Grand Mere: three hidden lakes behind the dunes

Just south of Stevensville, behind the first wall of Lake Michigan dunes, lie three quiet lakes. Most beach traffic on I-94 never suspects they’re there. North, Middle, and South Grand Mere lakes are glacial basins sheltered behind the sand. Each lake is a different stage in the slow march from open water to forest. The setting is a textbook case of dune-and-swale ecology. So in 1968, the federal government named Grand Mere a National Natural Landmark — before it was even a state park.

It became one in the 1970s, largely because Stevensville-area residents fought to keep it wild. And wild it stays: about 1,100 acres with no campground and no concessions. A half-mile walk through the dunes reaches an undeveloped stretch of Lake Michigan beach. Regulars guard it like a family secret. For Lincoln Township homeowners, it’s the nature-fix counterpart to busy Warren Dunes down the shore. Birdsong, boardwalk, big water, and hardly anyone else on a weekday morning.