That, in combination with the region's glacial soil and extra hours of sun it receives during growing season, results in productive wine growing regions. The climate of Lake Michigan protects the vines from harshly cool temperatures on land (all of Michigan's vineyards are within 25 miles of the lake). The reason wine production is successful here has to do with its close proximity to the lake. Considering Michigan's location, it may surprise some that the state has its own wine country. Together, these areas boast more than 40 wineries where visitors can enjoy a taste of local Michigan vino. Wine lovers rejoice because Traverse City sits right next to two American Viticultural Areas: Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula. During the winter, the park is open to visitors for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding and more. The Pyramid Point trail is a more moderate, hilly option, while the 9-mile Alligator Hill trail takes hikers away from the dunes and higher up to provide sweeping views of the lake and the forests that flank it. If you're looking to do more than just hike, know that you can also bike, kayak, canoe and even scuba dive here. For an easy trek, check out the Empire Bluff trail, a 1 1/2-mile round-trip hike that takes visitors directly to the edge of the dunes. For hiking, you're spoiled with more than 100 miles of trails. First-time visitors won't go wrong starting their journey with the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7 1/2-mile drive that takes travelers through forested landscapes and along sand dunes to various overlook points. ![]() ![]() Today, Sleeping Bear Dunes is enjoyed by more than a million visitors per year, who flock to the park to experience the dunes and enjoy an eyeful of the lakeshore's vibrantly colored waters, forested hiking trails, beaches and bevy of outdoors activities. It's this unique phenomenon that garnered the park National Lakeshore status in 1970. The slopes left behind by the glaciers turned into dunes as a result of Lake Michigan's tide pushing sand up onto the shore overtime. The lakeshore's towering dunes, which stretch 35 miles long Michigan's eastern coast, were formed by glaciers. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of the few places in the world that visitors can see perched dunes.
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