake Sand Dunes consist of 2,000 acres of towering dunes between Silver Lake and Lake Michigan. The ORV area covers the northern third of the dunes while the southern third is reserved for Mac Wood’s Dune Rides, which was scheduled to open this year on May 14. The middle third of the dunes is open to hikers and sunbathers who arrive by boat across Silver Lake or by an access point near the north end of Silver Lake. Some places to stay, restaurants and attractions in Silver Lake are scheduled to open in April in conjunction with the ORV Area, while others open later in the spring. The seasonal destination really kicks into gear around Mother’s Day, and most everything is open by the middle of May.

Keweenaw

keweenaw.info

here’s no better way to access the Keweenaw’s natural wonders, terrain, and history than by ORV. Glide along the coast of Lake Superior or ride through ghost towns hidden among the vast Keweenaw forestlands. Trails on the peninsula run from Mass City in the south all the way to Copper Harbor in the north. Many of the trails use old railway grades built to transport copper ore and timber during the Copper Country’s mining heyday. Most communities can be accessed by trail with plenty of opportunities for fuel stops, dining, and lodging.

Local Recommendations

• High Rock Bay Photo Op: Perhaps one of the most

“Instagram-able” locations in the Keweenaw, riders should make the trip up to Copper Harbor and take the trail to High

Rock Bay. You’ll be rewarded with epic views of Lake

Superior at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Seldom visited by most tourists, this breathtaking ride takes you along old logging trails and is well worth the effort. • Get Out on the Big Lake: Lake Superior is the world’s largest body of freshwater containing nearly 10 percent of Earth’s fresh surface water. You can access the best of the great lakes by ORV and visit some pretty impressive sites like Fish

Cove. • Visit a Ghost Town: You’ll pass through quiet ruins of former mining towns that churned out copper ore back in the 1800s and early 1900s. Much of the original stone and brick structures have been reclaimed by nature, but you can’t miss the towering smokestacks that mark forming mining activities like smelters. If you choose to explore these areas, be very careful as the structures are almost completely unmaintained and unstable. • Sample the Local Brews: Whether it’s Michigan’s northernmost brewery in Copper Harbor or arguably Michigan’s oldest bar, the Keweenaw has a pretty impressive line-up of watering holes. Enjoy responsibly.

Plan Your Ride

You can put a lot of miles on your ORV when traveling along the Keweenaw. With more than 160 miles of trail, it’s best to plan ahead and make sure you know where you can fuel up and grab a bite to eat. It can be a long walk to the nearest gas station. As you drive north, you will encounter areas with little or no cell service, so do not rely on your phone to show for navigation. Be sure to chart your course and bring a map.

Get Your Permit

Trails from Mass City to Calumet are State of Michigan DNR RailTrails and are multi-use. That means other non-motorized users may be on the trail. Get your Michigan DNR ATV license online. Doing so helps to provide financial resources to keep trails in top shape.

How To Cross The Portage Lake Lift Bridge

The Portage Lake Lift Bridge is the only way (at least “by land”) to cross the Portage Canal from Houghton to Hancock. You can trailer across the bridge, but it’s a lot more fun to ride your ORV under it! But you’ll need an escort if you choose to cross on your ORV. The City of Houghton Police Department will give off-road vehicles escorts across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. Please call 906-482-2121 from the intersection of Trail #3 and the Canal Road. You’ll be asked to sign a waiver and the officers will open the gate and allow you to go through the City of Houghton’s RV Park.

ORV Escort Times

Officers provide ATV escorts seven days a week, provided they are available, at the following times: 9:15 a.m., 2:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. (ATVs and side-by-sides only. Sorry, no jeeps, pickups, full-size vehicles, converted 4X4s or dirt bikes. Minimum of two machines to be escorted.)

Trailhead Parking

If you’re hauling a trailer and need parking to access a trailhead public parking is available at the following locations: Copper Harbor, AmericInn of Calumet, The Vansville Bar in Phoenix, The Ramada Inn of Hancock, Lac La Belle Lodge, and Kauppi’s Marina in Gay.