Glen Lake: Two Depths, One Glacial Story
Glacier-carved Glen Lake sits inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, split into a 130-foot-deep Big Glen and a shallow Little Glen, with public access for swimming, paddling, and fishing at the Little Glen Lake Picnic Area.
Glen Lake sits right inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — and it’s really two connected lakes. Glaciers carved both halves during the Ice Age. A narrow bridge marks where Big Glen and Little Glen pinch together: Big Glen goes down 130 feet in places, while Little Glen is just 12 feet deep. The village of Glen Arbor and the D. H. Day Campground both sit on an ancient sandbar.
If you want to get on the water, head to the Little Glen Lake Picnic Area, just across M-109 from the Dune Climb. There’s parking, restrooms, picnic tables, and a launch for canoes and kayaks. The sandy bottom makes it a nice swimming spot, and anglers will find yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, brown trout, and lake trout. A Park Pass covers entry to any of the national lakeshore’s inland lakes; the fee gets adjusted now and then, but the swimming over that sandy bottom doesn’t change.
Sources
Last reviewed against the listed sources: June 7, 2026.